As business leaders increasingly concern themselves with the new dynamics created by the recent global changes. We still exist in a transition phase filled with new business considerations to adapt, a major one is the uprise need for travel management companies. This framing holds especially true for the business travel industry. Now that mass vaccinations have allowed some restrictions to be lifted, there has been an uptick in business travel.

Since business travel resumed, many companies are still looking to travel agents to fulfil their travel requirements regardless of how technology and travel software evolved. With that, not only does this add to travel costs, but a company’s travel needs are too large to handle by one team. Beyond just managing booking, corporate travel involves handling factors like travel risk management, keeping employees in adherence to the company’s travel policy, post-travel reports and the list goes on. Asking online booking agents to handle all those requirements is incompatible and unfair to both your company’s goals and the agent’s. 

Therefore, regardless of your business’s size and operational capacity, you should look towards travel management companies (TMCs) as cost-effective intermediaries to whom you can outsource all your travel needs. Having a TMC is a great business decision regardless of the needs and size of your business; it will reduce your travel costs and add value to your business by increasing its operational efficiency. 

However, a wide array of TMCs has popped up as travel restrictions were lifted. It can get difficult to navigate through the avalanche of travel management services available, and that is what this article is for. It will inform you of everything you need to know about TMCs while helping you choose the one best suited for your company.

What do travel management companies do?

A travel management company is essentially tasked with bettering the company’s travel management programme by aiding in the implementation of travel policy, expense management and duty of care. All while providing a venue for the company to streamline their travel management programme into one platform, from the admin needs down to the booking of flights and hotels. The TMC, which specializes in handling travel requirements as well, offers more options for travel to clients than traditional agents, sells its services to different companies and individuals, and keeps track of all travel expenses. In addition, a TMC will also help you schedule corporate events and meetings with different individuals, provide concierge services, and assist you with risk management. 

The purpose of a TMC is to provide its client with optimal business comfort, increase the efficiency of their travel management flow, and optimize their resources by reducing unnecessary expenditure on travel logistics. In general, a TMC will provide you with all the services that a travel agency does, but there are certain additional facilities that I will explore below.

Why do you need a travel management company?

While a TMC can do everything an agency can handle, the former has a structural edge over the latter owing to its capabilities to do much more. TMCs use cost-effective management methods to ensure that you don’t run into miscellaneous issues that hurt productivity and affect the functioning of a business. You can’t account for all possible concerns while planning a trip, such as miscommunication regarding travel documents, the non-existence of itineraries and general planning facilities, and even post-travel paperwork that can be very stressful for employees. These issues ultimately negatively affect your company’s morale and can be quite unnecessarily costly.

If you seek the use of a TMC, all of these issues can be avoided. Leading travel management companies such as TruTrip allow you 24/7 support from travel experts. Since the sole purpose of these companies is to provide you with the smoothest possible corporate travel experience, they will essentially automate your entire travel management process through a round-the-clock prioritization of your business trip.

What makes a good travel management company

As what’s discussed so far, there is great merit to having a TMC, let’s move on to what you should look for when buying services in the corporate travel market. The first and most important thing you need to have is a clear sense of the goals and requirements of your company. No TMC is a one size fits all solution, so, you need to have a clear-cut sense of your priorities and affordability. Only then can you seek a TMC that suits your purposes. 

With the goals set, you can now look at TMC features that best fit your business priorities. For example, leading travel management companies like TruTip prioritize a hands-on approach to your travel needs. This entails providing customer service excellence in the form of 24/7 human support through the availability of chatbots and call centres, integrated health and safety information, policy-regulated bookings, a well-planned itinerary, and a proper tracking mechanism that allows you to handle all post-travel documents stress with ease. A good TMC will provide this support throughout the travel process, from pre-planning to execution to handling the post-travel stress.

How can you engage a travel management company?

If this article has convinced you to seek the services of a TMC. There are a lot out there that can easily be available to you online. This is mostly what you can expect, then again, it still varies from one TMC to another. Here’s the usual process for engaging a TMC:

1. An initial investigation. This involves understanding the problems you are trying to solve and then providing a walkthrough of all possible solutions. 
2. Then a demonstration of the platform is done usually by the sales team of the TMC, which usually lasts 30-45 minutes. In the demo, you get a better understanding of how the platform can match your current travel needs. 
3. Next would be stakeholder alignment, at this stage TMC will help you align some gaps and remove significant barriers to decision-making processes. 
4. The solution. This is where the sign-up takes place, it varies, some TMCs have an arranged time you have to avail of, in TruTrip, we allow our clients to choose the length of the contract that suits their needs. 
5. Set up the policies. Most TMC platform allows you to integrate your travel policy into the platform, though the implementation and personalisation are different. 
6. Onboard your travellers: TMCs can help with the orientation and onboarding of your employees. Travel managers and the admin are usually the first ones. 
7. Book your first business trip! 

Engage a TMC with a platform that allows you to reduce travel costs by up to 35%

With TruTrip we can streamline your business travel needs, by providing you with the optimal travel solutions, and also give you the best value for your business. If you’re interested in how a tailor-fit travel management platform can help you can book a demo or sign up for a free trial now!