The organization of business trips is a complex task for those companies that usually carry out this type of activity. companies that usually carry out this type of activity. And even more so for the people in charge of managing it all.
Therefore, having a corporate travel policy can help to facilitate all this management.
What is a travel policy?
A corporate travel policy is a set of rules that regulate, control and optimize business regulate, control and optimize business travel in a way that makes it easier for a company or office manager to the company or office manager to manage this task.
This document is of tremendous importance because it affects the time and cost of the company, mainly. time and cost of the company, mainly. Therefore, it is necessary to have a suitable policy is necessary if we want to have a better control of the company's travel expenses. travel-related expenses in the company.
In addition, it will provide greater autonomy and peace of mind for employees or travelers, as they will have more control over their actions. employees or travelers, as they will have greater control over their actions and will have no and will have no doubts about what they can or cannot do.
However, very many companies do not have this type of document ready when they are preparing to document when they are about to make a trip and, therefore, they act on the fly, without any control. on the fly, without any kind of control.
Unfortunately, there is no general policy for all companies. companies. This is because each company has different resources. It is therefore necessary to have a policy adapted to the company.
Potential problems with a corporate travel policy
One of the biggest problems that can occur is that travelers may book outside the booking outside the policy limits, which would imply an increase in costs to the company. costs to the company.
In addition, this could lead to dissatisfaction on the part of the employees, due to their bad experience, which in turn could employees, due to their bad experience, which in turn could reduce their performance in the company or at important meetings. their performance in the company or when it comes to important meetings.
When we are about to create a corporate travel policy It is important that it is simple and adapted for employees. All of this is linked to the company's cost control objective.
A good way to create a tailored policy is to have a good understanding of the company's current current needs of the company. Gathering data and information about information about travelers is important in writing a good travel policy: How they make reservations, what class they fly in, etc.
All of this can help to study and understand traveler preferences in order to write a corporate travel policy. preferences so that a cost-optimized and employee-friendly corporate travel policy can be drafted. and cost-optimized travel policy for employees.
Today's employees want more flexibility when it comes to travel. travel, so it is advisable to talk to them about different options or agree on options or agree on possible arrangements that are favorable to them.
How to develop a travel policy:
Approval protocols
In order to avoid expenses, we should implement a protocol when traveling. travel. That is, an approval process in which the traveler requests a reservation from a company employee traveler requests a reservation from a company employee, generally a superior or travel a superior or person in charge of travel, justifying the reason for the of the trip with the details of the reservation.
Then, the supervisor or the person in charge of managing this task will give permission or approval of the reservation for the trip.
Although this process is effective, it wastes too much time on a task that we could automate if we have a travel management tool for companies.
Reservation method
Another factor to take into account is the method or portal for making reservations, explaining how the process works through it.
Aspects such as the time in advance with which to make the reservations should be it is advisable to leave it stipulated in order to optimize the time and costs of costs.
In addition, it is likely that during the trip an employee may have an emergency of any kind.
Therefore, it is important to establish a protocol in the training of employees that helps which will help travelers to know how to act in case of an emergency. an emergency.
Suppliers
There are situations in which companies have a series of agreements with different suppliers such as airlines and hotels in order to with different suppliers such as airlines and hotels in order to obtain discounts on their discounts on their trips.
This can establish a clear competitive advantage over other companies, as we are reducing our costs to other companies, as we are reducing our costs in the long run. costs in the long run.
Therefore, it is important to highlight the importance of these types of agreements with suppliers to optimize costs.
Transportation Options
Another important task in setting up the travel procedure is the rate or amount of expense at which the employee can spend. travel procedure is the rate or amount of expense at which the employee can spend on transportation. on transportation. That is, we can set a limit according to the position, where we set an upper limit for direct travel, so that they are eligible for business class on flights and trains. business class on flights and trains.
We can also add if various additional services such as baggage check-in, in-flight meals, etc., can be included or not. baggage check-in, meals on the plane, etc., can be included or not. not.
In addition, we must specify the type of transportation the traveler may choose to use at the destination. For example, if you have the option to travel by taxi, rent a car to move around the city cab, rent a car to move freely around the city, or on the contrary use only use only public transportation.
Accommodation
As with the type of transportation, it is advisable to make a filter of services that employees can use according to price, destination of services that employees can use according to price, destination, position in the company, etc.
One option is to establish whether our employees can choose between different types of accommodations such as hotel rooms and different types of accommodations such as hotel rooms and apartments. apartments.
In addition, once accommodation has been chosen, decide if travelers can opt for additional services such as parking, wifi or breakfast for additional services such as parking, wifi or breakfast, for example. for example.
Filtering the type of transportation and accommodations according to the type of employee is is vital to achieve a good optimization of savings.
Method of payment
All additional services that the traveler may consume must be clearly detailed in our travel procedure. clearly detailed in our corporate travel procedure. corporate.
Therefore, the travel expense policy should also detail how such services will be paid for. how such services will be paid for. If there is a company card which the employee can use, if the employee must use his or her own card and then the card and then be paid by the company for those expenses, etc.
It is very important to establish a clear method of payment in order to avoid confusion for the traveler and the company.
Once we have outlined all the requirements that our corporate travel policy should have, let's summarize the main benefits of our company's travel policy. corporate travel policy, let's summarize the great benefits that our company will perceive that our company will perceive thanks to the regulation of this document. document.
Objectives of a travel policy
1. SAVING MONEY
It goes without saying that cost savings are a major task for any company that is actively company that operates actively. Therefore, good corporate travel management is essential to begin to achieve this.
As mentioned above, arranging certain fares with suppliers will result in cheaper trips will result in cheaper travel, which in the long run will produce considerable savings. savings.
One of the biggest problems for many companies occurs in the booking approval period. approval period. From the time a traveler requests a hotel to the time a hotel until it is granted, there is an excessive period of time.
And although it wastes our time, it also wastes our money, because in the course of that time, the prices of the hotel rooms or the time the prices of hotel rooms or flights can go up, which leads to an increase in the cost of the flights may increase, which leads to an increase in the cost of the trip. cost of the trip.
The key is to study our company's travel practices and to be as efficient as possible when it comes to travel. practices and be as efficient as possible in establishing our travel and expense travel and expense policy.
2. GREATER CONTROL AND SECURITY
During a business trip it is normal for several unexpected situations to occur. unexpected situations. Missed flights, lost luggage, cancellations of reservations, etc. reservations, etc.
These incidents result in stress for the traveler and more problems for the company.
As previously mentioned, the importance of having a protocol for emergency action is protocol for emergency cases becomes important, to say the least. important.
Therefore, it is another compelling reason to have a good travel policy that specifies to the traveler how to act in the event of an emergency. travel policy that specifies to the traveler how he should act in certain and provide solutions to their problems.
Sometimes, not having a stipulated policy can cause confusion among travelers, which, in turn, leads to excessive among travelers, which in turn, leads to excessive expenses due to the lack of regulation of these, as we have seen.
The problem occurs when these overspends come from a traveler who has misused the traveler who has misused the company card. Some companies are faced with dubious receipts, amounts in excess of the stipulated stipulated, invoices with dates that do not correspond, etc.
If we do not have some control over our travel expense procedure, these types of events can come back to haunt us. If we don't have some control over our travel expense procedure, these types of events can turn against us.
3. TIME SAVING
This is perhaps the most important advantage of having the right corporate travel policy in place. company travel policy. After all, time is money.
We must establish in our travel policy all the steps that our employees must follow in order to make reservations that our employees must follow in order to be able to make reservations for their travel accommodation on their travels
It is true that establishing a protocol is necessary and effective, but not entirely efficient. Another option available would be to have a tool or platform for corporate travel management such as VyooTrip.
With VyooTrip we will have the travel policy integrated in the platform. platform. In this way, each traveler can organize his or her trip autonomously autonomously, without the need for authorizations. Therefore, we will considerable time savings and an outstanding experience for the traveler. experience for the traveler.
In addition, thanks to the integration of the policy in the platform, the control of expenses and invoices will be always and invoices will always be regulated, so that we will avoid possible fraud on any trip. avoid possible fraud on any trip.
All of these are important advantages, although we cannot forget one that we sometimes do not give enough importance to: assistance during sometimes not given enough importance: assistance during the trip. assistance during the trip.
The traveler will be assisted 24 hours a day during his trip to attend to his needs or any of the above-mentioned incidents.
Therefore, if we manage to regulate everything properly, we will manage to optimize well the tasks in the travel management and, therefore, save time, save time.
