It can be challenging for procurement experts and travel managers to keep up with the ever-evolving corporate travel sector and guarantee the optimal performance of their programme.
In most cases, this leads to a programme that does its job but isn’t designed for efficiency. If you’re looking to save money without sacrificing quality of service or programme results, outsourcing your travel management is one option to consider.
The role of an outsourced business travel agency
An outsourced business travel agency may help your programme in many ways, including process optimisation, product rollout, compliance management, vendor relationship building, and traveller happiness.
Business travel agencies can do things like create and implement a travel plan, administer the entire programme, head up Traveller Engagement activities, and function as the internal point of contact for travellers.
In the end, a travel agency’s duties will change depending on the specifics of each business. A cookie-cutter method won’t work here. Instead, they will focus on tailoring travel arrangements to the specific demands of your firm and its objectives.
Overall risk is reduced
Without a dedicated business travel agency, many workers end up booking their own trips. A serious duty of care problem may result from this. When there is no official record of individual employees’ booking details, serious risks can arise.
In addition, you probably overpay for transportation and lodging and miss out on valuable information on travel details. Was their time away fruitful? Is the hotel they chose a short commute to work? Is there free breakfast and internet access? Without this information, you can’t make informed decisions on how to improve the effectiveness of your programme.
Rather than dealing with the hassle of managing it in-house, you can save time and money by outsourcing.
How your travel programme is improved by an outsourced travel agency
When you bring on an outsourced business travel agency you’ll see improvements across the board for both your travel programme and the company as a whole.
Many business travel agencies have extensive experience in the travel sector, having previously worked as travel agents, account managers, in-house travel managers, and other related roles.
One of the main advantages of outsourcing is the opportunity to leverage years of accumulated industry knowledge without investing significant time and resources into its acquisition in-house.
When you work with a business travel agency your business travel budget will thank you. In many cases, the work of two or three individuals can be accomplished by a single full-time equivalent employee (FTE). In a company that isn’t in the travel business, this is crucial information to have.
If you want your business’s travel programme to achieve its objectives, your outsourced business travel agency can use industry knowledge and connections to help you enhance your travel rules, procedures, results, and negotiations with suppliers.
Business travel agencies can monitor your program’s metrics on a regular basis and adapt the strategy as needed. You can then swiftly take action if necessary to ensure that your suppliers and partners are honouring the terms of any offers or discounts they have promised.
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