April 21st, 2023

Four signs it’s time to talk to a travel management company

Enlisting the services of a travel management company can have multiple benefits for businesses, from saving time to saving money and much more besides. But many businesses which would stand to benefit don’t even get in touch with a travel management company until they’ve been running up extra costs for much longer than they need to – and some never do. 

How can you tell that it might be time for your business to work with a travel management company? Below, we run through some of the signs. 

Your staff travel rates are increasing – and so are your costs

For small businesses that have only a few staff members who travel regularly, a travel management company is not always necessary, as travel practicalities can be dealt with in-house. But when your business started out small but is consistently growing, it can be hard to identify that crucial tipping point where having travel arrangements dealt with by your own staff becomes inefficient. 

If the amount of travel your company has been organising has been growing consistently – and with it your travel spend – it might be time to consider a travel management company as an option. Through it, you can access to an integrated suite of travel management technologies, including the likes of a mobile app and all-hours support chat. It’s a simple way to streamline your processes and up your ROI before your volume of travel becomes unmanageable in-house. 

You’re starting to notice how much time is spent on travel arrangements

If you’re becoming actively aware of the amount of work going into making travel arrangements – perhaps to the point that you’re considering taking on staff members exclusively for travel matters, or already have done – then there’s a good chance your travel needs could be better met by a travel management company. Apart from the inefficiency of dedicating significant resources to travel arrangements, it’s worth remembering that it would take multiple staff members working shifts to provide the same 24/7 support that a good travel management company will offer.

Your reporting systems are getting more and more complex

Total transparency in travel reporting means keeping tabs on who is travelling where and when, what they’re doing while they’re there, how much is being spent on each trip, which suppliers are being used and a myriad of other details. If your business isn’t keeping track of all the finer points of your travel arrangements, there’s a good chance your systems aren’t as efficient as they could be. And where there’s inefficiency, there are added costs.

It can be easy enough keeping solid reporting systems in place if your company is small, but as it grows, so too will the complexity of your systems. However, with travel management technology such as our reporting suite you can take the pressure off your team. This set of indispensable tools is designed to put you back in control and give you complete oversight, knowing that everything from supplier choices to risk management is being documented in the most straightforward way. 

With everything to do with travel being dealt with in one place and by one body, you can say goodbye to ongoing email chains and juggling business relationships – at least when it comes to travel. 

Your business is struggling to meet its duty of care obligations 

Every business needs solid processes in place to ensure that duty of care obligations to staff are met. If you aren’t on top of these requirements, for whatever reason, your business could risk losing up to 10% of its annual turnover through fines if a staff member has an accident or experiences another disruption while travelling. 

Robust duty of care procedures involve many different elements. For a start, you’ll have to be able to provide travelling staff members with risk assessments before their trips and support throughout. In addition, you’ll need a comprehensive database of key information, including emergency contacts and rough itineraries for each trip. 

Again, meeting duty of care requirements is a task that becomes more challenging as your company expands. If negotiating these obligations is causing you stress, or if you simply don’t have enough staff members to take care of them, a travel management company can offer the security you need for peace of mind. You can learn about the duty of care support we offer here.

If you think a travel management company could help ease the pressure on your business, it’s worth taking a look at the overview of solutions we offer here at Travel Leaders 365.