Corporate Travel Plans: Our Full Guide To Corporate Travel

Corporate Travel 101: Everything You Need to Know About Planning Successful Business Trips

Have you ever been curious about the nature of business travel? or how businesses handle the difficulties involved in sending their staff members on business trips?

We'll reveal the trade secrets of business travel management and address all of your inquiries in this extensive guide:

What is business travel, and what makes it significant?

How can I design an effective company travel program that reduces expenses while maximizing output?

What components are necessary for a foolproof travel policy?

The topic of business travel is becoming more and more significant.

Professionals that travel and work remotely are becoming increasingly common, particularly those in the construction, nursing, and healthcare industries.

Furthermore, it's imperative that everyone comprehends the specifics of company travel.

This article will provide you a comprehensive understanding of corporate travel and how to use it appropriately.

To assist you in learning more about the subjects that are most important to you, we will cover everything and provide a wealth of resources.

This is the last business travel manual you will ever require!

Fundamentals: What Exactly Is Business Travel?

In a nutshell, corporate travel is any trip taken by team members or employees to perform business on behalf of the firm.

A lot of work goes into organizing a productive corporate travel program and carrying out productive business travels.

Continue reading to take a closer look at some of the specific components that go into meeting the travel requirements of your business.

Which issue are you attempting to resolve?

The challenge of enabling a professional who resides in one place to work temporarily in another area is resolved by corporate travel management.

The objective is to stay within the department or company's budget while maintaining the safety, comfort, and productivity of every employee when they are on the road.

It is in your best interest as a financial manager or travel manager to draft a corporate travel policy that will assist you in organizing travel and making decisions on your business travel program. This will support both your company's objectives and your efforts to maintain employee satisfaction.

The Core Foundations of Successful Corporate Travel Management

These components make corporate travel not only possible but successful:

1. A Bulletproof Travel Policy

A corporate travel policy is essentially a set of guidelines that tell staff members how to arrange, budget for, and book any travel that is done on the company's behalf.

This document has to be updated often to reflect any changes that may occur in the travel industry or at your organization.

2. Detailed Itineraries for Each Trip

A travel itinerary is a written record that includes the trip's schedule, places, dates, and contact information. It is essential for business travel success since it helps to have a clear plan for every aspect of the journey.

It should contain details on hotel reservations, travel arrangements, confirmation numbers, and vendor contact details.

3. Safety Practices to Protect Your Employees

Another duty of the company is to manage travel risk and oversee traveler safety.

When sending personnel on business travels, every organization has a responsibility to exercise a specific "duty of care." Given the post-pandemic situation we are currently in, this is very crucial.

4. A Well-Planned Travel Budget

Setting up money for trips is crucial.

Ultimately, on business travels, you want to generate a profit in addition to merely getting by.

You must develop a thorough plan for how and where you intend to use the funds from your travel budget in order to do this while guaranteeing that your team has all they need while traveling.

5. Taxes

You need to be aware of your company's tax obligations regarding the money you spend on travel in order to prevent problems with taxes in the future.

Additionally, it's critical to confirm that staff members are aware of how your business addresses specific tax-related matters:

• Per diem
• Reimbursements
• How to record business travel expenditures
• How to keep track of expenses and receipts using the  accountable method

Monitoring Travel Outlays

One of the best ways to prevent tax problems with per diem and itemized write-offs later in the season is to have your staff keep track of travel expenses while they're out in the field.

However, it can be quite difficult to record this important trip data without making your team work too hard.

Sorting Payment Methods for Business Travel

When traveling, your crew needs a way to pay for supplies. They might need to arrange for lodging, a rental car, food, conference passes, office supplies, new equipment, etc. during their trip.

For this reason, a lot of businesses use travel reward credit cards. Giving each member of your staff a fantastic travel reward credit card entitles you to lucrative points that you can use for accommodations, meals, airfare, bonuses, and other items.

6. Transportation

Traveling is always a big deal, and transportation is no exception. Put otherwise, your group requires travel, automobile rentals, etc.

For this, some businesses utilize a travel agency or travel management company (TMC).

However, other businesses handle the work independently.

Whatever the situation, bear the following points in mind:

Flights

Finding the best deals on flights is one of the most important skills to have in the travel industry.

Another useful skill is navigating the airport terminal without becoming unduly delayed. Swiftly moving through the airport makes for a more enjoyable and successful travel experience for business travelers.

Give your staff some advice on airport security to help them board flights more quickly.

Rental Cars

Securing a high-quality vehicle rental at a cost that suits your budget is an additional crucial aspect of transportation planning.

Once more, several businesses combine flights and rental automobiles via travel agencies or travel services. However, there are numerous methods to cut costs while renting a car on your own.

Rideshare/Taxis

Sometimes, rather than renting a vehicle, it makes more sense to simply find a taxi or rideshare option to shuttle you from place to place.

In such cases, finding the best deal (and the best service) is imperative.

Uber  and  Lyft  are usually the two most common rideshare services that new travel professionals utilize when working on location.

Gas Mileage

If your employees are driving their own vehicles or renting one for the duration of the trip, you need to factor in gas mileage expenses.

Nowadays, this is especially important, as  gas prices are rising  in many parts of the country.

Flight Mileage

Racking up frequent flier miles can sometimes help you unlock big-time savings, rewards, and bonuses when flying.

International Corporate Travel

International travel opens up a few more complex issues than domestic travel.

7. Lodging

Securing reasonably priced, yet excellent accommodation is a vital first step toward realizing your travel objectives.

The following are some considerations concerning lodging that you should make when traveling for business:

Hotels or Short-Term Housing?

If you plan to stay somewhere for less than 30 days, you’ll usually want to consider either a traditional or extended stay hotel.

But if you plan to stay for 30 days or more, you may want to look into some  short-term rental options .

Corporate Housing

Corporate housing is a term used to describe a short-term rental sourced by a company for employees who’ll need a place to live while working on location for an extended period of time.

Group Hotel Bookings

Group hotel bookings happen when a company reserves more than one room together for the same booking period.

Writing and Submitting Hotel RFPs

An RFP is a request for proposal. It’s essentially a request for hospitality companies to submit a proposal for a group booking of rooms and/or meeting space.

What Kind of Stay to Look For

When booking hotels for different periods of time, it’s always a good idea to understand the difference between the various types of stays.

How to Find the Best Hotel for the Value

It's critical to choose the best hotel for the money when making reservations for corporate business travel.

This enables you to stay within your budget while giving your crew the most comfortable lodgings possible.

Using the Right Hotel Booking Tool

We make reservations for nicer lodging at better rates with better customer support.

In addition, we provide a plethora of extras, bonuses, and value to enhance your overall hotel booking experience.

Conclusion

In order to save expenses and increase productivity, corporate travel entails organizing and arranging staff corporate travel.

Robust business travel management necessitates a thorough travel policy, meticulous itinerary planning, safety measures, a well defined budget, and compliance with tax laws.

For instance, using RFPs to obtain proposals for group hotel reservations guarantees competitive bids and accommodations that are value-driven. Potential tax complexities can be avoided by being aware of the tax laws pertaining to travel expenses, including per diem and reimbursements.