Boost SME travel management with corporate strategies

SME travel management is just as important as travel management in big corporations. Why? Because business travel costs are on the rise, (and tariffs too). With SMEs often lacking dedicated travel teams, not being sufficiently organized can impact productivity, sustainability and employee satisfaction. Don’t fret, SMEs can take inspiration from larger corporations, taking a shortcut to success. 

We’ll look at what large corporations do well, how SMEs can adapt these strategies and some helpful tips for getting started. Effectively managing your company’s travel is a winning idea whether you’re a small or big business because the less you spend on travel or the less time you spend reserving and researching trips, the better for your budget and for your team’s productivity.

Corporate travel best practices

Big companies with travel managers have fine-tuned their processes to make managing business travel smooth and efficient. These are some of the best practices they have put into action.

Centralized travel management 

Using travel management companies (TMCs) or platforms to streamline bookings and reporting is one of the corporate travel best practices because it makes it so you can have better control, transparency, and simplified booking processes. 

Travel policy enforcement 

Ensuring you have a clear travel policy that can be easily followed by your team is another best practice. Clear travel policies that balance cost control with employee comfort help ensure that you stay on budget and that everyone is on the same page as to the do’s and dont’s of traveling for business. 

Data-driven decisions

Leveraging analytics to optimize travel spend and identify trends is another key learning SMEs can take from big corporations. Because by understanding travel patterns and seeing where your budget is going, you can make better, smarter decisions that have your company’s best interests in mind. Choosing to work with an all-in-one travel management platform like GetGoing can help you better make these data-driven decisions. 

Preferred vendor agreements  

Whether the corporation works with a travel management company or a travel management platform, having negotiated rates with airlines, hotels and car rental companies can help your company save big. The more travel volume, the better deals you may be able to attain, and by working closely with TMCs or a travel management platform you can be sure to get the best travel deals for the whole company.  

Sustainability initiatives

Working with a TMC or T&E management platform can help you better track carbon emissions and choose greener options that are better for the environment and for your company. For example, by taking a train instead of a plane, your employees can save time and be more productive. 

They don’t have to get to the train station 2 hours ahead of time like the airport, and train stations are often more centrally located than airports. Once on the train, there is often Wi-Fi and 5G, making it possible to make important phone calls or keep working from the train, whereas working from the plane requires a bit more planning. 

How SMEs can adapt these strategies

So what are some helpful SME travel management tips that can help adapt similar strategies? Let’s take a look. 

Use scalable tools

Platforms like GetGoing offer SME-friendly solutions that can help you better manage and scale your travel programs by having everything you need in one place. This way with one tool you can do everything from book travel, manage receipts and invoices, approve trips, create an automated travel policy, and track travelers to make sure they arrived safely at their destination. 

Create a simple travel policy

For SMEs there is no need to complicate things; creating a simple travel policy that is completely automated in your travel and expense management platform can make the world of difference. This way travelers know what it’s in policy and not and can easily book based on permissible travel options. Even a one-pager or a basic automated travel policy can help guide decisions and reduce costs.

Leverage loyalty programs

Encourage employees to use frequent flyer and hotel rewards, and to input them into the travel management system so that they can reap the benefits of these kinds of loyalty programs. Loyalty programs can also boost traveler satisfaction because they will often get certain travel perks that will help make business travel more enjoyable.  

Monitor & review

Use expense tracking tools to analyze travel ROI. Make data-driven decisions with the help of your travel management platform of choice. This will help make sure you’re getting the most of your travel program.