Business Travel Management

The Surge of Travel: The Next Adventure

Have you not pondered when, following the pandemic, travel will recover?

Are you curious about the level of popularity that travel will have in the next years?

Well, fasten your seatbelts, thrill-seekers!

According to a new report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in Travel + Leisure, nearly 500 million domestic trips made by U.S. business travelers by 2022 will demonstrate the enormous return to travel that occurred in 2021. In fact, travel may be even more popular in 2023 than it was prior to the pandemic. Due to the recent surge in travel, a lot of firms are keen for their road warriors to resume their work.

Why? since it is logical. For every $1 invested, business travel has a $12.50 return on investment. Organizations are more inclined to examine what is considered "necessary" travel even further, though, as they are aware of the millions of dollars they saved by not traveling the previous year.

Business travel managers focus on streamlining procedures and reducing time, while finance teams keep a close watch on travel and expenses (T&E). Thus, how can you combine comfort and convenience while providing business travelers with the flexibility they desire and the T&E spend visibility that keeps the CFO satisfied?

Here are a few of the most important dos and don'ts in contemporary travel management to aid. Consider these when you review the travel policy of your company and identify any areas where they could be strengthened.

Business Travel Management Top 12 Do’s and Don’ts

Managing corporate travel involves striking a balance between budgets, timetables, and individual preferences. Ensuring the safety, comfort, and productivity of your business travelers is crucial during their travels. However, you also want them to adhere to the budgetary restrictions.

You are undoubtedly aware that your guests desire flexibility. Your passengers want to select the solutions that best suit their needs, whether that means having flexible dates or allowing them to add some fun, flexible travel plans to their work visits.

Travel Management Don’ts:

1. Don’t Assume Your Traveler is Aware of Company Travel Policies

You most likely think about the company's travel rules a lot in your capacity as a corporate travel manager. Not only do you know what they are, but it's possible that you helped write them.

But when your business travelers make their own reservations, they might not even be aware that they are not abiding by the company's travel policy. Make sure you have written paperwork that explains your travel policy in detail, including what it is, why it is in place to keep them safe, and how it simplifies internal procedures.

Make it clear and easy to understand so that your travelers will follow it. Then, by providing training and messaging related to it, turn it into a pillar of your travel management strategy.

2. Don’t Make It Soley About Control

Nobody enjoys being subjected to micromanagement. Your travelers will not be able to go where they need to go quickly if your travel regulations are rigid or restrict their access to fast track security lines.

Travelers seek simplicity and convenience. Who is going and how much they are spending are questions the finance staff has. The manager of travel wishes to streamline the procedure.

Fortunately, travelers can easily identify the best options, make reservations, and keep track of their spending by using a basic travel management program.

3. Don’t Book Last Minute

Making reservations as early as feasible is the first step in keeping control over the T&E budget. By doing so, you can take advantage of cheaper prices, haggle over extra costs for things like legroom, aisle or window seats, and simplify schedule coordination.

You can bargain for benefits like waived baggage fees and, if feasible, an upgrade for your passengers if your employer has a favored airline.

Make sure you have a travel solution that can assist you with adjustments and prevent penalties, and make sure you share with your travelers the advantages of an early booking process.

These additional costs may total hundreds of dollars for each ticket in certain circumstances.

4. Don’t Require Endless Email Threads

For each modification request or approval procedure, some travel management procedures result in a substantial amount of email correspondence back and forth. That is ineffective and increases the likelihood of losing crucial knowledge.

You'll have a platform to manage payments and receipts, make modifications to reservations, and book them with a travel management system.

This list of "don'ts" can undoubtedly be expanded based on your personal experiences. However, use it as a starting point to inform your travel guidelines.

Travel Management Dos:

1. Do Get Buy-In Early and Often

Having a company travel policy makes it simpler to control the expenditures associated with travel and expenses. Your tourists must be aware of it and adhere to it, though, in order for it to be successful.

Speaking with your business travelers to learn about their needs and how your travel policy can support them is one method to make your policy work as hard as possible. Your most frequent business travelers might have a different perspective than your infrequent ones. Ideally, you can create a policy and use digital resources that facilitate your travelers' ability to plan their trips, monitor their costs, and receive reimbursement.

2. Do Communicate Clear Expectations Around Expenses and Reimbursements

How do you want receipt tracking to work for your travelers? Keeping track of spending and facilitating reimbursements is made simpler with a technology that supports digital receipt tracking as opposed to paper receipts.

However, how long do your travelers have to enter their receipts and submit requests for reimbursement if your company still needs paper receipts after the trip?

Everything will be easy on everyone if the expectations are clear.

3. Do Be Transparent

It's easier on everyone when your business travelers know what's expected of them, have clear instructions, and can easily schedule travel and handle expenses. Effective travel policies also provide a procedure for handling emergencies and ensure the safety of travelers.

Travelers often go "rogue"—managing their own reservations outside of authorized channels and generally making their own decisions—when they are unsure about the rules.

This can not only make handling costs and reimbursements difficult, but it also goes against travel managers' "duty of care" expectations for their passengers. How are these renegade business travelers going to get help in an emergency? Are your travellers covered for anything from standard airline delays to major calamities like a pandemic, and do they know how to return home safely?

4. Do Get Travel Preferences from Travelers

When you accommodate all of their preferences (such as preferred hotels, airlines, and aisle versus window seats, among other things), you'll look amazing and make them feel pampered. They'll put their trust in you to arrange things, and you'll be able to adhere to the travel policy with ease.

5. Do Ask Travelers If They Need Assistance

The challenges of travel necessitate a high level of cognitive flexibility. In addition, there is the meeting itself, which requires attentiveness. Your traveler's schedule might be made simpler if you assist with organizing and meeting duties like booking conference rooms and taking care of A/V requirements.

Your voyager will have more energy as a result. When planes are overbooked or schedules alter, even the most enthusiastic business traveler may get anxious.

6. Do Have An Emergency Plan

Travel by its very nature is prone to disturbance. Pandemics, overbooked flights, missing connections, and natural disasters are a few examples. Plans B, C, and D in an effective emergency plan cover stranded travelers to the greatest extent possible.

Are the passengers able to easily rebook their tickets? Do they understand how to handle different emergency situations? Are they aware of the 24/7 assistance channels? This is an excellent moment to review your procedures and develop a reliable backup plan.

7. Do Research the Travel Policies Before You Book

Are the times negotiable? If you need to make a modification, is it refundable? Are you receiving the best deals on reservations and fares? Do your passengers require a vaccination record in order to go abroad? To save yourself trouble later, be sure you understand every detail of each reservation before making one.

8. Use a Platform Built Specifically for Business Travel

Skift claims that reservations for hotels are especially fragmented. Business travelers of today typically use one of three booking methods: travel agencies, OTAs like Expedia, resellers like Kayak, or direct bookings through hotel websites. However, things might get very difficult if multiple travelers are making separate hotel reservations.

It takes skill to run a successful travel program. Your objective is to maintain minimal T&E costs while also ensuring that your travelers are content and productive. Platforms and processes can support both.

Frequently asked Questions

When will travel bounce back after the pandemic?

In fact, the return to travel in 2021 has been immense as nearly 500 million U.S. business travelers will complete domestic trips by 2022.

How popular will travel be in the upcoming years?

According to a report from the World Travel & Tourism Council, next year could be even more popular for travel than before the pandemic.

Will business travelers hit 2019 levels in 2023?

The blog post does not mention information about if business travelers will hit 2019 levels in 2023.

Conclusion

Travel has increased dramatically since the epidemic, driven by a renewed appreciation for the world's treasures and a pent-up desire for adventure. The future of travel is bright, despite early worries about the effects of extended limitations.

While many tourists are keen to go within their own country, other countries are preparing for a boom in visitors. In order to ensure that tourists can once again safely experience the world, the business has adjusted to changing health and safety regulations.

It's an exciting time to be a part of this renaissance, and questions about how long this surge will last will be resolved when travelers continue to indulge their wanderlust.