Why it’s time to evaluate your travel management solution

Have you been meaning to evaluate your current travel management solution, but the task just keeps slipping down your to-do list? The holidays combined with year-end tasks always makes Q4 a hectic time, leaving inevitable catch up in Q1. We’ve all been there.

But business travel is roaring back. According to a survey from the GBTA at the end of 2022, 78% of travel managers believe their companies will increase business travel in 2023. And if your travel program is still unmanaged or you aren’t getting the support you need from your TMC, now is the time to take action. Here’s why it’s time to finally tackle that to-do list task!

You could save your company significant money

If your 2023 budget demands reducing travel spend, cutting travel isn’t your only option. In fact, that could hurt your company in the long run — corporate travel is essential to business development and client relationships that help your company grow.

Rather than cutting travel, the key is to identify and address the areas where your program is overspending. And when it comes to getting your costs under control, your TMC should be your biggest ally. For example, in a recent survey of our OMNIA Partners members, clients reported seeing an average 15% decrease in travel spend after switching to Direct Travel. What could those kinds of savings mean for your bottom line?

You’ll be able to uphold Duty of Care

Keeping your travelers safe means knowing where they are and providing immediate support in the face of disruptions. Seems simple, right? But travel managers that frequently deal with missing hotel attachments or policy leakage know upholding Duty of Care obligations can be an uphill battle.

First, your company needs a platform that efficiently tracks travelers. Second, employees need to be using that platform. Partnering with a TMC that offers an intuitive and user-friendly OBT is the key to gaining greater visibility into your travelers. Make sure the OBT includes powerful tracking and real-time alert features as well!

Platform adoption may be less painful than you think

Whether it’s that one guy on the third floor or entire departments, we all have a good sense of who in the company is most resistant to change. But this is one more area where the right TMC can make a huge difference! For example, Direct Travel offers multi-tiered engagement techniques with optional gamification programs to help drive voluntary compliance once you deploy your fully-configured OBT. Small incentives can encourage employees to check out the platform. Once they see how easy it is to use and how much time it saves, compliance will increase naturally.

The right travel management partner means your program can protect your bottom line and uphold Duty of Care while making the transition as painless as possible. But again, the key is finding the RIGHT travel management partner. So whether managing travel in-house has become overwhelming or your current solution isn’t supporting you in these areas, now is the time to evaluate your options.