Corporate Travel Management - An Ultimate Guide for Business Travel

Managing work-related travel can be complicated, with so many employees flying to different locations around the globe. It can be challenging to make flights and hotel bookings, as well as ground transfers and more. Corporate tour management addresses all of these problems, and this article will shed more light on all that you need to know about corporate travel management to administer the official travel needs of your company effortlessly:

Corporate travel management helps resolve all the travel needs of an employee, business partner, and travel admin. Companies have traditionally relied on in-house travel management teams, online booking tools, travel agencies, or a combination of all these to support the different functions associated with work-related travel. However, they are roadblocks that can be difficult to keep up with and manage. Let us start with the complexities associated with official travel, followed by why there’s a need for a robust company travel management program for your business: 

 

Corporate travel management is a structure that any organization sets up to oversee and simplify their company's official travel. This includes several different steps, like-

• •  Making travel bookings of corporate flights and hotels with preferred carriers and service providers.
• •  Issuing real-time reports.
• •  Expense management that is in alignment with the company’s travel policy.
• •  Approvals and documentation of business trip.
• •  Claims and Reimbursements.

…among others.

Also Read: An Ultimate Guide on Corporate Travel for Businesses

 

Achieving smooth business travel is always challenging. Even if everything seems to be under control, there is still a need to dedicate time and effort to ensure a stress-free business trip for your company's employees. Hence, let us explore the most significant challenges faced in handling the official travel needs of a company: 

 

1. Large number of requests- A travel admin or HR of the company is responsible for monitoring the company's official travel. Overseeing a small number of travel needs can be efficiently managed. However, when company travel is standard, it can be overwhelming due to the multiple requests and customizations.

 

2. Keeping track of approvals- Similar to requests, keeping track of approvals can be difficult as it involves much paperwork. With more touchpoints involved, this process gets complicated.

 

3. Expense management- Corporate travel booking is necessary for growing a company, but it is also costly. The travel budget can go awry if the expenditure on bookings is not properly overseen.

 

4. Travel policy compliance- Letting employees book their work travel can often cause them to stray from the company's travel policy, especially if they are utilizing the services of a B2B travel agent. On the other hand, the best way to ensure compliance and manage the budget is to book tickets through a travel admin. However, that can burden the travel manager, making it a double-edged sword.

 

5. Human errors- Tracking and correcting mistakes made by an employee in filing for reimbursement can be another nightmare. This issue, however, resolves itself with the best corporate travel platforms that are fully automated.
   
   These are among the primary challenges faced in booking business travel; however, there are many more. This is why corporate travel management is so important. Let us understand why:

 

A corporate travel management system can help elevate your travel program. It lets you make the most of exclusive travel deals and have better visibility and control over the company's travel budget. This generates exceptional value and significant savings at every step of work-related travel. Let us explore reasons why corporate travel management is imperative for efficient travel that can help expand your business:

 

• Reduces Cost- Work travel management can help your company negotiate the best deals. This ensures manifold savings across hotels, flights, car rentals, and other related expenses.

 

• Increases Efficiency- With an increase in corporate travel, there is a need for dedicated support that can help resolve travel issues 24*7. Moreover, it ensures consolidated travel reporting at every step of the travel program, offering greater visibility, efficiency and control.

 

• Time Management- Planning and making corporate travel bookings can be quite time-consuming. Businesses cannot spend their valuable time booking trips. This is where automated work-related travel management can save time and effort.

 

• Policy and Cost Compliance- Setting cost thresholds and tracking booking compliance can be easy with myBiz, the best corporate travel management platform. This can further facilitate approvals and reimbursements of travel expenses.

 

• Reporting and Data Analysis- Travel management involves reporting all the expenses incurred during a business trip to the accounting department. The finance department of a company then utilizes this information to track travel expenditures. At the same time, they use this information to make costing forecasts to help assign the budget in the next accounting year.

 

These benefits of corporate travel management can optimize your overall travel strategy, reaping more savings and higher growth for the business.

Also Read: Benefits of Corporate Travel Booking 

 

The corporate travel management processes comprise tasks that can be crucial in optimizing travel costs for a business. Here are the steps involved in successful travel management for every business:

 

Being the primary step of a business’s corporate travel program, this is crucial. When an employee submits their travel request for approval, it must include the following details-

 

• Date of travel
• Trip destination
• Trip duration
• Mode of travel
• Estimated travel budget
• Accommodation details
• Transportation support, if needed.

 

Among similar essential details. Once the approving authority validates and sanctions, the employee can finalise their travel plan and initiate the corporate travel booking.

 

Unlike a trip booked for personal reasons, a business trip must be booked to maximize savings. Once the trip request has been approved, planning and booking for the comprehensive needs of the business traveller begin. The following things must be considered while booking using corporate travel management tools -

 

• The per-day budget
• The authorized trip expenses
• The preferred hotels, among others.

The expenditure made by an employee pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip is known as travel spend under any corporate travel management system. The below-mentioned expenses are included during employee travel management by a company -

 

• Hotel stays
• Airfare
• Restaurant bills
• Cab expenses,

 

among any other relevant costs incurred during the business trip. 

Once back from the trip, the travellers must submit a travel expense report to the approving authority for reimbursements. It must include the following details -

 

• The date on which the expense was incurred.
• The category of the expense.
• Name of the vendor.
• Total expense incurred.

 

Conventionally, employees were required to keep all the invoices. They had to physically file them later for reimbursement. But now, an advanced corporate travel management software can automate the whole process for greater ease and convenience.

 

When the employees submit their expense reports through the travel management software, the expenditure is quickly approved if it complies with the company's travel policy. Once all the relevant authorities approve, the finance department has to disburse the expenses claimed by the employee.

 

More often than not, the several steps involved in approving travel expenses cause delays. This is why automating expense management processes with the right corporate travel management solutions is essential for speeding up reimbursements. 

Also Read: Benefits of Travel and Expense Management

 

A travel manager handles the corporate travel desk within a company. They take care of the travel bookings for the entire organization. Their responsibilities include:

• Setting up the corporate travel policy for employees.
• Managing the various employee travel management software and tools.
• Booking trips for the employees utilising the services of travel management companies.
• Keeping track of the travel expenditure across departments.
• Analysing the travel expenses and reporting them for deeper financial insights and actions.
• Offering duty of care and support to the employees at all stages of their business trip.
• Facilitate the employees by helping them navigate every aspect of business travel in a seamless manner.

With so many key duties falling on their shoulders, travel managers need efficient corporate travel management solutions. These solutions are capable of simplifying the administrative aspects of business travel effortlessly.

 

Regardless of the size of the business, every company can manage their work-related travel more effectively by:

Making your corporate travel plan more efficient requires companies to audit their current travel management processes. This can be achieved by going through the-

• Workflows
• Previous expense reports
• Avenues of cost leakages
• Possible opportunities to increase savings