In the fast-paced world of corporate travel, choosing the right business travel agent can make a significant difference to your organisation's travel experience.
Partnering with the right travel management company (TMC) not only helps streamline business travel booking, but it also ensures that your corporate travellers have access to personalised support and expert knowledge when they need it most.
Why use a Business Travel Agent?
Managing corporate travel can be complex, time-consuming, and overwhelming. That’s why many businesses choose to partner with a business travel agency or corporate travel agent. These experts take the hassle out of arranging corporate travel bookings by leveraging their industry knowledge and network of suppliers to get you the best value for money.
The Pros of a Good Business Travel Agent
A reliable travel management company offers several advantages:
- Cost Efficiency: Business travel agents have access to exclusive rates and discounts that individual bookers can’t access. This results in savings for your travel budget.
- Time Savings: Rather than spending hours searching for the best flights and hotels, your business travel agent does it for you, in half the time, allowing your team to focus on their work.
- 24/7 Support: Business travel never stops, and neither does a good travel management company. Whether your team needs to rearrange a flight or deal with unexpected disruptions, support is just a phone call away.
- Risk Management: In today’s unpredictable world, risk management is essential. Your travel management company ensures your team is informed and safe throughout their journey.
- Tailored Solutions: From bespoke itineraries to corporate travel policies, a good business travel agency adapts to the unique needs of your company.
Types of Travel Management Company
Some travel management companies are human-led, offering personal service through dedicated travel managers. Others are purely tech-led, relying on an online booking tool (OBT) to facilitate bookings without human intervention. Then there are hybrid solutions that combine both human expertise and technology for the best of both worlds.
- Human-Led Service: Ideal for businesses that value personalised support, especially for complex travel needs. With a human-led agency you are more likely to have guaranteed, instant and reliable support. Whether for general enquiries or last minute travel emergencies.
- Tech-Led Service (OBT): Best for companies prioritising automation and straightforward bookings. With well-travelled, regular itineraries, sometimes you just need the simplicity and visibility of achieving this yourself in a few clicks. Be warned that convenience often comes with its own pitfalls. If there is any error in your booking, you need a last-minute change or have faced a cancellation that needs an urgent resolution, you may be queued talking to a chatbot, waiting for that important human interaction.
- Hybrid Service: Combines the efficiency of tech with the reassurance of human expertise. This is a great fit for many, experiencing the convenience of a booking platform for simple trips and expert human involvement for new or complicated itineraries as well as emergencies.
Values Matter: Corporate Responsibility in Business Travel
Today, companies are more aware than ever of the importance of partnering with businesses that align with their values. An effective corporate travel agency should not only deliver cost and time savings but also uphold principles of sustainability and corporate responsibility. If you have found a reliable and fast acting business travel agent that aligns with your organisations requirements, helps to reduce your carbon footprint and also gives back, you may have just found the holy grail of corporate travel agencies!
Next Steps
Consider reading through our checklist Choosing the Right Travel Management Company For You.
Is business travel booking a major headache? Discover how our tailored solutions can simplify your travel management by reading Taking Business Travel off Your To-Do List.
