Even if your company’s travel program is good, you can probably make it better. A handful of savvy tips from BizBash can save your company and travelers’ time, money and grief while improving the overall travel experience.
Designate your go-to travel suppliers across the board. Establish relationships and accounts with your preferred airlines, hotels, car rentals and other suppliers that offer travel services your company needs. Consistently bringing loads of business to the same suppliers can net you discounts, so make sure your travelers understand why these suppliers are part of your corporate policy.
Book early. The further in advance you plan a trip, the higher the odds of its success. This info comes from a CWT Solutions Group business traveler survey, which found trips booked more than two weeks in advance had an 89 percent chance of being successful.
Communicate with travelers through a variety of tools. Emails alone no longer cut it. Add social media and text messages to the mix, especially since BCD Travel notes 90 percent of text messages are read within three minutes.
Send timely alerts. Give your travelers a refresher on little details when they need them most, like sending a text an hour before they arrive at the hotel to remind them if the corporate hotel rate includes Wi-Fi. Employees are more likely to adhere to policy if you remind them of details they need to do so.
Consider time-saving travel programs. Time is money in the world of business, and programs such as TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry can save your travelers tons of time. Less time wasted in long airport lines means less hassle and can translate to higher productivity rates.
Listen to (and act on) your travelers’ concerns. Seeking and actually making policy changes based on input from your corporate travelers can go a long way toward improving policy adherence as well as overall satisfaction.
Create an emergency response plan, especially for international travel. This plan should cover appropriate action in all forms of emergency, from political unrest to natural disasters.
Embrace digital management systems and mobile apps. Coordinating your travel schedules, expenses and other management tasks using a streamlined platform can greatly enhance your efficiency when it comes to making, changing and tracking company travel details.
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