SMEs often assume that TMCs are too big or costly for smaller organisations to consider using them, however many TMCs have the services and expertise to help smaller businesses track travel spend, handle duty of care requirements, and save time.
Although SMEs have fewer employees, their organisation may travel frequently – making travel spend as difficult to track as larger businesses. TMCs can provide data, patterns and behavioural analysis around travel spend to ensure that SMEs can control their budgets, and get the best value for money. TMCs have access to better rates from airlines and hotels, and can identify the right balance between cost savings and flexibility.
Smaller businesses often think they are better off booking their own travel, assuming this is the more cost effective option. However, it’s worth taking into account how much time employees are taking to book their own travel, and if their bookings align with the business’s travel policy in terms of spend. Often booking travel is not the main priority for employees who already have a full workload, resulting in bookings made at the last minute which are more expensive than if they’d been booking in advance.
Duty of care is no longer an option - it’s a requirement for all businesses. When bookings are made by travellers, personal assistants and even in-house travel managers often oversights occur when it comes to the organisation’s duty of care responsibilities. Travel managers may be able to enforce certain duty of care requirements, but unless they have a large team, they can’t provide 24/7 support for travellers.
No matter what size your organisation, or how much travelling you undertake, a Travel Counsellor can support your business travellers to find the best rates, fulfil your duty of care responsibilities and schedule most effectively.
Our team negotiate better travel partnerships – we have enviable relationships with all the major airlines, access to industry brokerages, and financial clout in travel booking – and you gain access to these savings when booking with us.
Travel Counsellors for Business is pleased to announce the appointment of Wayne Durkin as the new Head of Business Development. Wayne Durkin brings over 25 years’ experience in the travel industry with a focus on business development and the SME market, having previously held the position of Director of Business Development at CTM.
The final factor we feel is impacting the need to redefine care, and arguably one of the most prominent in our day-to-day lives, as well as the business travel industry, is technology. Technology has transformed business travel over the past 20 years, but how do we integrate technology into a care-led approach? That’s what we’ll explore in this blog.
RFP season is fast approaching. Whether you’re currently looking for a new partner or it’s something further down the track, it always pays to be prepared. We’ve asked experts from across the Travel Counsellors’ community, and the wider industry, what advice they would give to help prepare for an RFP.