Travel Management Blog

Monitoring flight/seat availability is a constant headache for travel management companies. Just when you think you’ve found the perfect seat for your customer, it’s gone. And who knows how long you’ll have to wait before the airline releases more inventory?

Few industries felt the impact of COVID-19 like travel. Restrictions on domestic and international flights brought business and leisure travel to a screeching halt. With no passengers to look after, Travel Management Companies (TMCs) were forced to cut costs.

The industry has begun to recover in recent months and business travellers are starting to spread their wings. But the combination of staff shortages, limited resources, and more complex travel requirements in the wake of Brexit and COVID-19 have left TMCs struggling to meet this demand. And this has caused a noticeable decline in service levels – particularly in the booking process.

It’s no secret that travel has a significant impact on the environment. The aviation industry alone is responsible for around 2.4% of the world’s carbon emissions which, together with other gases aircraft produce, contribute to 5% of global warming. And it’s not just tourism that’s the problem. In 2018, professional service company PwC revealed that business travel was responsible for 53% of its carbon emissions.

‘Off-policy’. Two little words that send a collective shiver down the spine of travel managers everywhere.

While it sounds fairly innocuous, corporate travellers playing fast and loose with their travel plans, and booking parts – or all – of their trip somewhere other than via their employer or travel management company’s chosen GDS has long been a problem for the industry. The reasons are obvious: not only does it pose problems for traveller tracking and duty of care; it also represents a crucial source of lost revenue.

Today, the means to travel are more accessible than ever. Unlike only 25 years ago when walking into a high street travel agent was the norm and surfing the web was a slow process, travellers can now book travel plans in a matter of minutes online and quickly find competitive deals.