When business Travelers book out-of-policy, it can result in a variety of negative consequences — which is why it’s oh-so-important that you educate your Travelers on what it means when they do so and why compliance matters.
As a Travel Manager or Arranger, you already know that when a Traveler books outside of the mandated travel policy, you can potentially face a range of issues. Duty of care becomes more difficult. Budgets are blown, and tracking down spending and expense reports becomes a headache. Travelers are likely wasting more time than they think booking out of policy, too, which means lost time, lost productivity, and lost profitability. Supplier relationships can suffer. There’s a whole host of issues.
However, most often, Travelers aren’t booking outside of policy in a conscious or malicious wish to skirt around organizational mandates. Instead, they often just don’t understand why it matters. Because of this, it’s vital you educate your Travelers on what it means when they book outside your policy and how those negative impacts can trickle down to them as well.
Not sure where to get started or what you need to communicate first? Here are three things to educate your Travelers on, when discussing business travel policies.
1. They’re not actually saving the company money when booking out of policy.
Sometimes, well-meaning Travelers will insist they can find a better deal on their upcoming trip. They’re looking at their options, and the price they found out of policy is lower. It’s a no-brainer to book the lower-cost option, right? Well, not really, and that’s something you need to educate your Travelers on.
While they may assume they’re saving the company money by booking out of policy, they don’t understand the full picture. There are instances where provider partnerships mean lower overall costs, even though those costs are hidden on the front end. In some instances, partnerships may mean not getting a rock-bottom rate for a hotel, but it could mean getting complimentary amenities and services that business Travelers need and would otherwise pay for later (such as in-room WiFi or parking).
Likewise, it’s important to note that booking within the confines of the organization’s policy is often the quickest and most convenient option. The time savings cannot be discounted. If Travelers are spending potentially hours trying to find a supposed “deal” on their travel, they’re wasting both time and money.
2. They might not always receive reimbursement when booking out of policy.
In some cases, a Travel Manager is introducing a new or revised travel policy to a team. If prior travel policies have been more relaxed, then some team members may think that they can just expense any travel cost and receive reimbursement without worries. However, educate your Travelers on how this is not always the case and booking out of policy can make getting a reimbursement more difficult.
3. Duty of care becomes more difficult when booking out of policy.
Employers have a duty of care to their traveling employees, ensuring that they’re kept safe at all times while on the road, as well as that all of their basic needs are met. However, when Travelers book outside of policy, duty of care becomes infinitely more difficult.
Part of duty of care is knowing where your Travelers are at all times. Many in-policy travel booking platforms provide full itineraries for your Travelers. They show where they are during a business trip and when. Some even offer tracking capabilities. However, once Travelers book out of policy, tracking is more difficult. This may not seem like a concern to your Travelers at the moment. However, it’s something that’s crucial in the event of an emergency.
Make sure you’re doing your part, too!
You can educate your Travelers all you want, but if you’re not doing your part as a Travel Manager to make the travel policy easy to understand, easy to adhere to and overall beneficial to your Travelers, then it’s going to be harder than ever to maintain compliance.
So, do you have some room for improvement? Ask Travelers for feedback and input. Try to understand why they might be booking out of policy and what you can do in your role to alleviate their need to do so.
For example, do business Travelers book out of policy because they want to earn points or miles on their own loyalty accounts? Show them how they can still earn points and miles while traveling for business within the policy’s confines.
Do they find that the user experience on your travel booking platform is unwieldy or frustrating? It might be time to switch to a new platform, such as Zoho or Concur.
Do they find that the travel options available to them aren’t ideal for their own work-life balance or needs outside of their job? You might want to reevaluate how your policy impacts your teams beyond cost savings and productivity. Along these lines, as bleisure travel — the combination of a business and leisure trip — remains popular, you’ll likely need to adjust your policies. Allow Travelers to extend their stays on their own. Allow them to begin a trip early to enjoy leisure time before their work trip begins. Studies found that 40% of business Travelers planned to take a bleisure trip in 2023, compared to 29% in 2022.
Above all, ensure that communication is always an option. Make sure your Travelers can reach you when they have questions regarding your booking process. Make it as easy as possible for them to remain compliant, and you’ll find compliance increases overall.
Need more help?
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