Managing Interview Candidate Travel: A Guide to Creating a Great Experience

In the competitive war for top talent, the candidate experience is everything. Every interaction a potential hire has with your company shapes their impression of your culture, your professionalism, and your desirability as an employer. While companies invest heavily in optimizing their interview process and their career pages, one critical and often overlooked touchpoint is the management of candidate travel. A clunky, frustrating, and impersonal travel experience can leave a negative impression that no amount of in-office perks can erase. Conversely, a smooth, thoughtful, and seamless travel process signals that your company is organized, considerate, and truly values its people.

For many companies, candidate travel is an administrative afterthought, often managed through a chaotic back-and-forth of emails, with the candidate expected to book their own travel, pay out-of-pocket, and then navigate a confusing reimbursement process. This approach is not only inefficient; it is a missed opportunity to make a great first impression.

This guide provides a strategic framework for managing interview candidate travel effectively, helping you to create a "white-glove" experience that will impress your top candidates and give you a competitive edge in recruiting.

Why Candidate Travel Matters

Think of candidate travel as the first chapter of your company's story.

It Sets the Tone: A well-organized process says, "We are a professional, efficient, and well-run organization." A chaotic process says, "We are disorganized and do not value your time."
It Reflects Your Culture: Expecting a candidate to pay for their own trip and wait for reimbursement can feel impersonal and suggests a lack of trust. Covering the costs directly and making the process effortless shows that you are a caring and supportive employer.
It Reduces Candidate Stress: Interviewing for a new job is already a stressful experience. Adding the burden of travel logistics and out-of-pocket expenses only increases that stress. A smooth process allows the candidate to focus on what really matters: preparing for their interview and showcasing their skills.
It Gives You a Competitive Advantage: In a tight labor market, top candidates often have multiple offers. A superior candidate experience, including a seamless travel process, can be a deciding factor.

The Old Way vs. The Modern Way

The Old, High-Friction Way:

A recruiter emails the candidate, "Please book your own flight and hotel for your interview. Keep it reasonable and send us the receipts afterward."
The candidate, with no knowledge of the company's travel policy, spends hours searching for flights, unsure of what "reasonable" means.
The candidate pays for a $500 flight and a $300 hotel room on their personal credit card.
After the trip, they have to fill out a confusing expense report and submit it to a generic finance email address.
Weeks go by, and the candidate has to follow up multiple times before they are finally reimbursed. This entire process is inefficient, stressful for the candidate, and provides the company with zero control or visibility over the cost.

The Modern, Low-Friction Way:

The modern approach is built on a centralized travel management platform and the concept of "guest travel."

A Step-by-Step Guide to Modern Candidate Travel Management

Step 1: Create a "Guest" or "Candidate" Travel Policy

You need a simple, clear policy specifically for candidates. This can be a simplified version of your main employee travel policy.

Define the Parameters: The policy should clearly outline what is covered. For example:
- One round-trip economy class flight.
- One night's accommodation in a company-approved hotel.
- Reimbursement for reasonable ground transportation (e.g., Uber/taxi to and from the airport) and meals on the day of the interview.
Keep it Simple: This policy should be a clear, one-page document that the recruiter can share with the candidate.

Step 2: Use an "Arranger" or "Guest Booking" Feature

Your travel management platform should allow a designated person (typically the recruiter or an administrative assistant) to book travel on behalf of an external guest.

The Workflow:
1. The recruiter collects the candidate's necessary information (full legal name as it appears on their ID, date of birth, and contact information).
2. The recruiter, acting as an "arranger" in the travel platform, logs in and creates a temporary "guest profile" for the candidate.
3. The recruiter then searches for and books the flight and hotel on the candidate's behalf, ensuring the booking complies with the candidate travel policy.
The Benefits:
- Centralized Payment: The travel is paid for directly by the company using a central payment method. The candidate pays nothing out-of-pocket.
- Policy Compliance: The booking is made within the controlled environment of your platform, ensuring costs are managed.
- Professionalism: The candidate receives a professional, branded itinerary confirmation email directly from the system. All their travel details are in one place.

Step 3: Streamline On-Trip Expenses

While the major costs (flight and hotel) are covered centrally, the candidate will still have some on-trip expenses like meals and taxis. Make this part easy too.

Provide Clear Instructions: When you send the itinerary, include clear instructions on how to handle these expenses.
Use a Simple Expense Tool: Ask the candidate to use a simple mobile expense app to capture their receipts. Some modern expense management platforms even have a feature for external guests to submit expenses without needing a full account.
Expedite Reimbursement: Make candidate reimbursements your top priority. Processing their reimbursement within 48-72 hours of submission leaves a final, positive impression.

Step 4: Communication is Key

Pre-Trip Itinerary: A few days before the trip, send a comprehensive email that includes not just the flight and hotel confirmations, but also the full interview schedule, the office address, a contact number for their "day of" host, and the expense guidelines.
Day of Travel: Send a simple text message on the morning of their travel saying, "Safe travels to [City]! We're looking forward to seeing you tomorrow." This small, human touch goes a long way.

By transforming your candidate travel process from a manual chore into a professional, automated, and thoughtful experience, you do more than just get someone to your office. You send a powerful signal about your company's culture and competence from the very first point of contact. It is a strategic investment in your most important asset: your talent pipeline.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is it better to book for the candidate or to give them a link to book themselves? While some platforms allow you to send a "guest booking link," it is often a better, more "white-glove" experience for a recruiter or admin to handle the booking. This removes all logistical burdens from the candidate and ensures the booking is done correctly and within policy. The recruiter can offer the candidate 2-3 good flight options to give them a sense of choice and control over their schedule.

2. What if the candidate wants to book a more expensive flight or stay an extra day? This should be handled on a case-by-case basis. A good practice is to have the recruiter perform a cost comparison. If the candidate's preferred flight is $100 more expensive, the company could offer to book it if the candidate agrees to have that difference deducted from their expense reimbursement. If they wish to stay for personal reasons, they would be responsible for their own hotel costs for any extra nights.

3. How do we create a guest traveler profile without having all their personal information? A good travel management platform will allow you to create a temporary guest profile with just the essentials needed for booking: legal name, gender, and date of birth. You do not need to create a full employee profile in your HR system.

4. How can we manage costs for candidate travel? The best way is to use a travel platform with policy controls. This allows you to set a specific budget for candidate flights and hotels. By having a recruiter book through the platform, you ensure these controls are enforced. Tracking all candidate travel costs with a specific "trip tag" (e.g., "Recruiting") also allows for clear visibility into your total recruitment-related travel spend.

5. We are a small company. Is this kind of system too complex or expensive for us? No. Modern, cloud-based travel platforms are designed to be scalable. Many offer affordable plans suitable for small businesses and are incredibly easy to set up and use. The time savings and improved candidate experience deliver a strong ROI, even for a company that only flies in a few candidates a month.