Managing travel expenses for your company can be time-consuming and expensive. That’s why companies of all sizes turn to various corporate travel solutions that make the process simpler, more cost-effective, and less stressful for everyone involved.
A corporate travel solution may include various features, from booking tools to expense management software. It can also help you achieve many business goals, such as driving policy compliance or increasing employee satisfaction.
The first step in creating a successful business travel program is developing a corporate travel policy. It should include all the relevant details about who we can book with, how much money can be spent and what travel expenses are allowed.
This policy should be paired with a travel management system that will help you monitor and report on your travel spending so that you can see trends and make adjustments as necessary. It should also offer useful benchmarking tools and a comprehensive HR feed so that you can easily keep track of your employees’ spending and travel habits.
Another benefit of a corporate travel management system is the ability to reduce costs by leveraging its relationships with airlines, hotels, and other service providers. These partners often provide travel managers with discounted rates, special extras, and free upgrades that they might not be able to obtain independently.
Some travel management systems will also offer customer support for business travelers, which can be invaluable when they’re unsure of a hotel’s location or need assistance with last-minute changes to their itineraries. Some even have mobile apps that allow travelers to make reservations and submit travel reimbursement requests.
One of the most popular corporate travel solutions is a cloud-based platform that enables companies to book, track and report their trips from anywhere with an internet connection. It also integrates with other business applications, allowing data to flow seamlessly and error-free.
It can be accessed by finance managers, office managers, and CEOs, as well as travel managers and other employees. It’s available on a mobile device, desktop, or tablet and can be synced to multiple devices for easy access.
Corporate travel software can slash costs by automating tedious tasks, providing visibility into trip expenses, and making it easy to encourage saving behavior. This can include features that enable you to view a traveler’s cost breakdown by region and travel mode and integrate travel expenses with other accounting systems.
For example, a corporate travel system could send the total cost of a trip to your accounting system in real-time, which can help you to identify unauthorized spending and spot trends that need attention.
In addition to slashing costs, travel management platforms can also help ensure your travelers stay safe during their trips. These systems can alert you to areas or flights that are unsafe for your travelers and can block suspicious locations and hotels.
The right corporate travel management solution will have all the elements needed to ensure that your travelers are safe and secure while traveling for work. It will also help you meet your business sustainability goals by offering travel options that are environmentally friendly or accessible for people with mobility challenges.
