3 Ways a Travel Management Solution Can Support Your In-House Travel Manager

In-house travel managers face the challenge of juggling multiple responsibilities to ensure their organization's travel program runs smoothly. 

While these dedicated professionals work tirelessly to optimize travel policies, manage costs, and ensure employee satisfaction, it's no secret that they could use a helping hand. Enter the travel management solution - a powerful tool designed to complement the efforts of your in-house travel manager and enhance the overall efficiency of your company's travel program.

In this blog post, we'll explore three key ways a travel management solution can support your in-house travel manager, making their job easier and more effective. From streamlining the booking process to providing 24/7 support for traveling employees, discover how the right travel management solution can become an invaluable asset to your organization.

Improve ROI & Reduce Travel Costs

In today's fast-paced business world, companies are always looking for ways to improve their return on investment (ROI) and reduce costs, especially in areas like corporate travel. One way to achieve this is by adopting a travel management platform. This comprehensive solution can help organizations streamline their travel processes, increase policy compliance, and secure the best deals. By leveraging a travel management platform, companies can enjoy significant savings and enhanced efficiency in their corporate travel endeavors.

A key feature of a travel management platform is its ability to increase policy compliance through education and support. Often, noncompliance can be attributed to employees' lack of awareness or understanding of the company's travel policy. A travel management platform takes on the responsibility of educating the workforce, offering training initiatives, and providing 24/7 support to ensure that employees are well-versed in the company's travel guidelines.

One crucial aspect of reducing costs in corporate travel is the enforcement of the company's travel policy. A travel management platform helps with this enforcement by monitoring employee bookings and ensuring that they adhere to the set guidelines. By actively managing compliance, companies can avoid unnecessary expenses and maintain control over their travel budgets.

Securing the best deals is another way a travel management platform can help reduce costs. Through partnerships with corporate rate hotels, business travel booking tools, and other travel service providers, these platforms can negotiate exclusive rates and discounts. This ensures that employees have access to the most cost-effective options when making travel arrangements, which can lead to significant savings for the company.

Last-minute travel bookings often result in higher costs due to the urgency of the situation. A travel management platform, however, can find the best deals for your company, no matter how last-minute the booking may be. By leveraging advanced algorithms and real-time data, these platforms can identify the most affordable and convenient options, ensuring that your employees get the best value for their travel arrangements.

Free Up Your Time and Streamline the Process

Corporate travel managers often juggle various roles within their organization, which can spread their time and talent thin. As a result, managing corporate travel efficiently becomes a daunting task, affecting the company's bottom line and the success of its overall travel program. Implementing a travel management solution can significantly streamline the travel process for both travel managers and employees, freeing up valuable time and resources.

A travel management solution offers an easy-to-use booking experience for the corporate travel manager. By allowing them to store traveler information, preferences, and loyalty numbers in one centralized platform, the business travel planner can quickly access and manage employee travel arrangements. This streamlined approach simplifies the booking process, making it more efficient and time-saving.

In addition to simplifying bookings, a travel management solution provides time-saving analytics to help demonstrate the ROI on the company's travel spend. Rather than chasing down data from multiple sources, travel managers can access comprehensive reports and insights within the platform. These analytics can be utilized to identify trends, optimize travel policies, and make informed decisions to improve the company's corporate travel planning.

Built-in automated features such as expense tracking and reimbursement further contribute to the streamlining of the travel process. By automating these tasks, travel managers can save hours in their day, allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of their role. Employees also benefit from these features, as they can easily submit expenses and receive timely reimbursements, reducing the administrative burden associated with corporate travel.

Moreover, a travel management solution can improve communication and collaboration among team members. With centralized access to travel itineraries and real-time updates, employees can stay informed about their colleagues' travel plans, fostering better coordination and teamwork. This increased transparency can lead to a more cohesive and successful corporate travel program.

Give Your Team the 24/7 Support They Deserve

Managing corporate travel can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to providing round-the-clock support for employees traveling across different time zones. The right travel management partner can significantly ease this burden, ensuring that your team receives the 24/7 support they deserve. By entrusting a reliable travel management partner, corporate travel managers and business travel planners can effectively manage their travel programs without compromising employee support and satisfaction.

A travel management partner with robust 24-hour customer support can help lighten the load of managing your corporate travel policy by handling traveler inquiries at any time of the day. When attempting to manage all aspects of corporate travel in-house, it is inevitable that some tasks may fall through the cracks. Often, this means that employees do not receive the support they need, as travel managers are stretched too thin. However, a dedicated travel management partner ensures that your team is fully supported, regardless of their location or the time of day.

In addition to providing excellent customer support, a travel management partner can be on call 24/7 to handle emergencies or unexpected events. Rather than being constantly available to address these issues personally, corporate travel managers can rely on their travel management partners to manage such situations efficiently and professionally. This not only frees up valuable time but also ensures that employees receive prompt assistance when they need it most.

By relieving the duty of care from their schedule, corporate travel managers can focus on other high-priority tasks and responsibilities within their organization. The time and resources saved by delegating employee support to a travel management partner can be allocated to strategic planning, policy development, and cost management, ultimately contributing to a more effective and successful corporate travel program.

Partnering with a travel management company also provides employees with a sense of security and confidence while traveling. Knowing that they have access to reliable, 24/7 support in case of emergencies or unforeseen circumstances can greatly improve their overall travel experience, resulting in increased satisfaction and productivity.

Conculsion

Overall, there are many reasons to set up with a TMC to handle your business travel needs, even if you've got a dedicated travel manager in-house. Supporting this individual is the best way to maximize your program's efficiency in both time and spend. 

If you're still struggling to decide whether or not you need a travel partner to support your in-house manager/team, schedule some time with us to walk through and demo and ask questions specific to your use cases! We'd love to walk through the possibilities.