In the dynamic landscape of today’s global business environment, business travel is an essential component for companies looking to expand their reach and build international connections. With the growing complexity of travel logistics, ensuring smooth and cost-effective business trips has become a real challenge.
This is where travel management companies (TMCs) come in as invaluable partners, offering a range of services to simplify business travel operations. In this post, we will highlight the importance of business travel management, explain the functions of a travel management company, and explore why companies, regardless of size, can benefit from this kind of expertise.
The importance of corporate travel management
Business travel is not just about employees traveling around the world; it is a strategic tool that promotes business growth, customer loyalty and collaboration. Effective business travel management is critical for optimizing expenses, increasing employee productivity and ensuring compliance with company policies.
A well-managed travel program can contribute to a company’s overall success, which is critical for organizations to pursue robust travel strategies.
What is a travel management company?
Travel management companies (TMC) are specialized organizations that help companies manage and optimize their business travel activities. TMCs provide end-to-end solutions that include a wide range of services to simplify travel planning, spend management and travel compliance. They leverage technology, industry expertise and global networks to create seamless business travel experiences for their customers.
The roles of a TMC
1. Take care of travel bookings
At the heart of a TMC’s responsibilities is the management of business travel bookings. TMCs use advanced booking systems and partnerships with airlines, hotels and other service providers to secure the best deals for their customers. By centralizing the booking process, TMCs ensure a standardized approach and compliance with corporate travel policies, enabling organizations to optimize costs and track expenses effectively.
2. Manage travel spend & expense management
Controlling travel spending is an ongoing challenge for companies. TMCs play a crucial role in managing travel expenses by implementing robust expense management systems. These systems automate the reimbursement process, provide real-time insights into travel expenses, and make it easier to enforce travel policies. Through comprehensive reporting and analysis, TMCs enable companies to make informed decisions about their travel budgets.
3. Help fulfill duty of care
The safety and well-being of employees on business trips is a legal and moral obligation for companies. TMCs help meet this duty of care by providing risk management services. From tracking employee travel plans to providing emergency support, TMCs help take a proactive approach to managing potential risks and ensuring employees are supported and adequately protected during their travels.
4. Improve travel compliance
Establishing and enforcing a robust travel policy is critical to controlling costs and maintaining consistency across an organization. TMCs help companies develop and implement effective travel policies and ensure employees comply with guidelines and restrictions. By automating compliance checks, TMCs contribute to a culture of responsible travel and align individual decisions with corporate goals.
5. Providing 24/7 support
Business travel happens around the clock and unforeseen challenges can arise at any time. TMCs understand the importance of ongoing support and often offer 24/7 assistance to travelers. Whether it’s rebooking flights due to cancellations, dealing with emergencies or providing travel advice, TMCs ensure that customers and their employees have access to reliable support at all times.
How do large companies manage travel?
Large companies often have complex travel requirements with numerous employees traveling to different destinations at the same time. To address these complexities, many large organizations are opting for comprehensive travel management solutions provided by TMCs. These companies leverage TMCs’ expertise to centralize travel bookings, control costs and ensure compliance with corporate policies.
What’s a good way for all companies to manage travel?
No matter the size of your business, an efficient travel management solution is crucial. While large corporations benefit from comprehensive TMC services, smaller companies can take a more scalable approach. Implementing an online booking tool is a practical and cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes, providing a simplified way to manage travel arrangements while controlling expenses.
Online booking tools enable organizations to gain control of their travel management processes. These tools provide a user-friendly platform where employees can make their own travel arrangements within the parameters set by the company. This not only simplifies the booking process but also increases transparency and accountability.
Online booking tools offer features such as policy enforcement, real-time reporting, and integration with expense management systems, making them a versatile solution for companies looking to streamline their travel processes.
The difference between a TMC and online booking tools
Although both TMCs and online booking tools contribute to effective travel management, they serve different purposes and cover different needs. TMCs offer a comprehensive range of services including strategic advice, expense management, risk mitigation and personal support. On the other hand, online booking tools mainly focus on simplifying the booking process and providing a self-service platform for employees to make their travel arrangements within predefined guidelines.
Why does your business need a corporate travel company?
The need for a travel management company arises from the increasing complexity and challenges associated with business travel. TMCs bring a level of expertise and efficiency that goes beyond what individual employees or internal travel coordinators can achieve. Here are some compelling reasons why your business needs a travel management company:
TMCs leverage their industry connections and bargaining power to secure the best deals on travel-related services and optimize costs for their customers.
Outsourcing travel management to a TMC frees up valuable time for employees and allows them to focus on their core responsibilities, which in turn increases overall productivity.
TMCs help organizations develop and enforce travel policies and ensure employees comply with guidelines and restrictions to minimize risk and ensure consistency.
TMCs play a critical role in fulfilling a company’s due diligence by providing risk management services and 24/7 support to employees while traveling.
For companies with international operations, TMCs offer global expertise and local knowledge to enable seamless business travel experiences across different regions.
TMCs leverage advanced technologies to provide integrated solutions from online booking tools to expense management systems, ensuring a cohesive travel management experience.
Conclusion
In the fast-paced world of business travel, effective business travel management is of strategic importance. Travel management companies play a critical role in simplifying travel logistics, optimizing costs and ensuring employee well-being while on the move. Regardless of whether you work for a large company or an SME, using a TMC like GetGoing can make all the difference in staying competitive and reducing the workload on your employees.