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Corporate Travel Management, Business Travel Services & Solutions

Modern corporate travel management for the fast-changing travel landscape

Manage risk. Support traveler wellbeing. Plan for the future. How can Egencia™ help you modernize your corporate travel program?

The only proven global B2B travel tech platform

Egencia is always working to deliver travelers, travel managers, and travel arrangers unrivaled choice, value, and experience, with the powerful backing of Amex GBT.

We’re in a league of our own

Our platform can be optimized for all types of users, in companies big or small.

Tech is in our DNA   We originated in the labs of global tech giants and now we are a part of the most valuable B2B travel solution in the world.

AI-driven insights   Our AI delivers custom user experiences that add value to your company’s travel program.

Suite of APIs   Amex GBT Egencia’s open API platform gives you the ability to build robust integrations that help you automate, connect and simplify your travel and expense management.

Unbeatable travel content We lead the industry with over 290 global airlines and 650,000 lodging partners.

Industry-first NDC capabilities Amex GBT Egencia is the first to offer new distribution capabilities to our clients. 

Amex GBT Egencia Preferred Rates  We offer the best value for business travel with access to special discounted air fares.

The unique content from Amex GBT Egencia provides unrivaled choice and value for air, hotel, car and rail.

Our technology-driven customer service and commitment to excellence puts Amex GBT Egencia on another level.

Industry leader in service Our platform and services are consistently rated above 95% satisfaction by customers.

Best-in-class traveler support We provide services to over 2 million travelers in over 60 countries.

Globally proven Amex GBT Egencia proudly supports over 9,000 companies of all sizes around the world.

Constant innovation We consistently deliver enhancements and innovation across our online and offline services.

Smartest shopping experience Our technology provides the smartest, quickest shopping experience to give the best routes and rates based on user preferences.

Proven optimization Our AI and machine learning delivers the best experience and enhancements for savings, traveler wellbeing and sustainability.

We lead the industry in innovation, with data insights from 100s of millions of transactions every year.

The world's business travel platform

• Companies of all sizes in more than 60 countries trust Amex GBT Egencia to modernize their corporate travel programs
• We deliver simple, consumer-like business travel that users love and fast, knowledgeable support for unexpected moments
• With a globally consistent platform and skilled travel program management, rest assured your travel program is optimized to manage risk while maximizing ROI

Ready to update your travel program?

If now is the time to redesign your corporate travel program to manage risk, support traveler wellbeing and monitor your travel spend, this toolkit can help.

Amex GBT Egencia helps you stay connected

14 million business trips were made with Amex GBT Egencia last year. As your travel management company, we’ll be with you every step of the way.

Managing travel risk

Travel risk management has never been more important. Find out how you can manage risk, deliver duty of care and make your business travelers feel secure.

• A comprehensive and quickly adaptable business travel policy is crucial. Use this free guide to help you create a travel policy that adapts to your needs.
• Make traveler wellbeing a priority. Inform, alert and assist them in real-time via the mobile app and online booking tool
• Reduce risk by improving travel policy compliance

Putting traveler wellbeing first

You want employees to feel fully supported from the time they book until they return home. Amex GBT Egencia travel experts are ready to assist.

• Learn how you can enhance your duty of care policies for travelers
• Travel booking is only one part of the equation. Traveler safety is the other. Use this pre-travel safety checklist as a guide
• Learn how Amex GBT Egencia simplifies hotel bookings for travelers .
• Put your travelers in the driver’s seat and take advantage of our fleet of 5 million car rental options worldwide

Savings and ROI

Even as the travel industry changes, businesses still need to make strategic decisions based on cost and ROI. Amex GBT Egencia can help you boost your bottom line.

• Gain insights, identify savings and optimize travel spend in real-time with Amex GBT Egencia Analytics Studio
• Find out how Umpqua Bank maximized their business travel ROI with Amex GBT Egencia
• Amex GBT Egencia travel services can help simplify expense management . Easily track travel expenses that reflect spending with personal or corporate credit cards
• 19 ways our travel management solutions can help you save time and money

Amex GBT Egencia empowers over 2 million business travelers to get the most out of their business travel. Shouldn’t you be one of them?

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What Is Corporate Travel Management?

Things to consider in corporate travel management, options for corporate travel management.

• Challenges of Corporate Travel Management

Tips for Creating a Corporate Travel Management Policy

Budgeting and reducing costs for corporate travel, the bottom line.

• Corporate Finance

A Complete Guide to Corporate Travel Management

Organize Your Employees’ Travel Itineraries and Manage Business Travel Efficiently

Travel is a major expense item for many companies, and while teleconferencing via Zoom and other online platforms may have eliminated the need for some trips, it remains essential for a wide range of business purposes, such as industry conferences and trade shows, critical sales calls, and certain meetings.

Corporate travel management (CTM) is one way that companies large and small can attempt to control and cut down on their travel costs. If you’re considering implementing a corporate travel management program for your business, here is what you need to know about how it works.

Key Takeaways

• Corporate travel management is a way for companies to try to control their travel costs and cut back on them if necessary.
• Some companies handle this function themselves, while others outsource it to specialist companies.
• Corporate travel managers can be involved in setting itineraries, booking flights and hotel rooms, and managing other travel-related costs.
• Today, many companies are concerned with not only the financial costs of employee travel but also its environmental impact.

Corporate travel management refers to processes that businesses put into place to oversee their employees’ travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses and ensure that they comply with the company’s policies. That can include approving (or rejecting) travel plans, arranging itineraries, purchasing tickets, and auditing expense reports.

A large company might have a separate department dedicated to corporate travel management, while a smaller one may assign the tasks to their human resources and accounting departments. Still others may outsource these functions to third-party travel management companies.

While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant cutbacks in business travel, an October 2023 survey by the Global Business Travel Association found that 84% of companies said their business travel had “largely” or “mostly” returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Companies can choose to exert varying degrees of control over their employees’ travel, from fairly general guidelines on spending limits to very specific, step-by-step procedures, including which travel suppliers to use. Here are some of the matters they may take into consideration.

Itineraries

A business travel itinerary is a summary of a proposed trip, including travel dates and times, flight numbers, hotel bookings, meeting appointments and contact information, and so forth. Corporate travel managers may develop itineraries in collaboration with employees, making sure that each aspect complies with company policies. A written itinerary is also a handy reference for employees to bring with them on their trips.

Transportation

Corporate travel managers will often make transportation arrangements on behalf of employees, much like a travel agent might for someone’s personal vacation. Because they may control a high volume of business, they can have more leverage in negotiating with suppliers, such as airlines or rental car companies. They may also have special arrangements with certain suppliers, and the company might require its employees to use those suppliers whenever possible.

Even if they don’t have such arrangements in place or much power to negotiate prices, they may have tools at their disposal for searching out deals and discounts that individual employees don’t have. For example, they may have access to an online global distribution system (GDS), such as Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport, allowing them to compare multiple carriers at the same time.

Accommodations

As with transportation providers, corporate travel managers can help arrange hotel bookings, often securing discounts that would be unavailable to employees individually. Hotel prices and availability are also provided on GDS platforms, which can save employees a lot of time and effort calling around to book a room.

Meetings and Events

For companies planning meetings and other events, corporate travel managers can book venues and assist attendees with their travel arrangements. Some companies may have separate travel management and event planning departments or merge the two into a single department. They can also farm out these functions to third-party companies that specialize in arranging events and have deep experience and contacts in that area.

Costs and Reporting

Since keeping costs under control is a major reason for implementing a corporate travel management program, setting spending policies and enforcing them is one of the managers’ key responsibilities. Employees must generally submit expense reports at the conclusion of their travel, which travel managers can then review.

Keeping accurate records, and receipts where necessary, is also important for tax reporting purposes. Companies can generally deduct employees’ travel expenses if they have a clear business purpose and are “ordinary and necessary” and not “lavish or extravagant.”

In many cases, companies will provide corporate credit cards for employees to use during their travels. Corporate credit cards can make it easier for companies to collect the information they need for reporting purposes, and spare employees the cost and bother of putting travel expenses on their own credit cards and having to wait for reimbursement.

Policy Compliance

Most companies of any size will have a written travel policy that they expect their employees who travel for business to become familiar with. This document will cover matters such as any required approval process before starting on a trip, spending limits, preferred travel suppliers, expenses that are reimbursable (or not), rules on the use of a corporate credit card, and how to fill out and submit an expense report at the conclusion of a trip. Written travel policies serve the dual purpose of controlling company costs and saving employees unwelcome surprises over expenses that the company won’t reimburse them for.

Beyond specific travel-related policies, corporate travel can be affected by broader company policies. For example, a 2023 Deloitte study reported, “Climate concerns will likely put a cap on corporate travel gains for several years to come. Four in 10 European companies and a third of U.S. companies say they need to reduce travel per employee by more than 20% to meet their 2030 sustainability targets.”

Travel Support and Assistance

In addition to helping employees with the logistical and financial aspects of travel, corporate travel managers can provide other forms of support, including help in a medical or other emergency. Many large corporate travel departments and third-party companies have support services available 24/7, just in case.

As mentioned, companies don’t have to take on all (or any) of these responsibilities themselves but can hire another company to handle it for them. While that represents an added cost, a company that specializes in corporate travel is likely to bring greater expertise to the role and may find cost savings that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Companies can also buy travel management software programs that allow employees to book their own travel arrangements and that may link to the company’s accounting software to simplify expense reporting. Such software can also flag and even reject any expenses that don’t comply with company rules.

If they don’t have access to professional GDS platforms, travel managers can also make use of regular consumer booking sites, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor.

Challenges of Corporate Travel Management 

While corporate travel management will often benefit a company from a financial perspective, it does present challenges.

For example, because it takes away some of the autonomy that employees may have become accustomed to in planning their own trips, it can cause them to feel mistrusted or micromanaged and make travel seem like more of a burden. In addition, for corporate travel management to be effective, it requires that the people who oversee it know what they’re doing, which may require not only training but also frequent refresher courses to keep up with the rapidly changing travel industry.

A good corporate travel management policy will lay out as specifically as possible the company’s rules for arranging flights and other transportation, booking hotel accommodations, and expensing other reimbursable travel-related costs, such as meals and entertaining. Any caps on costs should be regularly revisited and revised as necessary to keep up with inflation and changes in the marketplace.

The policy should describe a clear process for having travel approved in advance, if that’s required, and submitting expense reports after the trip for timely reimbursement.

An effective policy will also strive to avoid situations in which lower-level employees feel they are subject to stricter or more penny-pinching rules than higher-ups.

Finally, it’s important that employees be encouraged to read the policy and know the rules. They may also be given the opportunity to provide feedback on ways that the rules can be improved next time the policy is revised.

Corporate travel managers not only play a role in monitoring how a company’s money is being spent and looking for ways to cut its costs. They also often have a major say in setting the company’s annual travel budget, based on previous years’ needs and anticipated pricing changes throughout the travel industry.

Today that may involve weighing in on when a virtual meeting can substitute for an in-person one. A 2023 Morgan Stanley survey of 100 global corporate travel managers found that they planned to replace 17% of their corporate travel with virtual meetings in 2024 for reasons “ranging from cost savings to lower carbon footprints.”   

Why Is Corporate Travel Important?

While many companies learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that they could sometimes substitute virtual meetings for in-person ones, they have also found that travel can more than justify its cost in many instances . As Harvard Business School Associate Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury remarked in a recent interview on the university’s website, “Even in a hybrid world, even in a world of work-from-anywhere, we still need to occasionally meet colleagues in person for social purposes.” In addition, face-to-face meetings can help establish more profitable and productive relationships with a company’s key customers and suppliers.

Who Handles Corporate Travel?

Companies handle corporate travel in a variety of ways. Many have created internal departments dedicated to corporate travel management, while others outsource that role. However, many companies still leave most of the decisions to individual employees. One 2023 survey by Morning Consult Research Intelligence reported, “Over half (51%) of those who travel frequently for work book on their own using a platform of their choice.”

What Does Corporate Travel Include?

Corporate travel can include both domestic and international trips that have a business purpose. It generally doesn’t include employees’ everyday commuting. Commuting costs are not tax-deductible for employees, but companies can choose to subsidize them up to certain limits through what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls qualified transportation benefits. Those benefits are not taxable to the employee, but the employer doesn’t get any tax deduction for providing them.

Corporate travel is expensive, but many companies find that its benefits outweigh the costs. Corporate travel management is one way that companies can try to keep those costs under control and get the most value from their travel budgets. While many companies have embraced corporate travel management programs, others still leave most decisions to their individual employees.

Global Business Travel Association. “ Global Business Travel Industry Sees Rebound in 2023 with Shifting Challenges and Opportunities for 2024 .”

American Express. “ What Is Corporate Travel Management and Why Do You Need It? ”

Internal Revenue Service. “ Topic No. 511, Business Travel Expenses .”

Deloitte. “ Navigating Toward a New Normal: 2023 Deloitte Corporate Travel Study .”

Oracle NetSuite. “ What Is Corporate Travel Management? ”

Morgan Stanley. “ 2023 Outlook: Business Travel Bounces Back .”

Harvard Business School. “ Why Business Travel Still Matters in a Zoom World .”

Morning Consult Research Intelligence. “ Business, but Not as Usual ,” Page 18.

Internal Revenue Service. “ Publication 15-B: Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits ,” Page 22.

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The complete corporate travel planner guide

As a decision maker in your company, there’s a lot to think about. That’s why we’re laying out everything you need to know about corporate travel planning in this guide.

By Jessica Freedman

May 30, 2024

When you think about effective corporate travel planning, it’s more than just crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s. It’s about saving money, making sure your employees are happy and safe when traveling for business and about making the most out of business trips. You might wonder how to make this possible. With our corporate travel planning guide you will find out: how to save on corporate travel, how to manage travel effectively and what you need to know to plan a trip.

Ready? Let’s dive in!

What you need to plan a business trip

Follow these easy steps to plan your next trip. Keep reading to get more ideas about how to save when it comes to planning.

6 Ways to save on corporate travel planning

When you are a small business or a start-up you may find yourself wasting time or effort on tasks that shouldn’t be so hard. It’s important to find a balance between obsessive control and disorganization. We’re here to remind you how to save and be on the top of your game. These six steps will help you master your budget and time management.

1. Plan in advance with a corporate travel planner

One of the top ways to save money on corporate travel is by planning ahead of time. It may seem obvious but if you plan a business trip a week before, you will pay a lot more in airfare and sometimes hotel rates and car rentals go up as it gets closer to the date. By planning ahead you can make better choices about your business calendar because people’s schedules won’t have booked up yet. 

Once your employees have evaluated future business partners’ or your colleagues’ availability they can make informed decisions about the best time to travel. This way you are sure to encourage your employees to make the most out of their business trips by being sure everyone is available in the time frame that was decided, as well as being able to evaluate if a trip is really necessary or if it’s possible to just meet virtually. 

Generally speaking, it makes sense to plan a trip if a lot of potential clients are located in the same area, that way your employees can maximize their meetings on one trip. If you need help evaluating whether a business trip is necessary, check out our blog To Travel or not to Travel , which will help you make more sustainable decisions.

2. Define your goals

A successful business starts with having goals and objectives. While business travel is just a small part of your core business, it’s also important to have it under control, with clear goals lined out. Defining clear objectives for business trips will help you make better decisions about who to send on a trip and if it’s really necessary to travel. Whether you have a corporate travel planner or not within your company, planning is everything.

3. Have a clear and detailed travel policy

A travel policy is like a north star for corporate travel programs allowing you to save money and streamline the whole process so that even if you don’t have a corporate travel planner on staff, you are prepared to handle business travel in the best way possible. It should include a clear approval process, everything necessary to manage corporate meetings, such as corporate hotel booking , corporate flights , corporate car rental and per diem allowances and a reimbursement policy. 

Be sure to be clear about who is allowed to travel business class versus economy, what hotels are allowed and who is in charge of approving travel. The stricter you are, the more you will make a difference in your company’s bottom line. Travel savings come by being vigilant with your travel policy.

Don’t know where to get started with your travel policy ?

4. save on hotel and airfare.

Saving money on business trips starts with one of the most important things of all: hotels and airfare. By working with a travel management platform like GetGoing you can get access to the best travel deals on flights and hotels. Instead of scouring the internet for the best prices you can be confident that your employees have access to all the best fares. This way you know whether a flight or a hotel is within your travel budget so you can easily approve a trip or let one of your managers do so. 

5. Optimize business trips 

The only way to fully reduce your travel spend and optimize business trips is to get everyone involved. Get together with your whole team to give them ideas about what makes a good corporate travel planner and how to be more efficient and organized on their business trips. For example, encourage employees to share transportation to and from the airport. Sometimes it can be cheaper to leave a car at the airport than pay a taxi round trip. 

Work with your office managers and HR representatives to develop a training program around corporate travel planning so that everyone is on the same page. Only once you have educated employees about how to optimize business travel can you be sure that everyone is working together towards a common goal.

6. Reduce effort

Reducing the effort of travel planning starts with encouraging traveling smarter. If your employees have to make a trip, make sure they consolidate their visits and meetings to make it worthwhile and cost effective. Corporate travel planners and individuals must be organized to make this happen, planning in advance and planning ahead both in the short-term and long-term. 

Foresee the meetings and conferences that happen yearly, and the clients that should be visited regularly. Once you have the year mapped out, it will be easier to create a budget and forecast your travel spend. You will also be able to better evaluate if your employees (and your budget) have left room for more travel. Of course, be sure to set aside some budget for last minute trips.

How to manage corporate travel planning effectively

Once you’ve planned ahead of time, defined your goals, have had a clear and detailed travel policy, found a way to save on airfare and hotels, optimized your business trips by reducing effort, you’re on your way to effectively managing corporate travel planning effectively and cost efficiently. But there’s more to it! It’s important to be resilient, keep open communication channels, cede control when necessary, and work with an all-in-one business travel management platform.

Be resilient

Another important part of effective travel planning is being resilient. Things won’t always go as you planned or budgeted for so be sure to have a flexible travel policy that you can update and manage easily.

Keep open communication channels

Check in frequently with your road warriors to see when changes are needed, and keep communication open and honest. The more employees feel their opinion is valued, the more the process of planning business travel will become a symbiotic effort. Their input is crucial to continue to innovate and be productive on the road. 

Cede some control

As the head of a small company you are probably used to wearing a lot of different hats, but that doesn’t mean you should be in control of everything that happens in the company. While control can be good in some ways when it comes to things like having control over your budget, but when it comes to corporate travel planning, it’s ok to surrender some control. Delegating is one of the easiest ways to do this. 

Once you know who to delegate to, let your organizational structure do the work for you. Have your travel policy be created and then look over it. Make sure to set up your approvers in your travel management platform so each staff member knows what they’re in charge of. Once you automate your travel policy , it works in the background so you don’t have to worry about a thing. 

Try automation

The more you can automate, the less manual work for your team, which means saving time. And time is money!! So find a travel management tool that can help you automate the approval steps, your travel policy, and everything that might involve having to send an extra email. The more technology can work for you, the more you can focus on what really matters.

Make sure you have an all-in-one travel management platform

A travel management platform is your key to optimize corporate travel planning. You can set up and automate your travel policy, delegate your approvers, and cede control, knowing that your platform is working for you around the clock to make sure you make the most of your business travel program. 

This corporate travel guide is designed to give you the tips to optimize and save on business travel. Want to hear more? Schedule a meeting now to find out what GetGoing can do for you.

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The complete guide to corporate travel planning

The challenges of corporate travel planning, compliance and control, cost management, traveler safety, digitization, 7 steps and best practices for planning successful corporate trips, 1) budget wise and clear.

• How much funding is available for this trip?
• How can we keep spend low, while not shortcutting on traveler safety?
• Are there any potential cost-saving measures or alternative options to consider?
• Can we benchmark the return of investment (ROI) of this trip against previous trips?

“A big thing we consider for business trips is the company’s expense policy, and giving employees the resources they need to act on it. Employees should have a clear understanding of what they’re allowed to expense, and how much they’re allowed to expense on each category. For example, hotels, food, and transportation all need policies, budgets, and clear guidelines.”

2) Craft a digestible corporate travel policy

3) choose the right travel management platform or software.

• What specific features and functionalities are essential for our organization's travel management needs?
• How user-friendly is the platform for both travel planners and travelers?
• What level of support and assistance does the platform provider offer?
• Are there any potential integration challenges with our existing systems or processes?
• What level of training and support will be necessary to ensure the successful adoption and usage of the software or platform?
• How can we measure the effectiveness and return on investment of the software over time?

4) Run thorough destination research

5) craft detailed itineraries, 6) book in advance, 7) choose your accommodation wisely.

• How important is proximity to the primary business activities or event venue?
• What amenities or services are essential for ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable stay that’s within budget?
• Is the room far enough from street level if you’re booking in a busy city?
• Is the accommodation type suitable for business travelers— we don’t want to be booking CEOs in hostels!

Key metrics for measuring travel management success

• cost savings achieved
• traveler satisfaction
• compliance rates
• percentage of changes and cancellations

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