Booking Travel for Small Business (A Practical Guide)

For a small business, every dollar and every minute counts. As your company starts to grow, and the need for business travel increases, the way you book that travel becomes a critical operational and financial issue. The default "unmanaged" approach—where employees book their own trips on various consumer websites and pay with personal cards—might seem simple at first, but it quickly leads to a host of problems: uncontrolled spending, no visibility into your budget, and a huge administrative burden on your already busy team.

You might think that a professional "managed travel program" is something only large corporations can afford. This is a common and costly misconception. Modern, affordable, and easy-to-use travel management software has made it possible for any small business to implement a professional booking program. This isn't about adding bureaucracy; it's about making your process smarter, more efficient, and more scalable. This practical guide will walk you through the simple, high-impact steps a small business can take to get its travel booking process under control.

The Problem: Why Unmanaged Booking is So Costly for a Small Business

• You're Overspending: Without a central system to enforce a travel policy, you have no way to control costs. Employees may book last-minute flights, choose expensive hotels, or select a convenient but overpriced flight. You are leaving a significant amount of money on the table.
• You're Wasting Time: The time your employees spend searching for flights, plus the time your office manager or founder spends processing expense reports, is time that isn't being spent on growing the business. This lost productivity is a major hidden cost.
• Your Employees are Stressed: Asking your team to pay for company travel on their personal credit cards is a major financial burden and a source of stress. A slow reimbursement process makes it even worse.
• You Have No Visibility: You have no real-time view of your travel spend, which makes budgeting and cash flow management a guessing game.

The Solution: A Simple, Modern, Managed Booking Program

Here is a practical, step-by-step guide to setting up a booking program that solves these problems.

Step 1: Write Down a Simple "V1.0" Travel Policy

You don't need a 50-page document. Start with a simple, one-page travel policy that covers the absolute basics.

• How to Book: The most important rule. State that all travel must now be booked through the company's new, official travel platform.
• Advance Booking: To save money, require flights to be booked at least 14 days in advance.
• Flight Class: All flights must be Economy Class.
• Hotel Cap: Set a reasonable per-night hotel budget (e.g., $225/night).
• Approval: All trips must be approved by a manager before booking.

Use our Small Business Travel Policy Template to get started in minutes.

Step 2: Sign Up for a Free, All-in-One Travel Software

The days of expensive, complex travel software are over. The modern travel management platform is designed for small businesses.

• What to Look For: Choose a platform that offers a robust free starter plan. This plan should include the essential tools you need:
  • An intuitive Online Booking Tool (OBT).
  • The ability to build your simple travel policy into the software.
  • An automated approval workflow.
  • A centralized payment option.
  • 24/7 travel support.
• Why a Free Plan is Key: It allows you to implement a professional travel program with zero upfront cost and no risk. You can test the platform, see the benefits, and then scale to a paid plan only when your travel volume justifies it.
• The Best Option: Routespring offers the most powerful and comprehensive free plan on the market, making it the ideal choice for a small business that wants enterprise-grade tools without the enterprise price tag.

Step 3: Centralize Your Payments

This is the game-changer for your employees and your finance team.

• How to Do It: When you set up your account on your chosen travel platform, add your company's corporate credit card as the central payment method.
• The Impact: Now, when your employees use the platform to book their approved travel, the system uses the company card to pay for the flight and hotel directly.
  • Benefit for Employees: They no longer have to use their own money. This is a massive improvement to their experience.
  • Benefit for Finance: The expense for the major travel costs is automatically captured and reconciled in a single system, eliminating the need for most expense reports.

Step 4: Onboard Your Team and Go Live

The transition should be quick and easy.

• Communicate the "Why": Announce the new program to your team. Don't focus on the new rules; focus on the benefits to them. "We're launching a new travel booking tool that's as easy to use as Expedia, and you'll no longer have to pay for your flights and hotels out-of-pocket!"
• Quick Training: A modern, user-friendly platform should require minimal training. A single 30-minute demo is usually all that's needed to get your team up and running.
• Mandate Usage: From your "go-live" date, make it clear that all travel must be booked through the new platform.

Conclusion

Booking travel for a small business doesn't have to be a chaotic and expensive mess. By implementing a simple policy and leveraging an affordable, modern travel software platform, you can gain immediate control over your spending, save your team countless hours of administrative work, and provide a far better and safer experience for your employees. The tools to build a professional, scalable travel program are more accessible than ever before. For a growing business, taking this step is a critical investment in your future success.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. We only have 5-10 employees. Is it too early to set up a travel program? No, it's the perfect time. By establishing a professional process when you are small, you build good habits and create a scalable system that will grow with you. With powerful free software available, there's no reason to wait until your travel spend is out of control.

2. Is a travel booking program the same as an expense management tool? No, and this is a critical distinction. An expense tool helps you manage expenses after they happen. A travel booking program allows you to control the cost before it's incurred by enforcing policy at the time of booking. The most effective solutions are unified platforms that combine both travel and expense management.

3. How can we ensure our employees actually use the new tool? Choose a tool with a great user experience and focus your communication on the benefits to the employee. When the official way to book travel is also the easiest way, and it means the employee doesn't have to use their own money, adoption will be very high.

4. What if we have a last-minute, emergency trip? A good travel booking program is flexible. Your policy should have a clear process for handling exceptions. An employee can request a last-minute trip, but the system will require them to provide a business justification, which is then routed to a manager for an expedited, mobile-friendly approval.

5. How much money can a small business realistically save with a travel booking program? The savings are significant. By enforcing a 14-day advance booking policy, you can save 15-25% on airfare. By having a central system to track and use otherwise lost flight credits, you can save another 5-10%. For a small business, these direct savings, combined with the "soft savings" from increased productivity, provide a very powerful and rapid return on investment.