When managing a business travel programme, the looming question remains how to cut business travel costs and improve efficiencies.
As businesses balance growth and expenses, some may see cost savings as cost-cutting, but slashing travel budgets and other key spending can be short-sighted. The key is not to reduce spending but to increase travel effectiveness towards meeting the company’s goals.
The benefit of using a Travel Management Company (TMC) versus a self-managing your travel programme, is that a TMC specialises in managing business travel. Here’s how returning to business with a trusted travel partner can help you focus on your business growth while adding value to your travel programme:
- Experienced and networked travel experts
Spending on the travel experience will become more of an investment than in the past, and this is where TMCs shine.
- Expert advice: There really is no substitute for experience. The benefit that TMCs and their consultants provide regarding their knowledge, skills, and network is essential and should be treated as a valuable commodity. The TMC’s service fee will likely become less significant when viewed as a proportion of a trip cost.
- Inclusions and add-ons:Strong relationships with suppliers allow TMCs to negotiate relevant inclusions and discounted add-ons on your behalf, resulting in more value-for-money business travel. This can range from arranging a late hotel check-out to tarmac transfers or concierge services that help you navigate complex visa processes.
- Integrated reporting
The importance of detailed and integrated financial reporting of travel spend cannot be overemphasised. The value that this adds to corporates is significant.
- Real-time and integrated reporting is a critical part of the planning process and provides financial managers with insights for more accurate budget forecasts. This improves cashflow and facilitates better returns for the company. By requiring travellers to book business trips in-policy, company travel spend becomes visible and supplier discounts can be maximised.
- The data categories you consider may not change all that much but the data itself will. Using analytics enables the TMC to guide you to make the right decisions to add value to your travel programme.
- Cost savings
A TMC will explore the best options for your trip and balance the best value against the client’s business objectives, which means the traveller gets the best experience.
- Better rates:TMCs achieve savings by providing access to global content. They also negotiate discounted fares and loyalty with their global buying power to provide better discounts on flights, hotels, rail and car hire with providers all around the world.
- Airfare specialists: Specialist Farecheck teams can help find creative solutions for cheaper travel, and low fare guarantees mean you won’t find a better price anywhere else, and if you do – they’ll match it.
- Integrated platforms: Allow TMC’s to source best-in-class inventory, and incentivise corporate travellers to take advantage of negotiated rates that can save companies up to 30% of travel costs.
As trends and travel evolve, the solution to realising the full potential of corporate travel has become a specialised area of focus, best left to the professionals. Like so many outsourced services, travel presents unique challenges and in most cases, requires the support of an around-the-clock service provider that is an extension of the business.
