In a previous article we talked about companies putting a corporate travel policy in place and working with a hotel booking agent to ensure consistency of hotel and conference bookings, rather than leaving staff to make bookings.

In this article we'll cover the kind of information your travel policy could contain and how a hotel booking agent can work with you to ensure all bookings made are within the bounds set by your travel policy and make savings.

What Should Your Travel Policy Contain?

Your travel policy should begin with a description of the process your staff should follow each and every time they need to book a hotel or travel to a conference etc.

Staff should be asked to fill in a form that gathers the required details of their trip e.g. the purpose of their travel, if attending an event - the name of the event, where the event will take place, the dates, the department to which the trip will be charged and an estimated total cost.

Acceptable daily allowances should be set to cover meals, tips, taxis, phone calls, parking etc.

Your travel policy should also include a list of what you consider to be acceptable and non-acceptable expenses and what expenses require a receipt e.g. you may require receipts for all expenses or only expenses over a set amount.

Finally explain how the expenses form should be submitted (online, hand to a supervisor or send to a specific department) and how long staff have to submit the form after they have returned from their trip. As part of your travel policy document it's worth considering putting together a "sample form" showing how expenses should be filled in and how receipts should be accounted for etc.

Your Booking Agent

Once a travel request has been submitted and approved within the company ideally all travel should be consolidated through one booking agent to maximise the efficiency of all hotel bookings.

Your booking agent should hold a copy of the travel policy and be fully up to speed with the document.

Each time a travel request is submitted your booking agent can then work to make sure that all the travel requisites are met in line with the travel policy document.

They can also leverage their expertise to ensure the best hotels and conference venues are booked and negotiate discounted rates on your behalf, thereby making savings, ultimately benefiting both your business and your staff.

Booking Partners

Booking Partners have many years' experience in working with company travel policies. Read what our clients say about us.

For more information contact us directly on +44 (0)330 022 8643 or via e-mail at reservations@bookingpartners.co.uk.