Mastering the essentials: your corporate travel management handbook

What is corporate travel management? 

In short, travel management is the framework that organizations implement to oversee and facilitate their business travel processes. While it is about controlling, tracking, and reporting on your company’s travel expenses, it also involves everything from setting up approval protocols to supporting your travelers on the road. 

Some organizations will outsource their business travel management to a specialized travel management company (TMC). Others will handle it in-house with a dedicated travel manager or travel management team. Sometimes, it may even be a collaborative effort from both! 

But regardless of whether travel is managed externally or internally, most businesses also rely on a corporate travel platform to track travel expenses, identify out-of-policy bookings, and perform other vital functions to help you meet your business goals. 

What is procurement in business travel? 

Travel procurement enables employees to carry out business trips by booking flights, hotels, trains, and car rentals. This process involves more than just securing (or rather, procuring) the most cost-effective rates; it also means finding options that prioritize your travelers’ satisfaction, safety, and well-being. 

Naturally, this necessitates intricate negotiations, strategic contracting, and continuous adaptation to the ebbs and flows of the corporate travel industry. 

Many different departments may handle this procurement, from human resource managers to dedicated procurement professionals. 

Challenges facing corporate travel procurement 

No process worth doing comes without its own set of challenges – and travel procurement is no exception. The ever-changing nature of the travel industry presents hurdles such as: 

• Dynamic Pricing: The ebbs and flows of the corporate travel market demands vigilant management to handle fluctuations in expenses. 
• Market Awareness: Procurement specialists must stay attuned to market trends, adjusting strategies to navigate the dynamic nature of the travel industry. 
• Employee-Centric Considerations: Cost considerations should be balanced with employee needs, including travel times, convenience, and well-being. 
• Task Performance and Compliance: Ensuring travel choices adhere to travel policies while also aligning with your employees' ability to perform tasks (red-eye flights might be cheaper, but they don’t exactly motivate employees). 

Navigating negotiations with finesse 

When negotiating hotel rates or transportation costs, make sure to arm yourself with the following information: 

• Accurate, real-time data on your organization’s travel patterns, including insights into your travel volumes and travel spend 
• Current market dynamics in the travel industry 
• A thorough understanding of your travelers, their preferences, and what is important to them 
• An accurate picture of your company culture 
• Analysis of past contracts  

Once you know the wants and needs of your travel management program, you can begin your bid for your ideal supplier contracts. 

Decoding RFI and RFP 

• RFI (Request for Information): This is a request for general information from potential vendors, offering a broad overview of their capabilities and services. 
• RFP  (Request for Proposal): This announces project and/or business needs, describes them, and overall acts as an open request for bids from travel vendors. In some cases, it is used to renegotiate existing contracts. For others, it is created when a preferred supplier has been identified. 

Both of these documents are ideal for getting the best contracts for group bookings, procuring a TMC, and securing the best airline-negotiated deals and hotel programs…but writing them up can be more than a little tedious. Want to skip the process altogether? Let our specialists in travel solutions focus on the details so you can stay engaged with what matters. 

Impact of travel policy compliance 

So, you’ve secured the best rates…but that’s only helpful if your travelers know to utilise them. 

Remember: your travel policy serves as the framework for booking business trips. As your organization grows and supplier contracts evolve, procurement teams must continually adapt and update corporate travel policies to reflect these changes. This agility keeps your business ahead of the curve, achieving cost savings and aligning travel practices with evolving business needs. 

The demand for automation 

Time and effort are precious commodities. 

Unfortunately, no matter how much time and effort you spend writing (and re-writing) your travel policy, your travelers will probably bypass documentation to touch base with you. That means expending more time and more effort constantly answering the same questions – or worse – fixing easily avoidable mistakes. 

This is where automation steps in as the game changer. By seamlessly integrating your travel policy with a holistic travel management system, you not only boost compliance but save yourself from constant queries. 

So, what is a corporate travel management system? 

The short answer: These systems are made of different tools that work together to help companies manage travel. 

The long answer: This is a holistic, agile travel tech stack  that consists of interdependent software solutions that work together seamlessly to provide end-to-end travel management. These tools work together to oversee, regulate, and coordinate the travel and expenses of your travelling employees. 

The result? You streamline approvals, stay connected to employees wherever they are, improve business travel compliance, and overall just make corporate travel a little less painful. 

That being said, not all travel technology is created equal. 

5 signs you need to elevate your travel technology 

Wondering if your current software truly serves your organization? Start by asking yourself these questions: 

1. Does your technology help you control travel costs? 

An integrated suite of travel technology should simplify travel and expense management by giving the procurement or travel manager visibility of company-wide travel costs and to manage preferred supplier agreements. The right combination of a simplified reporting & analytics tool and experienced travel providers should also enable you to benchmark your travel programme against that of your competitors. 

2. Does your tech provide a platform that keeps travelers connected? 

A positive business travel experience is about being connected. In addition to 24/7 support, your technology should allow travellers to access and manage their reservations across any device, enabling them to make changes when necessary and to receive relevant notifications, such as for flight delays. Some apps also allow for information to be accessed offline, avoiding excessive data charges and reducing costs for your organisation. 

3. Do your current reporting capabilities help you stay on top of your sustainability goals? 

With the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, sustainability concerns are at the forefront of corporate travel. Your online booking tool (OBT) and reporting dashboards should include functionalities that enable your organisation to easily calculate your carbon footprint, offset those emissions, and report on the results. 

4. Are travel risk management processes automated?

Your risk management solutions should give you direct access to crisis control centers across the world. Technology should integrate risk management, booking, and reporting systems so that travelers’ locations can be tracked and support can be given in real-time. This would also manage concentration risk by highlighting instances where too many employees are travelling on the same flight. 

5. Does it guide self-bookers to the most efficient in-policy bookings? 

A simple browser plugin can shoot over a push notification at any point of the booking process to remind travelers of your travel policy as they book trips. This lets you act as a guide for your travelers without wasting time hovering over everyone’s shoulders. 

Booking challenges 

Your meticulously crafted travel policy is a roadmap designed to benefit both your business and the individuals powering it. However, the efficacy of this roadmap depends on its utilization. 

Insightful reporting that is accompanied by expert analysis also mitigates common travel pain points around: 

• Traveller visibility 
• Travel risk management 
• Ability to demonstrate ROI 
• Booking leakage 
• Data accuracy, or “dirty data” 

But what are the hallmarks of great travel reporting, and how can businesses improve their reporting capabilities to enhance strategic long-term programmes? 

3 travel management reporting essentials 

Below are some common key attributes of best-practice travel reporting and how they can help your business overcome commonly experienced obstacles. 

 1. Consolidated Reporting 

Booking leakage is a huge area of concern for many procurement departments. Having consolidated travel data with a single TMC positions companies in a much better position to target booking, supplier, or channel leakage as all the data is centralized. Consolidated reporting  enables you to measure the missed savings from leakage, where the leakage is coming from, and who or what division needs support in this area. 

 2. Benchmarking 

Benchmarking your travel program against other businesses in your sector or with similar-sized travel programs and spending is valuable for your approach to creating long-term cost efficiencies. 

Having your TMC provide quantifiable data that summarises whether you’re generating savings from your pre-negotiated rates or receiving the most competitive supplier deal when compared to organizations of similar size can provide an important business travel program health check. 

Broad benchmarking capabilities against all sectors will arm you with actionable insights in terms of which suppliers you should be negotiating more strategically with, and what discount levels your company may be eligible for. 

3. AI 

Designed to provide a more robust and customer-centric experience for travel managers, the AI reporting capabilities offer a unique way to visualize data simply by posing a question using natural language. 

With FCM’s AI powered reporting, you can: 

• build reports with more than 15 chart options 
• Build reports with custom calculations. 
• Interpret alternate terms when a user is making a request – You can ask “What is my CPM?” or “What is my Cost Per Mile” and get the same results. 
• Offer suggestions that allow users to bring up key metrics quickly 
• Offer hints as users are typing questions and will also provide the optimum visualization based on the question asked 
• Turn data into actionable insights 

Loyalty pays 

Understanding the dynamics of the corporate travel industry is crucial, as various travel service providers, such as hotels, car rental agencies, and airlines, place significant value on fostering strong relationships with businesses. Recognizing that corporate travel is a substantial sector, these providers acknowledge the rewarding nature of loyalty. 

Corporate rates, whether fixed or subject to negotiation, encompass a spectrum of discounts: 

• Corporate hotel rates 
• Corporate airfares (reminiscent of frequent flyer benefits) 
• Corporate car rental 
• Rideshare corporate accounts 

Embracing corporate travel discount programs for your company brings tangible advantages: 

• Cost Savings – The financial impact of corporate rates translates into substantial cost savings for your company. A well-designed program not only provides monetary benefits but also empowers you with the capability to monitor and control your expenditures effectively. 
• Convenience – Corporate travel discount programs alleviate the complexities associated with organizing and planning business travelers' trips. By furnishing tools that simplify booking and monitoring processes, these programs contribute to a seamless and hassle-free travel management experience. 

Agent vs. DIY Booking 

Self-Booking 

Corporate Travel Agents

Agents can manage changes, cancellations, and find flexible options within budget constraints. 

Travel risk management: Your duty to your travelers 

Corporate travel risk management (TRM) involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks associated with business travel. It's not just about keeping your employees safe; it's also about protecting your organization's reputation and bottom line. 
 
You have a duty of care (DOC) to your traveling employees. For the most part, effective TRM relies on four key elements: 

1. Pre-travel risk assessments 
2. Informed business travel 
3. Traveller briefs 
4. Travel safety technology, like a robust mobile app 

Travel is risky. Travel risk management doesn’t have to be. Check out our travel risk management hub for additional insights. 

Traveler Wellness: Going Beyond Obligation

Prioritizing traveler well-being extends beyond your duty of care obligations – it’s a strategic investment. 

Remember: Happy employees are productive employees. Consider these often-overlooked incentives that enhance traveler experiences, and in turn, boost employee retention while elevating your ROI on corporate travel: 

• Flexible Itineraries – Grant a 24-hour window for personalized departure and return schedules. 
• Accommodation Standards – Regularly audit accommodations, ensuring comfort and eliminating noisy stays. 
• Health-focused Amenities – Prioritise hotels with gyms and wellness centers, promoting healthy choices for your road warriors. 
• Mental Health Support – Offer access to mental well-being apps and resources, acknowledging the stresses of travel. 
• Personalization – Recognise diverse employee needs, tailoring wellness approaches to both reasonable accommodations and individual preferences. 
• Breaks Between Trips – Implement breaks of at least two days for employees traveling consecutively for more than five days. 
• Hello Bleisure – Embrace the "Business+Leisure Balance," allowing half a day of “play” after every three days of work. 
• Corporate Cards: Integrate corporate credit cards for seamless financial transactions. 

The alternative way of doing business travel 

Corporate travel is about so much more than booking flights. That’s why FCM Travel offers a breadth of corporate travel services through our talented teams and innovative technology. 

Our approach to end-to-end business travel brings control to your corporate travel program and delivers value through savings, efficiency, and productivity. 

Ready to discover a new travel partner? Let’s talk.