Introduction 

It’s time to talk corporate travel. It’s the way your company gets it done. Travel offers growth, team bonding, creativity, solid relationships, and plenty more.  

It’s the start-ups and small to mid-sized companies that are powering travel’s recovery from the pandemic; jumping on planes and trains more often than the corporate giants. What does that tell us? That travel is integral to getting the job done and building successful businesses.

Over time, many small and medium sized businesses find that corporate travel is getting a bit…out of control. You’ve seen it yourself. The team expands quickly and soon they’re travelling frequently to all corners of the world. It becomes hard to keep track of; not just where people are on a given week, but also how much it’s costing. Some of the processes can be clunky and your people are spending too much time trying to book it themselves.

Then throw safety, health, wellbeing, and the environment into the mix. Oh, and border closures, testing requirements and ever-changing travel rules. Silently but earnestly, travel has gotten more complex.

Your next move? Just keep reading. We built this series to provide you a comprehensive view of how to build a great corporate travel programme. The most important thing is that you don’t have to do this on your own.

Time for a corporate travel partner?

A managed business travel programme is more than just someone who books your travel. It’s about turning something complex into something easy to navigate.

Here is a quick checklist to pressure-test your current situation.  Does your current solution:  

• Keep your people safe and support them in any situation, 24/7?
• Make booking travel easy and quick?
• Help you spend wisely and saves you money?
• Allow you to pull any travel data and reporting with the click of a button?
• Advise on what to do about caring for your people and the planet?

Your travel solution should check all of these boxes.

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All travel is personal, even when it’s done for work.

Your travellers have their own preferences for their business trips – from how they book, to the meals they have on the plane and the accommodation they pick. Travel is also unique for each and every business. Some companies care about containing costs, others are all about freedom of choice for their travellers, while some just want to make sure they have someone to call when things get hairy (think pandemic-sized travel disruptions!)

But every company cares about the safety of their colleagues, especially these days. There’s no room for error when it comes to traveller wellness and safety  - whether they’re in the office or out on the road.

Feeling the pressure to create all that customisation in a process that works for everyone? It doesn’t need to be difficult. Enlist a travel partner that can do all the above (and more) for you. In the travel industry these companies are commonly known as a travel management company or TMC for short.  

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Real-life stories of when having a travel team can save the day

Eight ways DIY travel bookings are bad for business

Unmanaged or managed travel? 

Get your copy: Myths and magic of managed travel

‘Swipe right’ for the perfect TMC

Your checklist for the right fit TMC

Don’t waste another second or another pound.  

Your business has goals and objectives beyond your travel programme. In fact, business travel might even be one of the least important pieces of the puzzle. But it’s still a big piece...and you need to make sure that you’re not overpaying.  

Booking travel isn’t just about getting the cheapest rates, especially if your flight gets cancelled or needs to be rearranged. It ends up costing you more in the long run, in both time AND money. No, you need to consider costs from a higher vantage point; looking across the entire travel programme.  

Is Mary in Sales spending too much time on InsertAirlineHere.com when she should be closing deals or running sales training? That’s the train of thought to jump on. And that’s why it pays to outsource your travel needs to a business that knows exactly what you crave.   
 

5 quick wins to save money. Jackpot!

Savings are our jam.

Look, we can go into much more detail than the below, but if you’re just starting out and want a few quick tips to save on your business travel, here are a handful of ways to get moving when it comes to airlines, hotels and ground transport. 

Wanna get started right away? Let’s Chat 

Money (and stress)-saving reasons to offload your travel admin  

Get your head in the numbers with our Savings Calculator

Guide: Don’t pinch pennies. Make smart savings.

New questions to ask and answer

Maybe before the days of "you’re on mute" you could try and go it alone, but things have changed in the world of business travel since the dark days of 2020. Now, instead of your travellers focusing on the best airlines for their frequent flyer points/miles, it’s flexibility, facts and communication that are vital. Plus, your travellers want to also know how your company supports the safety of women travellers and what your plans are for sustainable travel options. There are new questions to ask and answer.

What does this mean? Your corporate travel policy needs to reflect this new world of agility, health and safety while also balancing the personal preferences of your people. A well-planned travel policy mitigates the risk of leaving your company exposed to complications...and helps you save money too. It also makes life much easier and painless in the future.

“Sweat more in peace, bleed less in battle” - Sun Tzu.

When you spend the time and effort to get your policy right, you’re setting yourself up for massive gains in the long run.

Annnnnd, surprise! We’re here to help!

Policy perfection: The key ingredients

Benchmark your travel policy

Template: Kick-start your business travel policy

A starter policy could include instructions on booking information, domestic and international flights, accommodation and car hire/transport.

Taking your travel policy from good to great will take a bit of time. And generally, when you’re developing a more detailed policy, the process will involve input from a few key stakeholders. But, to kick-start the process for you, here’s a template of questions to guide the first draft of your policy.

Download the Template

Take your policy from drab to fab

It's time for a travel policy fit for 2022

Since selecting Corporate Traveller, we have gained far greater insight into our travel trends which has allowed us to implement new policies while providing our staff with the necessary flexibility.

Peter Rendall, Chief Financial Officer @ Unispace  

Look, we’re lucky. Travel sells itself...it’s in our human nature to connect with others; whether it’s pleasure or business. We know that every plane has a seat, every hotel has a bed, and you have choice! So how do we step up? By knowing what will make that airplane seat more comfortable, how to make that room more enjoyable and what will make the whole journey way smoother. That way, your travellers can perform at their peak. 

That starts and ends with our people. And we’re not just talking about our Travel Managers. It’s also all of our other people who sit behind the scenes. The onboarding experts that hold your hand through the process, the in-house emergency service team, the customer success teams and the negotiators that work with the airlines and hotels to secure the best possible rates. It takes an army of travel experts, all fighting for you and your success (and here at Corporate Traveller we’ve been doing it for 40 years).  

Who's on your team

Customer Success Manager...does what it says in the title   

Travel wizards, ready to help  

Case study: Extending Bboxx’s team 

The onboarding process

Q&A with Global Head of Onboarding, James McIlvenna

Service – The #1 Concern  

Change Loading...getting buy-in  

Here’s a pointer... whenever you tell your team that you’ve partnered with a new travel management company, you’ll likely hear concern about employees wanting freedom to book how they wish. Some like to book online, others prefer to get someone else to handle absolutely everything. We’ve already shown you how we deliver when it comes to personalized service....so let’s show you how our tech solution is up to the challenge for those who prefer to book online.

Truth be told, the online booking piece is the easiest. It really is. We’ve integrated hundreds of airlines, hotels and car rentals into our platform, so we serve up everything to your travellers instantly, literally. We even include small regional airlines that operate in the remote corners of the earth (if your people need!). The real magic comes when our technology begins to understand each traveller’s preferences and we serve up products that we know they’ll love – favourite airlines, familiar hotels, and flight times that suit each schedule...the list goes on.

The pieces of a puzzle that make a platform.

Tech + People = a perfect match

Your tool for easy business travel bookings and management

The magic is real

It’s the topic sweeping businesses globally...sustainability. You’ve likely heard it buzzing around your office and across your social feeds, and for good reason. The reality is that businesses and individuals need to start taking sustainability seriously but knowing where to begin can be a bit overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to work with a partner that has similar values and is committed to help your business become more progressive.

Listen, we won’t claim to know everything about everything, but we can give you some resources, ideas, and a bit of help to get you started. We’re in the business of travel, so our wheelhouse is helping you make your business travel count. We’re on the journey with you, and if we all start taking a personal stake, it’s amazing what we can accomplish.  Let’s go!

Sustainability and making your business travel count

What in the world are we doing about sustainability?

Guide: Planting the seeds for sustainable business travel

Tools to dial up your sustainability

We’re making it easier to track your travel, understand the more responsible options out there, and build your sustainability policies as part of your travel programme.

Have a look at some of the tools that can get you started.

Read more

Five must-have travel tools 

Technology for business travel is all about making things simple, streamlining processes, gaining visibility and, most importantly, making sure your people are safe and informed. Here’s five top technology tools SMEs need for business travel.

Read more

When it comes right down to it, your people are your greatest asset. Which makes protecting them a pretty big deal. Even more so when they’re out on the road. And while a certain global pandemic gave us all a lesson in disruption, we live in an ever-changing world where anything can happen— and usually does. 

This is why traveller safety should be at the heart of any travel programme. From managing any (and all) travel concerns with trustworthy advice, real-time information and smart recommendations, to health and safety dashboards and traveller tracking, it’s crucial to take a dynamic, decisive approach to duty of care.  

Most people associate travel risk management with swooping in and bringing your travellers home (which does happen) but there’s way more to it. Think pre-travel risk assessments, alerts, the vetting of suppliers, open communication and 24-hour support—not to mention your traveller’s health and mental wellbeing. 

Does it sound overwhelming? Don’t stress. There is tech, and people, to keep you safe!  

Could a global pandemic scupper your plans? 

Trust in the tech 

Safer travel starts here

Hear it from our customers

The lowdown on traveller tracking

Life’s all about balance. And business is all about people. So, when your staff are out on the road visiting offices, attending conferences or meetings for work, it’s important to remember that life still goes on at home. Your team performs at their best when the trip goes to plan – even something as simple as a decent nights’ sleep makes a huge impact. Or perhaps they just want a flight time that allows them to keep up a fitness routine.

Essentially, business trips shouldn’t take a toll on our physical and mental health. If you are the one setting the travel policy or booking travel, there are ways you can support wellbeing through your policies and supplier choices.

What to remember with people on the road

Your TravelFit guide

Wellness vs Sustainability vs Cost

5 questions to ask

It's only natural that once you realise how much you’re spending on travel, you want to try to cut costs. That’s why savings was one of the first topics we covered off in the SME Toolkit. 

This chapter delves deeper into the area of exclusive TMC rates and deals, otherwise known as travel ‘content’. Think of it this way, there is great technology for travellers to book their trips, and teams of real-life humans to handle the more complicated itineraries. Content is all the prices, seats, extras and options they see on their screen when they’re searching for flights, hotels and cars. As you can imagine, there’s millions of options; content can even include rates from websites like Expedia.  

So how do you know you’re getting the widest range of content, and the best prices out there? Well, a travel partner, of course! 

The lowdown on airline loyalty 

6 reasons why it’s worth booking hotels with a TMC

Hotel savings you can bank on

Expect exclusive rates and perks   

Advanced hotel savings tactics 

The techy side of air pricing