A lot of entrepreneurs tend to wonder if they really need to work with a corporate travel agency? Their concerns are genuine since it is indeed difficult to find a company that will meet all the needs while keeping the limited budget in mind.
Travel has been an essential part of many businesses for decades but takes away a huge chunk of the company’s finances. This is the reason that they lean on experienced corporate travel agencies to not only help them in saving money but also in mitigating the traveling risks.
The million-dollar question here is – what should a company look for while hiring a corporate travel agency? While every business is unique and possesses distinct requirements of its own, here are the most important factors to consider while looking for the right travel agency:
Know the Requirements of Your Business
Business travel is always an investment and the companies expect to make profits out of these ventures. Before you start looking for a corporate travel agency, you must be aware of the objectives of your business so that you can make a choice accordingly.
You would want to work with someone who minimizes the expense, does not waste time, offers the best solutions for travel policy compliance, and alleviates all the risks involved in corporate traveling. Just choose someone who would make corporate traveling a breeze for you.
Easy Booking Experience
It would be nothing less than a hassle to go through a tedious process every time your employees need to travel. Look for someone who makes things easier and allows you to make bookings around your schedule.
The travelers should also be facilitated to make the booking themselves if the need arises to do so. They must have access to the flight carriers and hotel brands of their choice to ensure their comfort and to accommodate their budget.
Excellent Support During the Trip
This is where the human element comes in, and the quality of services provided by the company are tested in their truest sense. There is no technology to comfort you if something goes wrong during the journey causing a delay that can cost your company its reputation and a lot of money.
If your flight has been canceled and you really need to attend an event, only a human will be able to come up with a quick alternative solution so that your traveling is not hindered. The best kind of agencies provides upfront as well as behind the scene support to its clients.
Relevant Experience
A corporate travel consultant needs to have a different kind of experience than leisure travel organizers. Experience matters a lot as this not only lets you find the best deals but also proves to be your savior at the time of crisis.
You must check how they have worked for companies similar to yours in objectives, size, and budget. It is important that they understand your traveling needs and are able to fulfill them while avoiding expenses that exceed your given budget.
Good Communication Skills
Find out how the company reports about the travel/finance management, and how they’ll be communicating with the employees. They must be responsible and efficient enough to send reminders and updates to ensure a smooth traveling experience of their clients.
A corporate travel agency would do its best to secure your business and give you significant returns from your trips. However, this focus on excellent service and communication should not end once the contract has been signed.
Appropriate Geo-Reach
If your employees only need to travel to certain cities, there is no need to work with a big agency that has offices in many parts of the world. This approach would not only be costly but also bring about unnecessary steps to the process of traveling.
Pick an agency that matches your geographic profile, so that you can avail the best offers from them. However, if your employees do travel internationally at times, it is better to work with a small company that is associated with a big name to have broader expertise when needed.
Relies on Leading-Edge Technology
In the previous century, business travel was more of an analog process with companies mailing the itineraries. The travelers had to keep the receipts and file the expense in order to get reimbursed for it.
As for the 21st century, all of this has to be digitized and streamlined to bring efficiency in tasks and save time, money, and energy. Find such a corporate travel agency that allows you to take benefits of advanced technology and brings ease to the entire process.
Brings ROI and Value to Your Business
The most important consideration for any company is to get the best value and returns from their business travel. A corporate travel consultant who doesn’t understand the distinct needs of your business and in no way contributes to its growth is not worth working with.
An agency that provides you with the best traveling and accommodation rates, lets you work with the latest technology to save time and money, and can fit in your schedule without costing an arm and leg would eventually bring significant returns to the business.
Conclusion
Never be afraid to ask as many questions as you would like to. Hiring a corporate travel agency would take a significant portion of your company’s budget, and a lot of client dealings are dependent on corporate traveling. Working with someone who knows his field would improve your company’s performance too and bring in more revenue on investment.
Before hiring someone, make sure that you have done enough research regarding their work and experience. Apart from arming yourself with all the relevant information, you must also rely on your common sense to make the best decision, and work with someone who would benefit you in the long run.