The demand for corporate travel in Australia has grown in recent years, and with it the demand for corporate travel services and new corporate travel technology. At the same time, evolving corporate structures mean that the idea of having a single department responsible for booking travel is becoming redundant for most.

Instead, busy executives are left to make their own corporate travel arrangements. This is an often-complex process that involves booking multiple flights, hotels and car hire in different destinations.

It’s more important than ever that travel management companies (TMCs) integrate digital management tools into the core of their business rather than relying on external platforms and apps.  This improves efficiencies and enables companies to keep travel costs to a minimum.

Disrupting the corporate travel industry

Changing consumer expectations are a significant driver of change across the travel industry as a whole. These expectations, along with a demand for transparency and greater efficiency within corporations, can be best met with the right technology.

Much as rideshare apps disrupted the taxi industry, a wave of online booking tools (OBTs) such as Serko, AeTM and Concur disrupted the corporate travel industry. Now, newcomer Alienta is further disrupting the OBT sector.

At JC Travel Professionals, we use Alienta to empower corporate travellers to manage their own travel and expenses. OBTs – and Alienta in particular – benefit our clients in a number of ways.

1. Transparency

The more transparent your pricing options are, the easier it is to determine the best value fares and avoid hidden costs. Transparency is crucial in corporate travel. It allows employers to view their staff members’ searches, travel requests, provide approvals and faster processing of expense claims. Alienta combines legacy airlines, low-cost carriers and other options like trains, buses and ferries. This gives you a complete picture of your itinerary and travel expenses over an entire trip.

2. Reduced costs

OBTs can help you reduce your costs by letting you compare multiple options in a single platform. It can even allow you to compare and book each leg inidviually so you can get the best price. Alienta stores and uses airline credits, individuals’ frequent flyer status and membership details. Cost savings on travel can lead to significant improvements on your business bottom line.

3. Greater efficiency

When you have all the information you need in a single platform, you can optimise both time and money. Alienta integrates with multiple GDS’. This means, for example, we can view and book car hire from hundreds of worldwide companies, including preferred negotiated rates. Our clients don’t need to search for that information separately when organising flights and accommodation.

4. Flexibility

Corporate travel can be unpredictable. Itineraries can change without notice and this can lead to unexpected costs, not to mention the stress of changing flights and hotel bookings. OBTs can help you manage those costs and keep them as low as possible. With Alienta, penalty and fare differences can be viewed at a glance and ticketed itineraries can be modified easily online.

Technology is a game changer in the corporate travel industry, and at JC Travel Professionals, we look forward to sharing the benefits of Alienta with our clients.

While many corporates have travel programs in place, bookings still fall through the cracks. Transactions take place on outside booking channels or with non-preferred airlines, hotels and car hire companies. This is what’s known as travel leakage.

Despite all efforts to create an exceptional corporate travel program, it can happen. And when it does, gaps start to form in your expenditure, your reporting and your data. This can cause administrative headaches and can cost the company significantly.

You’re not alone

The important thing to remember here is that you’re not alone. Almost all corporate travel programs, large or small, will experience leakage at some point in time. This is mainly because there are so many booking options out there for business travellers.

Many staff members will actually believe they’re saving you money by going for the cheaper option. Or it’s just easier to go for the booking system they are familiar with, rather than going through the appropriate (and approved) channels.

Why is it such an issue?

It generally costs more, even if employees believe they’re choosing the cheaper option. Airlines, hotels and car hire companies have provided discounted rates based on proven travel volume. So, any trip that goes undocumented undermines supply contracts you’ve worked so hard to obtain, and means there’s less ability to negotiate.

Fees can quickly mount up, for example penalties for altering bookings if plans change. There’s no visibility of the trip within the company reporting system either, which means you can’t accurately track travel spend.

Travel leakage can also impact your duty of care for employees. If the employee’s booking data isn’t in your central system, because it’s been booked outside, it can be difficult to locate them in case of emergency.

How you can avoid travel leakage

 While it might be difficult to eliminate out-of-policy travel bookings altogether, there are ways to minimise the problem.

Educate your employees

If employees don’t know it’s there, why would they commit to using your travel policy?

It’s crucial to educate employees about the policy, including how it affects them, what consequences there are if they don’t adhere to it, and the savings and benefits that the company gains through the policy.

Recognise likely offenders

There will always be those employees who have a tendency to think they are savvy enough to get a better deal! Or managers who prefer to go their own way. These are ones to keep an eye on. It’s also a good idea to include your travel policy in induction material for new hires, to make sure they aware of arrangements right from the start.

Make sure booking is quick and easy

For many employees, the reason they’re not using approved channels is because it’s simpler to hit the internet and find the cheapest deal. It’s also common to book outside the system due to last-minute travel decisions. Make booking through the approved channels manageable, convenient and quick, and employees will do it.

There’s no denying that travel leakage can negatively affect your business. But by understanding what is happening and why, and putting measures in place to mitigate it, you may be able to plug a few holes!

If you’d like to optimise your travel program and minimise leakage, talk to us about the right solution for your company.