Harness the power of travel experts
A time comes when a DIY approach to travel management - where the responsibility for booking travel within a company lies with the nominated travel booker and/or travellers - becomes a liability to a growing SME.
Research takes longer due to the growing number of business trips, purchasing costs increase and all related administrative activity becomes more complex.
For many, it's not a question of if, but when, to migrate corporate travel responsibility to a professional Travel Management Company (TMC).
With three core benefits on offer is it time for your company to hand over the helm?
1. WIDEST CHOICE
The proliferation of travel booking channels today means that travel arrangers can expend excessive time and effort (and cost) in attempting to source today’s best available fares and rates.
A TMC’s expertise lies in the closest understanding of this multiplicity of choice, coupled with the technical skills to unearth viable fare options that match the requirements of both the corporation and the traveller’s individual itinerary. Booking through a TMC means speaking with expert travel consultants supported by extensive specialist travel booking and management technology. An experienced consultant’s creative ticketing skills promote further savings through techniques such as split ticketing and split sector opportunities. At Norad Travel Management this means that our consultants have instant access to a constantly fluid market of over 10 million airfares, and are thus able to offer the best choice of available fares at any moment in time. This range of fares includes not only those standard fares that can be publicly found online, but additionally introduces a huge database of private fares, accessible exclusively by a TMC through dedicated software systems.
Additionally the TMC has the capability to book and hold certain flights. This can be a big advantage when the traveller/booker is unable to completely finalise a meeting schedule [international or domestic], but naturally doesn’t wish to miss out on the availability of a great low fare. In-depth knowledge and experience of international air fare regulations means that savvy TMC consultants can periodically secure tentative bookings at advantageous fare rates whilst the who/how/where/when of a planned trip is determined, and any internal trip approval process is concluded, saving clients valuable time and money as a result.
2. CLOSEST CONTROL
A TMC can simplify control via a single account for all travel costs. Instead of having staff pay for trips using a mixture of corporate and personal credit cards, all payments can be made to one single account. This gives significant administrative savings when it comes to reconciling all parts of any business trip, as all flights and hotel bookings, car hire, rail fares, taxi bookings and parking fees etc. can be seen in a single place.
And there's also complete cost clarity. Working with a TMC means corporations have access to a detailed breakdown of everything spent on any trip; this can include extras such as airline hold luggage and pre-assigned seating fees, which are prevalent with many airlines, including low-cost carriers which are now widely used by corporate travellers.
Management Information provides complete transparency of travel expenditure, trend analysis and booking patterns for a valuable budgeting and planning resource.
3. CONTINUOUS CARE
Global Traveller Tracking facilities and Security Alerts provided by TMCs offer continuous care for corporate travellers in the event of any emergent situation worldwide that may impact travellers’ itineraries mid-trip. Travellers can be notified immediately by telephone, SMS message or email and travel plans quickly realigned as part of a crisis management response.
All Norad passengers' personal travel details (including seat & meal preferences) are held in our systems and automatically uploaded into individual reservations. Should itinerary changes be required whilst on the move, even when in a completely different time zone, this data can be accessed by our Out-of-Hours Emergency Centre to ensure a seamless continuation of the traveller’s journey.
This means that travellers can go about their business around the globe with complete confidence, with the reassurance that when plans occasionally go astray the TMC service is already working behind the scenes to get them home or back on track with minimum fuss and disruption.
In summary, as specialists in servicing the travel requirements of fast-moving businesses across the corporate spectrum for over 35 years, Norad Travel Management’s ethos lies in assisting customer businesses to strive towards their corporate horizons with confidence, through the effective management of company travel activity, policy & budget using commercial astuteness and individual service flair.
Take the headache out of your travel management.
01730 894700
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
