How to book Business Travel for maximum savings?
The business travel market has been growing steadily for several years now. And with good reason: the volume of business travel within companies is constantly increasing. This has forced all players in the sector to adapt their approach to business travel. On the one hand, companies have implemented increasingly efficient travel policies. On the other, airlines have had to adjust their Business Travel booking offers to reflect market realities as closely as possible.
The hunt for savings has long been on. No stone is left unturned to prevent these trips from weighing too heavily on the travel budgets of companies and professionals. There are many ways to keep costs down. One of the most widely used is to book business travel tickets in advance.
Many travel agencies offer increasingly efficient booking services to optimize corporate travel budgets and maximize savings.
Anticipate the purchase of tickets for your business trips
In both business and leisure travel, ticket prices often increase over time. A ticket bought the day before for the next day, or the week before for the following day, will cost you considerably more. That's why we advise you to book 2 to 6 months in advance, to take advantage of the best fares.
However, this is not always possible for business travel. Business travel's flexible ticketing offers a solution to this problem. Employees can change dates according to the company's needs.
But flexibility isn't just about dates. It also concerns the place of take-off, which is likely to have an impact on the price of the ticket. There may be several airports to choose from. It's up to you to choose which is the most accessible and advantageous for you.
If you don't use a booking tool, or if you don't book through a specialized agency, you can create a price alert. This little trick ensures that you get the ticket you want at the best possible price.
Online business travel booking tools, advantages and disadvantages for companies
Online booking is becoming increasingly common in the business travel sector. Companies have immediately grasped the benefits. The first is undoubtedly the vast choice of offers available. The second major advantage of this type of tool relates to costs, which are considerably reduced.
These tools enable companies to integrate and automate both travel and reimbursement policies. They also provide companies with the means to optimally control employee spending. They guarantee the transparency of transactions.
However, such tools are not without their advantages. They require a certain amount of expertise. Insofar as it requires a great deal of back-office work, especially if bookings are made through different providers and/or channels.
Book tickets from a specialized business travel agency
For even greater efficiency, many companies call on the services of specialist travel agencies. Like CTA Business Travel, which offers a three-step booking system.
The first stage is the request. The employee, or travel agent, expresses his or her needs via the online tool or the offline platform, by telephone, email or fax.
CTA Business Travel then studies your request and the various options available to you, and sends you a personalized, detailed quote. You can then choose the mode of transport (plane, train, car, etc.), the class (business, economy or first class, etc.), the airline (classic, low cost, charter, etc.), the type of accommodation and even the various services on arrival (car rental, private planes, helicopter transfers, etc.).
The final step is validation by the company's travel department, with dispatch of the various documents, including e-tickets.
Using the services of a corporate travel agency in the business travel booking process means, first and foremost, access to the best travel and accommodation offers on the market. It also provides full visibility of all employee expenses, thanks to automation and centralization.
CTA Business Travel offers you a paperless invoicing system that complies with current tax and accounting regulations. Invoices can be easily integrated into your company's accounting system.
Payment for all services is centralized using a "lodged" card, providing an exact overview of all invoices relating to employee business travel.
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