Corporate Tour Packages Vs DIY Planning: What Works Better?

Planning business travel can be a time-consuming task. According to a recent survey, about 77% of business travellers spend more time resolving traveller issues. The travel manager or company needs to balance budgets, schedules, logistics, and team preferences. 

 

In this scenario, you either opt for corporate tour packages or make the arrangements in-house. Both choices have their advantages and limitations depending on your company’s travel purpose and frequency, and team size.

 

This article will help you choose the best approach between the two by weighing their pros and cons. 

What are Corporate Tour Packages?

 

Corporate tour packages comprise pre-arranged travel services that cover transport, accommodations, and meals. Some even have itineraries with activities, like local experiences or team-building exercises. There’s also an option to pre-book meeting or conference rooms with a few business tour packages.

 

Locations like Goa, for instance, are now popular corporate tour destinations. Many providers offer Goa corporate tour packages focused on off-site events, team outings, and training sessions.

 

Corporate trip packages, unlike holiday packages, are designed around work schedules, group coordination, and efficiency.

DIY Planning for Corporate Trip Packages

 

Do It Yourself (DIY) planning is when the admin, HR, and finance teams manage all the travel bookings in-house. The administration looks over every detail, including hotel reservations and cancellations, flights and transfers, business travel expense management, employee preferences, policy enforcement, and more. 

 

The staff spends hours finding stays, comparing rates, checking availability, collecting documents, and coordinating group logistics. This method requires more internal resources that can handle sudden changes, cancellations, or emergencies. An easier way to arrange business travel and accommodation is to use centralised tools like myBiz. 

Comparing Corporate Travel Packages and DIY Planning

 

Here’s how the corporate travel packages and independent planning differ: 

 

Points of Distinction	Corporate Tour Packages	DIY Planning
Cost Management	Package rates are mostly pre-negotiated and offered at fixed prices for corporate groups.   It makes the trip cost predictable.	Seems cheaper, but hidden costs may prevail from last-minute changes, fragmented bookings, surcharges, or tax on tour packages.
Time-Taken and Convenience	The provider handles the travel arrangements, reducing the need for back-and-forth coordination.    Business tour packages save the internal teams’ time and effort. They’re especially useful in the absence of an in-house travel manager.	Self-planning and execution demand constant follow-ups and more internal effort.   It’s time-consuming to handle check-ins, bookings, expenses, itinerary changes, and meal arrangements.
Flexibility and Control	Corporate tour packages may come with preselected transport or accommodation booking options.   It limits your choice, though some providers give customisable solutions upon request.	Gives complete oversight on each booking, with the flexibility to decide flights, hotel (as per rating or reviews), check-in time, and stopovers.   With existing supplier partnerships, it’s easy to customise and make business travel arrangements.
Mid-Journey Customer Support	Some corporate trip packages offer support during travel, like for airport transfers, group check-ins, or arranging a local coordinator.    It’s most helpful when travelling to new locations.	DIY corporate travel packages may lack real-time support, unless a dedicated team or person is handling on-site arrangements.    It may cause delays or confusion in case of travel-related disruptions.

 

Tax on Tour Packages

 

The tax imposed on tour packages varies depending on where your business operates. For instance, in India, tour operators may apply GST. The tax could impact your business travel expenses. 

 

You must verify and confirm what’s included in the final price and if the taxes, like GST and others, are refundable or not. Before making payments, discuss with your finance teams to confirm compliance with the tax on tour packages and billing structure.

 

Which Approach is Right for You?

 

Whether you should take corporate tour packages or self-plan depends mainly on the purpose of travel. 

 

If your employees are travelling in a large group for training or off-site visits, then corporate travel packages are more efficient. These events require multiple bookings, scheduling, and group coordination, which is usually better managed by third parties. 

 

DIY planning often fits better with smaller trips for client meetings or solo visits, especially if your company uses standardised booking systems or business travel platforms like myBiz. 

Conclusion

 

A single approach never fits every business’s travel needs. Two viable options include corporate tour packages and DIY planning. 

 

Corporate trip packages are best for large employee group travels, offering ease and reduced effort. Self-planned trips are more customisable and give you greater control. 

 

You must identify your travel needs and choose an approach accordingly. 

 

FAQs About Corporate Tour Packages

Q1. When to Choose DIY Planning Instead of Corporate Tour Packages?

Ans. When you have small employee groups travelling or single-person trips, independent planning using travel platforms like myBiz is much better. 

Q2. What are the Main Kinds of Corporate Tour Costs?

Ans. There are primarily two types of tour costs: Direct and indirect expenses. Direct costs are the fixed and identifiable ones, like hotels, meals, transport, etc. Indirect refers to more variable costs, including hidden charges or fees for last-minute booking changes. 

Q3. How to Calculate the Corporate Travel Package Cost When Self-Planning?

Ans. Add up transport, accommodation, meals, event bookings, and keep a buffer for end-moment alterations or hidden expenses. Expense manager apps like myBiz can help you easily plan and calculate your corporate tour expenses. 

Q4. How to Choose the Best Tour Operator for Business Tour Packages?

Ans. Look for providers that have business travel experience, transparent pricing, and good client reviews.