There is a big debate when it comes to corporate travel management. Should the company be solely responsible for the entire travel booking process for its employees? the entire process of booking travel for its employees? At In recent years, the answer has been yes.
However, times are changing and some people are debating this question. Is there a more optimal way to perform this function?
Many companies agree on the difficulty of this task and, above all, the amount of time required to manage it.
The new generations of business travelers are young and tech-savvy. and technology-savvy, making it increasingly difficult for them to enjoy outdated and more outdated and more stringent travel policies and methodologies. strict.
Therefore, many companies are considering the possibility of delegating these functions to their own employees. to their own employees, and they themselves carry out the task of booking hotels, flights, etc. booking hotels, flights, etc., themselves.
This can create a lot of uncertainty for some companies who think that delegating this that delegating this management can lead to negative results for the company. for the company.
However, companies must understand the importance of keeping their employees happy. employees happy, so delegating responsibilities is a symptom of trust and can contribute to better performance. of trust and, therefore, can contribute to better performance.
Let's discuss some advantages of allowing employees to book their own travel.
Increases employee satisfaction
For the employee it is a big problem every time he wants to apply for a trip, as he hates the idea of having to go through different travel, because he hates the idea of having to go through different authorizations and having to and having to detail absolutely everything he does manually, which is a simple task that he could do and having to detail absolutely everything he does manually, which is a simple task that he could do independently. independently. This leads to mistakes that can lead to much bigger problems. much bigger problems.
In addition, today's employees are asking for more flexibility at work and in their lives in general. and in their lives in general. The business traveler likes to research the best deals, find out where they are going to travel and how they are going to do it. how they are going to do it.
Modern business travel no longer seems so strict and formal, but is becoming formal, but are moving closer and closer to leisure or pleasure travel. leisure. Most travelers today complement their business travel with leisure activities. business trips with leisure activities. They want to discover and explore the destination and explore the destination city and possible activities.
Allowing travelers a flexible date range with a departure time that allows them to have more freedom that allows them to have greater freedom during the trip is a key point for their satisfaction, as they can is a key point for their satisfaction, as they will be able to organize their trip themselves. their trip.
This is because most corporate travel is stressful, with fixed schedules. stressful, with fixed schedules, so that a high number of trips for the employee can be an for the employee can be an uncomfortable situation that can affect his or her performance. performance.
2. Employee finds his best options
When the employee requested a hotel, the company was in charge of finding the type of the type of accommodation, according to the criteria of the travel policies. travel policies.
Therefore, the accommodation might not be according to the traveler's taste, since he did not have the option to choose it by himself.
In addition, traditional corporate travel booking management has a number of disadvantages. a number of disadvantages. Some online travel agencies are not refundable refundable and the customer service is not personalized.
Also, the technology used in the software is somewhat complicated for travelers and can become an unpleasant can become an unpleasant factor in the booking experience. booking experience.
However, with this new idea everything changes. By freeing the travel manager the travel manager from this task, it allows the traveler to choose his or her own hotel within the limits of the travel policy, so that he or she chooses the within the confines of the travel policy, so that the traveler can choose the choice that best suits their tastes.
Since the traveler's choice will be within the spending limits, the company will not have to worry about whether its employee is choosing a higher a higher option than what is allowed.
This generates a plus in employee satisfaction, as they have greater freedom to travel and feel that the company is giving them a greater freedom to travel and feels that the company places its trust in him/her. trust in him.
3. Travel automation
As mentioned above, the time required to manage travel is one of the negative points reflected in most of the is one of the negative points reflected by most managers, as it makes it the time required to manage travel is one of the negative points reflected by most managers. The time required to manage travel is one of the negative points reported by most managers, as it causes the person in charge of its control to "waste" too much time on tasks that should be automated.
The number of emails and permissions that are made each time an employee requests a trip is abundant, resulting in a waste of time and money. travel requests is abundant, resulting in a waste of time, which means that some hotel or flight time that causes some hotel or flight offers to slip through the cracks. to slip through the cracks.
Also, the task of expense control is a big headache for many workers, as there are a large number of invoices many workers, as there are a large number of invoices referring to multiple multiple travelers on multiple trips, resulting in time wasting and errors. time wasting and errors.
In addition, if we use a corporate travel management tool, we will be able to automate the travel processThe system can be used for everything from approvals to expense control, as well as to obtain information on how employees travel and spend.
By allowing employees to organize their own travel, we save time that we can devote to other departmental functions. time that we can devote to other functions in our department. In addition, the traveler will also have more time and peace of mind during the during the course of the trip, since he or she will not have to be constantly constantly aware of all the expenses that are incurred.
4. Corporate travel management platforms
When choosing the option of allowing employees to make their own reservations, a number of requirements must be taken into account. reservations, a series of requirements must be taken into account, which will delimit all the which will delimit all expenses that the traveler may incur on his or her trip. travel.
That is, the limit on hotel expenses, transportation at the duty station, per diems, mileage, etc. transportation at the destination, per diem, mileage, etc. Therefore, all expenses incurred by employees must be employees must be in accordance with the travel policies.
Therefore, we need some technology or tool that manages expenses in an automated way. One simple way is a travel management platform for companiesThe new system, which will provide autonomy for travelers in their reservations and will automate all types of expenses.
At first it may seem a bit chaotic, however, this way, employees can book their own business employees can book their own business trips just like they would for their personal as they would for their personal travel, but always in a way that fits your company's travel policy, saving money. that fits in with your company's travel policy, saving money.
Travel management platforms have arrived to revolutionize the travel industry and are and it is undoubtedly an option that companies are considering more and more, due to its ease of use and automation due to its ease of use and the automation it generates, freeing the company from unnecessary and slow and unnecessary time-consuming management.
