In today's fast-paced business landscape, travel management companies play a crucial role in optimizing travel processes for organizations. By leveraging technology, these companies streamline travel operations and enhance efficiency. In this blog post, we will explore the various technological tools and platforms travel management companies use to achieve these objectives. Specifically, we will focus on online booking systems, mobile apps, travel expense management software, and reporting dashboards. As an example solution, we will highlight the offerings we provide with our Corporate Travel Solution.
The Pillars of Modern Travel Management
Before delving into the specific tools, let's first understand the pillars of modern travel management. These principles guide travel management companies in optimizing their processes:
- Trust: Trusting travellers to book using the approved process and policy, while making it easy for them.
- Transparency: Allowing travelers to see their spending limits and choose accordingly, while providing visibility to finance and administrative teams regarding bookings.
- Simplicity: Creating a process that meets the needs of all stakeholders involved.
- Impact: Measuring the impact of business travel on the company and reducing unnecessary trips to avoid exhausted travellers and unnecessary expenses.
- Duty of care: Ensuring a comprehensive duty of care strategy to mitigate risks for employees when travelling.
- Sustainability: Being aware of the environmental impact of travel and adopting practices to reduce it1.
Tools for Streamlining Travel Processes
Online Booking Systems
The first step in managing travel efficiently is selecting a smart booking tool. Travel management companies, such as BNW Corporate, offer online booking systems that are built on trust, transparency, and simplicity. Key features to look for in a travel management platform include:
- Self-booking within policy: Trusting travelers to book within defined policies and parameters.
- Consolidated invoicing: Obtaining one monthly invoice from a single vendor for all travel, eliminating the hassle of managing multiple invoices.
- Travel spend reporting: Providing easy access to finance and administrative teams to track travel itinerary details and expenses by cost centers, tags, or labels.
- Easy booking process with consumer-grade user experience (UX): Ensuring a user-friendly tool that simplifies the booking experience and encourages compliance. Introducing a mobile app can further enhance the user experience.
- Great inventory: Offering a wide range of travel options to meet diverse traveler preferences.
- 24/7 travel support: Providing round-the-clock assistance in the traveler's native language, ensuring help is available even when the internal admin team is unavailable2.
Mobile Experience
Travel management companies leverage mobile booking tools to empower travellers with convenient access to their travel information, bookings, itineraries, and support services. Mobile booking tools enable travellers to stay organized, make changes on the go, receive real-time updates, and access emergency assistance if needed.
Travel Expense Management Software
Efficient management of travel expenses is crucial for organizations. Travel expense management software simplifies the process by automating expense tracking, reimbursement, and policy compliance. Key features of such software include:
- Streamlined expense reporting: Allowing travellers to submit their expenses and automating the approval workflow easily. if you want to learn more about expense management click here.
- Real-time spend visibility: Enabling finance and administrative teams to track travel spending in real time and analyze trends for cost control.
- Integration with travel booking systems: Facilitating seamless data transfer between booking systems and expense management software, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring accurate expense reporting.
In the example of BNW Travel, expense management software simplifies corporate travel by automating tracking, reimbursement, and policy compliance. It streamlines expense reporting, offering spend visibility, and integrates seamlessly with booking systems that pull flights from multiple providers making sure you always get the best deal.
Reporting Dashboards
Travel management companies utilize reporting dashboards to provide comprehensive insights into travel data. These dashboards enable companies to monitor travel spending, track compliance with travel policies, and identify areas for optimization. Reporting dashboards provide real-time data visualization and analytics, empowering decision-makers with actionable insights to drive cost savings and improve travel management strategies.
In the example of BNW Travel's reporting, we deliver comprehensive insights into travel data, enabling real-time monitoring of spending and policy compliance. By identifying optimization opportunities, these dashboards empower decision-makers to drive cost savings and refine travel strategies.
Conclusion
Travel management companies leverage technology to enhance efficiency and streamline travel processes for organizations. Online booking systems, mobile apps, travel expense management software, and reporting dashboards are key tools in their arsenal. By selecting smart booking tools that prioritize trust, transparency, and simplicity, travel management companies can empower travellers, streamline processes, and improve compliance. Mobile apps enable convenient access to travel information and support services, while travel expense management software automates expense tracking and reimbursement. Reporting dashboards provide real-time data visualization and analytics for informed decision-making.
In conclusion, by leveraging technology and utilizing these tools, travel management companies can optimize travel operations, enhance efficiency, and achieve cost savings. Companies like BNW Corporate offer comprehensive solutions that encompass online booking systems, mobile apps, travel expense management software, and reporting dashboards, providing organizations with the tools they need to streamline travel processes and enhance their overall travel management strategies. With these technological advancements, travel management companies are at the forefront of enhancing the travel experience for businesses and their employees.
