So, what is managed travel and what can it do for your growing business?

If your company started out small, employees might have initially been allowed to book travel on their own and simply submit expenses. However, as a company grows, this straightforward process typically becomes unmanageable and your job as a Travel Manager or executive may have become complex as a result. This is where a managed travel solution can help.

Here’s everything you need to know about what is managed travel, its benefits and whether or not you’re ready to implement a managed travel solution at your midsize or smaller company.

What is managed travel?

A managed travel system or managed travel program is essentially a one-stop coordinator for all your business’s travel needs. This system can be created internally or outsourced. Its main purpose, though, is to improve your company’s business travel by ensuring all your company’s business travel is within budget and travel policy compliant. For any travel needs your company’s employees might have, they would go to this system to address them, from booking flights to submitting extra expenses.

What are the benefits of managed travel?

There are many, many benefits to implementing managed travel within your company, but the biggest one is definitely the cost savings — and these savings go far beyond just the savings you’ll see immediately when you’re reducing travel costs by not allowing employees to book whatever they want for an upcoming trip.

In addition to saving on the upfront costs of flights, hotels, rental cars and other expenses, you’ll also see savings on employee spending. If your employees are taking time out of their days to book and arrange travel, to shop around for flights or hotels, then they’re not doing their actual work. This means you could end up paying hourly employees more, or you’re paying salary employees for tasks that are not going to yield a high return.

Speaking of returns, you do expect a certain return for every business trip. Otherwise, you wouldn’t book them. You want business trips to result in new clients, sales, etcetera. Managed travel can help you create the return you’re expecting to see, by evaluating the costs necessary and the predicted returns, and setting a budget accordingly.

Beyond the money, though, managed travel also ensures that business trips stick to company policy and a good managed travel system will also make Travel Managers’ lives easier, by offering quick and easily accessible reports and data that can help inform future business decisions.

How do I know if my company is ready for managed travel?

So, is your company ready to take the plunge and begin implementing a managed travel system? There are a few signs that you might need to implement a managed travel system now (and, remember, you want this system to be in place and operational well in advance of any upcoming business travel, so plan accordingly).

Your business’s travel expenses are getting out of hand.

Do you find yourself frequently scratching your head and wondering how your business’s travel expenses are adding up to such a monumental amount? Managed travel can help with that. With a managed travel system, you can see exactly what’s being spent, where, how and by whom. Using that data, you can then make business decisions as needed, to either cut down spending or justify current spending.

Your employees struggle with adhering to company travel policy.

It’s not necessarily that your employees are willingly breaking travel policy or trying to ignore it. It just can be difficult, sometimes, for employees in certain roles to always adhere to policy, or they might have so many other work items on their plates that adhering to travel policy falls to the bottom of their lists.

For example, if you have a sales team member who needs to fly out to a potential client meeting tomorrow, they might break policy by booking a flight for a much higher cost than preferred, without getting the proper approvals or going through the right channels, because they need the flight now. Similarly, if you have a busy executive who’s rarely juggling admin tasks, you might find that they end up losing more expense receipts than not.

If your employees aren’t sticking to your current company travel policy, managed travel can help get everyone on track and compliant. Compliance goes beyond savings; it also reduces risk.

You expect your business travel to ramp up and there’s little bandwidth to manage it.

If your company has grown recently or you’ve expanded geographically, you might anticipate a lot of upcoming business travel. However, if there’s no bandwidth on your team to manage that travel, then it might be time to implement a managed travel system. Doing so before things get out of hand can ensure that things don’t get out of hand in the first place.

Are there any cons to managed travel?

Of course, managed travel does come with a few downsides, even with all the myriad benefits. Managed travel will be a switch for your team and that will require onboarding and enforcement. But this can typically be avoided with proper planning and the right travel management company. There’s also the cost of a managed travel system to consider (though you might actually be surprised at the cost; it’s often affordable for even small and mid-sized companies).

What is managed travel and do you need it?

For many businesses, investing in managed travel is a fantastic decision that benefits a company’s bottom line, while also making employees’ (including Travel Managers!) lives easier, and business travel more convenient and streamlined. With the right systems and processes in place, you can save your employees time and your company money, while ensuring you see the returns you’re hoping for with each and every business trip.

JTB Business Travel offers a range of managed travel services, helping you reduce costs, remain policy compliant and more easily book travel. Get in touch today to learn more.