A corporate travel provider is a term that can be used interchangeably with a business travel agency or travel management company (TMC). It describes a company that offers businesses support for booking flights, hotels and transportation. Beyond the simple functions of a conventional travel agency, they provide essential services for businesses such as support, reporting tools and expense management.
Business travel agencies do more than just arrange travel for business travelers, they also offer the knowledge, tools and customer support that makes business travel a piece of cake. In this article, we’ll discover what this looks like.
What do corporate travel agents do?
The role of a corporate travel agent is to streamline business travel processes. They manage flights, accommodations and expenses in a smooth and efficient way, making logistics clear and secure, helping businesses to save and allowing them to focus on the business at hand rather than managing the trips.
But, who’s behind the scenes of a corporate travel management business? That’s where a corporate travel booking platform or business travel management software comes in handy. Instead of working only with a corporate travel agent, you have the technology doing the work for you but with the added benefit of support when you need it.
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What is the meaning of corporate travel?
Corporate travel is when employees are sent on business trips to help advance a company’s organizational goals. These trips could be a meeting, a conference, a seminar, sales meetings, training or visiting clients. A business trip or business travel is any trip that is done for commercial rather than leisure purposes.
How to choose the right business travel agency
The right business travel agency will help you address the needs of your travelers, making booking trips, managing expenses and getting help when they need it as easily as possible. When possible contract an agency with 24-hour assistance. It’s also a good idea to work with an agency within your budget, meaning that they have different options to suit your needs and your company’s overarching budget. The more trips your business plans, the more support or more functionality you might need.
Benefits of a business travel agency
1. Automate reporting and integrate expense systems
One of the main benefits of a business travel agency is that they can help you to automate and integrate your expense reporting to get better insights into your business goals and make sure your company stays on target. This way travelers can easily track and submit expenses. Automate expense reporting, reducing manual tasks and making reimbursement quicker.
2. Streamline processes
Imagine if all your travel and reporting was done from one app or by one business travel agency. This way flights, hotels, rental cars and transportation can be handled either by one agency or by one app making travel arrangements much more streamlined, including approval processes.
3. Better rates
When you work with an external business travel agency or an app, you can take advantage of corporate rates that are negotiated with hotels, airlines or travel suppliers. This means discounted rates and hence less of a dent in your travel budget.
4. Travel policy management
Whether you work with a business travel agency or a travel management app, both can help you create and automate your travel policy so that you can ensure you find the right balance between control and traveler wellbeing.
5. Technology and support
With an online booking platform like GetGoing, you can make for easy travel management right from the palm of your hand while on the road. You can also get the support you need from real expert travel agents to address any issues that come up as you travel or book travel.
What you need to need to know about corporate travel providers
Whether you work with a corporate travel and expense management tool, or you work with a business travel agency, both give you the flexibility you need to manage your travel, reducing costs, optimizing your business trips, and looking out for your travelers.
When your CEO asks whether corporate travel is necessary, remember that a conference, an event, sales and networking meetings, seminars, meetings, and teambuildings are all great ways to drive commitment and make both employees and clients feel connected and like they are valued. The exact ROI of a business trip may not be calculateable but the value can be long-lasting.