5 Ways itilite Helps Construction Businesses Outpace the Competition

The construction industry has been a cornerstone of global economic growth. It consistently contributes to infrastructure development, housing, and urbanization. According to Statista, in 2023, the market size of the U.S. construction industry was valued at nearly 2 trillion US dollars, which is expected to increase in the coming years.

Rapid urbanization, technological advancements, and infrastructure investment fuel this growth. Yet, as the industry expands, so do the complexities of managing operations. For construction companies, travel is a vital component of operations. Whether it involves site visits, supplier negotiations, or client meetings. Yet, construction business travel faces challenges when handling travel arrangements. 

These include rising costs, timelines for managing unused tickets, and seamless employee support. This is where itilite steps in to transform how construction businesses handle travel. This blog explores travel challenges in construction companies and how itilite solves them with ease.

4 Pain Points in Construction Business Travel Management

Before diving into the itilite solutions, let’s understand the travel challenges faced by construction business travel: 

1. Fragmented Booking Process 

One of the major pain points for construction business travel is booking from different platforms. Travel employees are required to book flights, hotels, and car rentals from different websites. This is a very time-consuming and cumbersome process. And to manage such multiple travel bookings through different channels leads to inefficiencies. 

For construction company travel, this decentralized approach creates confusion and delays. Moreover, without a unified platform, tracking who is traveling where, and at what cost, becomes a logistical nightmare. This further leads to budget overruns and scheduling conflicts.

2. Skyrocketing Costs 

Construction companies often face unpredictable travel demands requiring last-minute bookings. Employees book travel from multiple platforms without a specific travel budget or limit on expenses. Additionally, in the construction business, travelers lack access or are unaware of their company’s travel policy. This further inflates the company’s travel expenses. Without a proper policy, the company will struggle to manage travel budgets effectively. This further impacts your profitability.

3. Delayed Support

Construction professionals are often on tight schedules. They are always moving from one site to another. When travel disruptions occur, timely support is crucial. Traditional travel support systems are often slow to respond. For instance, flight cancellations or changes in accommodation. It leaves employees stranded or delaying project timelines. Lack of such immediate assistance can lead to frustration. This, in turn, affects productivity and results in missed deadlines.

4. Unused Flight Tickets

Frequent schedule changes, project delays, and cancellations are common in the construction industry. These disruptions often lead to unused travel tickets. And they usually go unnoticed or unclaimed. Over time, the cumulative cost of these wasted tickets can add up significantly. Construction business travelers lose money without a system to track and utilize these tickets. And this money could otherwise be reinvested in their projects.

5 Game-Changing Ways itilite Optimizes Construction Business Travel

itilite revolutionizes construction travel by simplifying how central bookers manage travel. Its user-friendly platform enables seamless booking for others. The platform allows coordinators to access traveler preferences and ensure travel policy compliance effortlessly. 

Our advanced travel management automation reduces manual effort by streamlining travel approvals, expense tracking, and policy enforcement. This can make travel management efficient and stress-free for everyone.

Let’s explore how itilite addresses these challenges in construction company travel:

1. All-in-one Travel Platform

Construction projects often involve employees traveling to multiple locations. They sometimes come across different regions. Managing travel bookings for a dispersed workforce can become chaotic for travel managers. And more so when various vendors and platforms are involved.

itilite simplifies this with a centralized booking platform. With itilite all-in-one platform, construction companies can: 

• Streamline Bookings : This is a huge benefit for central bookers as all travel needs—flights, hotels, and ground transportation are managed on a single platform.
• Enhance Visibility : For travel and finance managers, getting real-time insights is crucial. With itilite, they can gain real-time insights into travel expenses and bookings to maintain budget control.
• Save Time : Minimize the administrative burden on HR and travel managers by automating approval workflows. 

For example, a construction business managing multiple site inspections can use itilite to book travel for engineers and project managers in one go. This seamless process in construction business travel and eliminates inefficiencies. It enables the team to focus on delivering projects on time.

2. Book & Manage Travel for Others

In construction companies, where multiple employees travel frequently, having a single person handle bookings for the team can streamline the process. The itilite platform allows designated central bookers to manage travel arrangements for others efficiently.

Benefits of central booking include: 

• Unified Oversight : With itilite, central bookers can coordinate travel for multiple employees from a single dashboard.
• Time Efficiency : Reduces the need for individual employees to handle their travel bookings. This allows them to focus on core responsibilities.
• Custom Approvals : Central bookers can ensure all bookings comply with company travel policies, minimizing errors and out-of-policy bookings.

3. Limit Out-of-Policy Bookings

Out-of-policy bookings can lead to uncontrolled expenses and operational inefficiencies. This is especially in the construction sector where travel budgets are tightly monitored. And if there is no central booker, monitoring the cost leakages is difficult. The itilite platform addresses this issue by setting clear policy guidelines and enforcing them during the booking process.

Key features include:

• Automated Policy Enforcement : itilite flags bookings that exceed budget limits or deviate from company travel policies. This ensures no cost leakages for construction company travel. 
• Customizable Rules : Construction companies can define travel policies tailored to their unique operational needs. This is an added advantage to travel managers as they can look into costs leakages at the employee and department levels. 
• Approval Workflows : Any out-of-policy booking requests are routed through an approval process, ensuring accountability. As soon as an employee books travel, the update immediately goes to the approver 

4. Round-the-Clock Travel Support

In the fast-paced construction industry, delays can have a domino effect on project timelines. Quick and reliable support is crucial for resolving travel issues. Whether it’s a missed flight or a last-minute change in itinerary. 

itilite offers industry-leading travel support with an average response time of under 30 seconds.

Key benefits of the itilite support system include:

• 24/7/365 Availability : With itilite, travel assistance is available around the clock. Employees can get support even outside working hours and on weekends. 
• Multi-Channel Support : In construction business travel, timely support is essential. Employees can access itilite support via chat, phone, or email, depending on their preference.
• Expert Assistance : itilite travel experts provide tailored solutions to resolve complex issues quickly. 

5. Seamless Unused Credits Management

Frequent schedule changes are a reality in the construction industry. Delays in project timelines or last-minute cancellations often lead to unused travel tickets, significantly impacting the bottom line. 

itilite assists in managing unused tickets and helps businesses recover costs efficiently. 

• Prompts displayed : While checking out, users will find a comment that prompts them to use the available unused flight credits. 
• Open company credit : Flight credits are usually assigned to one traveler, and cannot be used for others. itilite team works closely with airlines to make it an open flight credit. 
• Limit the number of bookings : At itilite, organizations can limit the number of bookings you can make in a year or time frame. Hence, there is no cap on how many new credits you can complete. 

Choose itilite for Smooth Construction Business Travel 

The construction industry is dynamic and demanding in nature. Hence, efficient travel management is required to stay ahead of the competition. By leveraging the above-mentioned services of itilite, construction businesses can overcome travel challenges. This will help companies to focus on delivering exceptional projects.

itilite streamlines construction company travel while helping optimize costs. It also boosts efficiency and enhances employee satisfaction. In a time-sensitive industry, partnering with itilite keeps your company competitive and future-ready.

Are you ready to revolutionize your construction travel? Book a free demo with itilite now.