Business Travel, as such, is a well-thought of, planned missionfor any corporate, enterprise or organization as it is budget-intensive. Any company’s management team charts out a detailed plan on why and how travel management is conducted in the company. At the organizational level, travel management is conducted by travel managers that are assigned the task of formulating the travel policy of the company, and managing the welfare and safety of the travelling employees. The travel manager is responsible for the reimbursement of travel expenditure either through traditional paper receipts or e-receipts generated through web or mobile apps. Travel expenditures and reimbursements are either approved or declined by the account team, on the recommendations made by the travel management or travel admin.
A travel manager is also responsible for the safety of the travelling employee or party. A travel policy covers various aspects of travel including booking procedure, approved travel booking tool or software, approved cost of bookings (flights, hotels, ground transportation), duty of care vendor or procedures, preferred company vendors or agencies, approval process for trips that exceed expenses limit, reimbursement process, travel insurance carrier, travel debriefing process and approved and declined expenses.
With the above-mentioned particulars covered by the travel management policy, it offers a host of benefits for the travellers and companies. Travellers benefit by flexibility and a sense of autonomy to make travel booking within policy guidelines, safety throughout the trip and reduced confusion and seamless travel booking. There are a host of benefits that travel policy offers including reduced spikes in travel expenditure and increased control, reduced friction and displeasure over expenditure and reimbursements, and increased fairness and promotion of a positive company culture.
Business travel, no matter how interconnected the world is though communication tools, is still quintessential to gain the trust and confidence of overseas clients. Though the COVID-19 has pushed things to the wall, business travel is set to bounce back strongly after the lifting of travel ban.
