Managing long-haul, multi-itinerary travel programmes can become a complex administrative exercise for your business.
The price of airfares, ground transportation and hotel accommodation all add up, meaning travel management requires significant budgetary allocation.
Many businesses lack the internal resources or expertise to independently manage their own corporate travel and look to outsource to travel management companies to help save them time and money.
Maximising value and providing an excellent service is at the heart of what we do at BFP. We know how to unlock the best fares and are proud to deliver cost savings for our clients on an average of 38% annually.
In this blog, we explore the various ways that partnering with a TMC can deliver a cost-effective travel management solution for your business.
Stronger buying power
With air fares representing a significant proportion of many businesses travel budgets, having the necessary industry expertise, knowledge and connections is vital to obtain access to favourable corporate rates.
This is a key area where TMCs play a pivotal role in adding value for your business, as they have the capacity, experience and relationships to negotiate on your behalf.
Through our partnership with a significant global travel group, Business First Partnership can bring strong buying power to your business, so you can enjoy the best possible deals on air travel.
In addition, our in-house team of fare experts audit every flight booking to ensure all applicable promotions, discounts and upgrades are applied to your air fares, and we can even incorporate a British Airways On Business Option into your fare selection, to avoid available points expiring.
Leveraging technology
While many people may only be familiar with price comparison sites such as Sky Scanner, there are a wealth of sophisticated tech solutions that TMCs use to tap into the power of technology as part of their travel management offering.
At Business First Partnership, we proudly offer a unique, tailor-made technology suite with a number of cost-saving tools to secure the best possible value for your business.
Our 360 Search and 360 Prime platforms combine to scan global fare and seating inventories every 20 seconds to continually identify and secure seats matching unique traveller profiles at the best possible price.
We also offer accurate, real-time data reporting on your entire travel programme through the 360 Intelligence platform. We provide you with detailed insights to the cost of air travel broken down by traveller, airline, and destination as well as conveniently managing your carbon offsetting spend with the 360 Green widget.
Resilient travel and business operations
Disruption to your travel plans comes in many forms – from delayed flights and industrial action to extreme weather events.
These unexpected developments run the risk of derailing your travel plans resulting in significant financial losses and reputational damage for your company in the case of missed opportunities, cancelled meetings and costly re-scheduling.
That is why having a credible risk management strategy is a vital component of a cost-effective business travel management programme.
Our 360 Secure platform is a risk management dashboard powered by world-class intelligence. With live risk maps and push notifications, we provide you with up-to-date information on the full spectrum of risks for all your live travel itineraries. In addition, the 360 Aware platform provides instant alerts on flight cancellations, delays and disruption to check-in and connections 24 hours a day.
By pre-empting potential risks and having the tools to promptly respond to disruption, you can swiftly get your travel plans back on track and protect business continuity to minimise the financial cost to your business.
Conclusion
Entrusting a TMC with your travel management needs is a smart, strategic move for your business. By harnessing their expertise, buying power and technology solutions, they can employ a range of measures to maximise cost savings in every element of corporate travel, while easing the administrative burden to free up your time and resources to concentrate on core business activities.
