Planning a business trip can be a difficult and stressful task. It almost feels like there is an endless list of things to consider.
Fortunately, however, companies can use a corporate travel management agency to take care of the entire process. Unless you have a professional within the organization, there is no shame in approaching a corporate travel management agency to plan your trip for you.
Travel and expense costs are said to be the second highest annual controllable costs for businesses. This puts it second only to salary and benefit costs! However, these costs can be dramatically reduced through careful planning and the right decisions.
Experienced corporate travel management agencies can reduce these costs significantly. That’s why making sure you choose the right travel management agency is a serious decision. It’s key to choose a company that not only has a great deal of previous experience, but also offers competitive prices (to help keep costs down) and can provide completely unbiased advice and opinions.
What kind of services do travel management agencies offer?
One of the key aspects of any agency is relationship management. This involves such things as agreeing on a set service level which is then consistently maintained throughout the process. It is also important that the agency keeps you up to date with the latest travel industry supplier developments, including changes in travel technology, rewards schemes, new routes and promotions.
Expense analysis is also a key area: the agency should monitor your travel expenses from start to finish so they can point out any deals that might make your money go further. Finally, it is important that you are treated as an individual. Many corporate travel companies do not offer personalized service to their clients; By periodically evaluating your spending patterns and through constant contact, the agency should be able to tailor its service to your needs.
Do I receive emergency support?
It’s true, travel plans can change at any time. This is why it is absolutely vital that you choose an agency that has a 24/7 support line. The importance of this becomes really apparent when traveling abroad, due to time differences. Be sure to look for emergency support as a standard feature for any agency you use: do you need new tickets or change some travel plans? Your agency should be just a phone call away from resolving this for you.
Overall, choosing the right agency for you can make all the difference to your business trip.