The growth of companies and the globalisation of business have changed the way business travel is managed. The travel manager has become a strategic figure within organisations, with direct responsibility for cost optimisation, employee safety and operational efficiency. Their role goes beyond simply coordinating travel, as they influence key decisions that impact productivity and business competitiveness.
The travel manager’s role in corporate travel management
The travel manager plays a cross-functional role within the company, linking departments such as finance, human resources and operations.
- Designing and updating the corporate travel policy: Setting spending limits, preferred suppliers and operating protocols. This policy enables budgetary control to be maintained without affecting employee performance.
- Negotiating with suppliers is key to optimising corporate travel costs: This enables access to competitive rates and more flexible terms. This work is particularly important in a context of fluctuating transport and accommodation prices.
- Financial control: Analysing expenditure, identifying deviations and preventing breaches of the travel policy. Furthermore, the travel manager facilitates the recovery of taxes such as VAT on international travel, improving tax efficiency.
- Risk management: Risk management has taken on a priority role in recent years, particularly under the concept of ‘Duty of Care’. Companies must ensure employee safety whilst travelling, which involves assessing destinations, taking out appropriate insurance and establishing protocols for dealing with incidents.
- Efficiency in corporate travel management: Technology has driven the development of tools that automate bookings, centralise data and enable the analysis of spending patterns. This approach facilitates decision-making based on real-time information.
Current challenges for travel managers
- Rising costs in the travel sector represent one of the main challenges today, forcing companies to adjust budgets without compromising operations. Inflation in transport and accommodation requires constant review of agreements with suppliers.
- Sustainability in corporate travel has become a requirement driven by European regulations that mandate the measurement and reduction of the carbon footprint. This challenge involves prioritising more responsible options, even though in some cases they entail higher costs.
- International regulatory changes add operational complexity, as they require greater planning and document control. Adapting to new entry systems in Europe means travel arrangements must be planned in advance.
- Employee wellbeing is a key factor in travel policy, due to the impact of stress and workload on frequent travel. Companies are adopting more flexible models to improve the traveller’s experience.
- Digitalisation in travel management presents an adaptation challenge for organisations, which must integrate new tools without losing personalised attention. The balance between technology and human support is essential in incident management.
How travel managers optimise corporate travel management in modern companies
Before implementing specific solutions, it is important to understand that optimising corporate travel management is an ongoing process. Today’s travel managers work with a data- and technology-driven approach, which improves efficiency at every stage of the journey.
- Digital transformation in corporate travel: Digital tools enable the automation of expense and booking management, reducing administrative errors and improving budget control. Real-time visibility facilitates strategic decision-making.
- Automated compliance with travel policy: Integrated booking platforms ensure that all decisions comply with internal regulations, preventing deviations and ensuring consistency in management. This preventive control improves the overall efficiency of the programme.
- Strategic use of data analytics: Data analytics enables trends to be anticipated and costs optimised, facilitating negotiations with suppliers and travel planning. This approach improves the ability to adapt to market changes.
- Management of extended assignments: It is important to manage specific situations such as extended assignments without a change of residence correctly, as they require tailored planning to ensure both legal compliance and employee comfort.
- Centralised payments and financial control: The implementation of centralised payment solutions improves administrative efficiency, reducing risks and simplifying expense reconciliation. Furthermore, it allows for greater financial control by the company.
Overall, the combination of technology, control and strategic planning enables the optimisation of corporate travel management, improving both operational efficiency and the employee experience.
Flexible corporate accommodation as a solution for travel managers
Accommodation represents a key part of the corporate travel budget. The traditional hotel model loses efficiency, particularly for longer stays, as it increases costs and limits employee comfort.
Although hotels remain useful for short trips, the option of an apartment with more bedrooms, spacious rooms and communal relaxation areas for this type of travel also presents itself as an attractive alternative that undoubtedly competes favourably in terms of price, space and adaptation to real needs.
In this context, flexible corporate accommodation stands out as a more efficient and cost-effective alternative, including serviced apartments, aparthotels or professional co-living. This model helps reduce the total cost of travel by offering more competitive rates and eliminating additional expenses such as meals and laundry. Furthermore, it facilitates budget forecasting and improves financial control in medium- and long-term projects.
Beyond the savings, this type of accommodation enhances the employee experience and simplifies operational management by offering more spacious accommodation, greater privacy and tailored services. Centralised management, with consolidated invoicing and specialist suppliers, reduces the administrative burden on the travel manager. Its flexibility allows it to adapt to different profiles and projects, aligning with the new demands of talent and enabling more strategic travel management.