When you are running a small, growing business, every penny saved counts. So, the natural default when you’re starting out is to do it all yourself (DIY).
The same is true for managing your travel effectively. In most small businesses, business travel is booked directly online with an airline, hotel or car hire company. But managing business travel in-house can quickly turn into a time-sucking, budget-busting nightmare as your business scales,
Ultimately, time is money. Knowing when to utilise travel enamblement tools or services at your disposal instead of DIY is part of running a successful business and will save you both – leaving you free to focus on your core business.
To help you decide the best time to take the next step, here are the most common options available for booking business travel for SMMEs.
Using the internet
In start-up businesses, business travel is usually a DIY task. The problem when booking online is that you spend hours comparing costs on different sites and don’t always end up getting the best deal. And often, the cheaper options end up costing more if you need to change or cancel your plans.
Imagine this: You spend 30 precious minutes comparing flights, book a red-eye, and then… disaster! You booked for the wrong day. Now you’re stuck with a change fee and waiting for the next flight. Meetings get rescheduled, expenses balloon, and productivity plummets.
The biggest issue, though, is that when things go wrong, your travellers don’t have any support.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what it will cost you to DIY travel by the hour instead of working with a Travel Management Company (TMC), which saves you time and ultimately money.
Booking via an Online Booking Tool (OBT)
Using Online Booking Tools (OBTs) is usually a good option when the number of business trips increases. OBTs are online booking tools built to manage travel that are supported by a Travel Management Company and are best suited for point-to-point travel. The OBT consolidates content from a variety of flight, accommodation, and car hire companies so that you don’t have to search individual sites on the internet. Travel policies can be built into the OBT for automated decision making and elimating the human error.
Ultimately, this option still provides you the freedom to book your own trips while automating the booking and management of trips without the full cost of using a Travel Management Company (TMC). Most tools allow the traveller to make their own travel arrangements whilst adhering to travel policies and budgets. The finance teams can get easy access to reporting with a clear overview of employee spending.
Benefits include:
- One screen showing all your options
- Built-in travel policy
- Access to a wide range of competitive, pre-negotiated rates
- Easy online amendments so you can change your mind and change your plans
- Online personal profile management
- Itineraries are delivered straight to your mobile phone
- Travel reservations and after-hours assistance—24/7
- Improved compliance with detailed reports
- Easy payment options – pay online with a credit card or via a bill-back facility
- Links to a range of support services like visa, foreign exchange, reports, transfers, holiday travel, etc.
Partnering with a Travel Management Company (TMC)
By partnering with a TMC, your small and mid-sized company can benefit from many of the same advantages as larger multi-nationals, ensuring travel budgets go further through quality service, convenience and expert support. The focus of a TMC is to help you improve the management of your travel, the travel experience, deliver savings and ensure that your employees are safe when they travel for business. But remember that TMCs charge a fee for their expertise so ensure that they understand your business needs and can provide the support you need.
Benefits include:
- Time-saving – Businesses won’t need to spend time booking itineraries – a team of experts book and manage all business travel, including meetings, groups, conferences, events, etc.
- Improved efficiency – TMCs provide reports on spending, providing a business with insights to control spending and optimise budgets
- Cost savings – Corporate travel agents can negotiate rates for their clients which may not be available to the public
- Travel policy maintenance – A TMC ensures bookings fit within a travel policy
- 24/7 support – A TMC is available 24/7 to support travellers with bookings, changes and assistance on-trip
- Expertise – Support scales as your business grows.
As a small business, it’s important to focus your energy and resources on where they will make the biggest impact. Understanding what support is available to manage your travel expenses is part of the battle, and when to use it is half the battle won.
Contact Rennies BCD Travel today! We’ll show you how to unlock seamless travel experiences, boost productivity, and keep your team safe and happy.