What is Important When Making Business Travel Arrangements?

Making travel arrangements for a business trip is more challenging than it sounds. Travel managers have to take care of everything from the announcement of the trip to the safe return of the travelers. They must ensure that all the flights, hotels, and other services align with the itinerary.

Moreover, the travel manager must book flights and hotels according to travelers’ preferences, ensure they are policy compliant, and, most importantly, safe for business travelers.

If all these business travel arrangements are not made correctly, they can lead to negative results. For example, if travel managers fail to book a suitable hotel, it hampers the employee’s state of mind. Employees can also end up going late to the business meeting if the business travel arrangements are improper, which can cost companies a fortune.

Therefore, follow these 12 essential parameters that every travel manager must keep in mind while making business travel arrangements for employees:

1. Research the Destination Thoroughly

As a travel manager, it’s essential to excel at organizing business trips. This requires thorough research when planning travel for your employees, regardless of whether the destination is familiar or new. It’s essential to gather detailed information about the location, including local food, weather, transportation options, hotel safety, and the distance between the hotel and the airport.

Staying informed about the political climate, ongoing crises, and civil unrest is also crucial to minimize potential risks. Moreover, some areas in the destination can be commonly known for robbery, pickpocketing, and mugging. If employees travel to such areas, you must warn them to be extra careful about their belongings, business documents, and gadgets. You must also let them  know how they can get around the destination: 

• Are there any alternative routes they can use?
• Are the places within walking distance?
• Can they hire a cab?
• Is there any public transport they must use?
• Will their company provide transport facilities?

2. Book within Company’s Travel Policies

A company’s travel policies are guidelines created to streamline business travel arrangements, making it easier for travel managers to handle trips. These policies help reduce travel expenses, simplify the booking process, and ensure travel booking consistency.

 As a travel manager, making flight and hotel reservations that align with the company’s policies to control costs and ensure compliance is crucial. For example, when booking for a mid-level employee, you can select flights and hotels within the designated budget.

3. Find the Best Deals on Flights and Hotels

One of the most crucial aspects of making travel arrangements for a business trip is finding the best deals and discounts for flights and hotels. To do this, you must determine the overall trip cost and then begin researching. 

You can do so by finding out the best flight timings, looking for flights/ hotels that offer corporate discounts, booking in advance to avoid spending more at the last minute, negotiating with hotels for reasonable rates, and using various hotel and flight booking apps and websites to compare the rates, among many others. 

Alternatively, you can hire a Travel Management Company (TMC). TMCs partner with major flight and hotel vendors to provide a wide inventory of hotels and flights at discounted prices. 

4. Select the Right Accommodation 

Staying in a hotel during a business trip can make or break the travel experience for business travelers. Therefore, selecting accommodation that aligns with travel policies and travelers’ needs is essential. Booking the right hotel can make business travelers feel comfortable and help them rest well.

So, how do you select suitable accommodation for your employees? Below are some factors you must keep in mind:

• Location and Proximity: One crucial factor you must remember while selecting a hotel for your travelers is its location and proximity to the places they need to visit. Therefore, you must ensure the hotel is located in a safe area where travelers can easily head out without worrying.
• Reviews of the Hotel: Reading reviews about the hotel is essential when booking hotels. Read online reviews about the hotel on third-party websites. The positive and negative reviews will give you an overall idea of the service, amenities, location safety, food quality, cleanliness, and hygiene. 
• Hotel Amenities: Business travelers prefer staying in hotels that have various amenities, such as a gym, swimming pool, spa, sauna, gaming area, bar, etc. Therefore, look for hotels with these amenities that will help business travelers unwind and relax after a hectic day at a meeting/conference. 
• Security: When an employee, especially a female business traveler, travels alone, security is the biggest concern. Hence, you must select hotels with security measures such as CCTV cameras, fingerprint scanners, peep-hole, and deadbolt locks that can make travelers feel safe. 
• Meal Preferences: Some business travelers prefer different meal plans – European, American, or Continental. Therefore, when booking a hotel, it is essential to consider employee meal preferences. 
• Additional Accommodation Facilities: Some hotels provide other facilities like meeting rooms or serviced conference rooms for employees on a business trip. Booking hotels with such facilities is an added advantage for business travelers who need to host their own meetings. 

5. Book flights as per Travelers’ Preferences

Business travelers often have specific flight preferences, which may include factors like superior service, convenient flight schedules, minimal delays, friendly staff, and meal choices, among others. As a travel manager, it’s important to book flights that align with these preferences.

An AI-powered virtual travel assistant can assist by analyzing data to understand travelers’ preferences. Its algorithm predicts the best options based on previous trips, offering a more personalized experience. Additionally, it speeds up the booking process, saving valuable time.

6. Keep Travel Documents Ready

Sometimes, business travelers have to travel to different destinations in a single trip. Therefore, while making travel arrangements for a business trip, you must ensure to keep employees’ travel documents ready. Essential travel documents include:

• Passport and travel visa
• Copies of ID documents
• Flight tickets
• Proof of accommodation bookings
• Travel itinerary 
• Vaccination proofs
• Travel Insurance

You must hand over digital and physical copies of these documents to the employees so they don’t get stuck anywhere and can travel without hassle. 

8. Prepare a Detailed Itinerary

Creating an itinerary may seem exhausting and complicated. Researching and preparing a timeline for each event may take a while, but it helps you not miss out on anything crucial and plan business travel seamlessly. Additionally, it saves you a lot of time when it is time for employees to travel. As a travel manager, you also get an idea of the approximate budget for the whole trip.

While preparing an itinerary for employees, you must include the below details: 

• Every flight: Include details such as arrival and departure at the airport, the take-off time and landing time, layovers, if any, and in which class they will be flying. 
• Transportation: Details about modes of transportation, availability of rental cab services, what time the pick up from the airport and drop off to the hotel, transport facilities provided by the hotel, and transportation provided by the company to commute from one place to another, must be included in the itinerary. 
• Hotel/accommodation: You must include details of the hotel such as check-in and check-out timings, the location, meal timings, type of cuisine available, whether the breakfast is complimentary or not, and safety protocols, among others. 
• Sightseeing places: While business travelers are not working, they like to explore nearby places. So, you can include details about any entertainment or sightseeing places, adventure activities such as horse riding, and the best places to witness local culture and try local cuisine. 

Additionally, you must book flights in advance, find and book good hotels in a safe location, arrange travel documents, make some local connections to help employees, and get in touch with a few reliable cab rental services to avoid any last-minute confusion and panic.

 9. Ensure Employees Have Access to Emergency Contact Details

During any business trip, things can get messed up. Unforeseen circumstances can disrupt travel itineraries, such as bad weather or natural calamities. This may cause stress and panic among business travelers. Therefore, for such situations, you must prepare business travelers beforehand.  

Provide emergency contact details to your employees before they embark on a business trip. Let them know whom to contact under such circumstances. You can offer 24/7 customer support for employees if anything goes wrong during their travels. Also, ensure employees know how to get in touch with local contacts in the destination city, their managers and colleagues, or even you during their business trip. 

If employees are traveling internationally, ensure they have an international cellphone plan. If they don’t have one, they cannot contact you or anyone else in times of emergency. 

10. Use Good Travel Management Software

For travel managers, incorporating Travel Management Software (TMS) is a must as it streamlines the booking and planning process while making travel arrangements for a business trip. Using a travel management software solution, you can easily book flight tickets, set travel policies, create itineraries, and ensure traveler safety. 

The software has a wide range of inventory of hotels from which you select and book according to traveler preferences. A TMS also provides live traveler tracking, safe hotel tagging, and 24/7 customer support for the safety of employees. By using this software, you can spend less time planning and arranging business trips manually. 

11. Anticipate Business Travel Challenges

For employees, business travel can be both exciting as well as challenging. While they get to visit and explore new destinations, they also need to manage challenges such as delayed flights, mugging, lost passports and baggage, sickness, and disappointing hotel rooms. Therefore, to overcome these business travel challenges, travel managers must be prepared beforehand to avoid any unpleasant last-minute experiences. You can take care of employees by telling them to fill out a risk assessment checklist before they go on a trip and providing a solid duty of care to employees.

12. Keep Space for Employees’ Personal Time

Apart from the primary purpose of business trips, business travelers also need some extra time to spend. Don’t forget they are away from their homes and families. Their sleep schedule is disturbed due to different time zones, and they are unable to follow a healthy regime like exercising. The constant hustle to meet business goals and deadlines can make travelers feel exhausted, grumpy, and stressed. 

Therefore, as travel managers,  you can take care of your employees by ensuring that you give them some space and free time. They can utilize this time to rest well, connect with their family members, go for a walk, or just relax beside a swimming pool. Although keeping their trip organized is essential, they must also spend some leisure time to relieve stress and feel relaxed. 

Become an Expert in Making Business Travel Arrangements

Making travel arrangements for a business trip is essential for travel managers. They must ensure that everything is organized and taken care of before business travelers embark on their business trips. Making proper arrangements makes business trips seamless and stress-free. 

itilite corporate travel management platform has partnered with the leading vendors to offer customers the most extensive inventory of flights, hotels, and cab rentals at discounted prices. Moreover, our travel management software helps you book policy-complaint flights and hotels according to travelers’ preferences, and provides 24/7 customer support, and live-traveler tracking.

To try itilite out, get the free demo now.