The Top Challenges of Business Travel Management (and How to Solve Them)

Managing a corporate travel program is a complex and demanding role. Travel managers are tasked with a difficult balancing act: they must control costs to satisfy the finance department, ensure the safety and well-being of travelers to meet their Duty of Care obligations, and provide a seamless, efficient process that keeps employees happy and productive. In today's dynamic environment, this role is fraught with challenges that can undermine the success of a travel program if not managed strategically.

This guide identifies the most significant challenges facing business travel management today and provides a framework of modern, technology-driven solutions to overcome them.

1. Challenge: Controlling Rising Costs in an Inflationary Environment

• The Problem: The cost of flights, hotels, and car rentals has increased significantly. Without strong controls, T&E budgets can quickly spiral out of control.
• The Solution: You need to reduce costs strategically, not just cut travel. Implement a travel management software that allows you to:
  • Automate your Travel Policy: Enforce rules like mandatory advance booking and the use of the "lowest logical fare."
  • Track Unused Credits: Automatically capture and re-apply the value from canceled, non-refundable flights.
  • Negotiate with Data: Use consolidated spending data to negotiate corporate rates with your most-used suppliers.

2. Challenge: Low Policy Compliance and "Rogue" Bookings

• The Problem: Employees booking on consumer websites outside of the official corporate channel. This leads to a loss of cost control, data visibility, and the ability to track travelers for safety.
• The Solution: Make your official program the path of least resistance.
  • Provide a Great User Experience: Your corporate booking tool must be as modern and easy to use as any consumer site.
  • Centralize Payments: When the company pays directly for travel, it removes a major reason for employees to book elsewhere.
  • Communicate the "Why": Educate employees that booking on the platform is critical for their safety and for the company's ability to support them during disruptions.

3. Challenge: Fulfilling Duty of Care in an Uncertain World

• The Problem: Companies have a legal and moral obligation to protect their employees, but many lack the tools to effectively monitor risks and locate travelers in a crisis.
• The Solution: Implement a robust Travel Risk Management (TRM) program.
  • Mandate a Central Booking Platform: This is the only way to reliably track traveler locations in real-time.
  • Integrate Risk Intelligence: Use a system that provides pre-trip advisories and real-time risk alerts.
  • Partner for Emergency Assistance: Have a 24/7 medical and security assistance provider on call to handle any on-trip emergency.

4. Challenge: The Administrative Burden of Manual Processes

• The Problem: Manual booking requests, email approvals, and spreadsheet-based expense reports consume a massive amount of productive time from travelers, managers, and finance teams.
• The Solution: Automate your entire T&E workflow.
  • Empower Self-Booking: Allow employees to book their own travel within the policy guardrails of your platform.
  • Automate Approvals: Use a system with mobile-friendly, one-click approval workflows.
  • Integrate Travel and Expense: A unified platform can automatically create expense reports from bookings, dramatically reducing the administrative burden.

5. Challenge: Traveler Burnout and Dissatisfaction

• The Problem: A travel program that is overly restrictive and high-friction leads to stress, burnout, and can be a major factor in employee turnover.
• The Solution: Prioritize the traveler experience.
  • Offer Flexibility and Choice: Provide a wide range of in-policy travel options.
  • Provide World-Class Support: Ensure travelers have 24/7 access to expert travel agents who can help during disruptions.
  • Create a Fair Policy: Design a travel policy that considers traveler well-being, not just cost.

Overcoming these challenges requires a strategic shift away from manual, fragmented processes and toward a centralized, technology-driven approach. By implementing a modern travel management platform, you can gain the control, efficiency, and visibility needed to build a world-class travel program that is a true asset to your business.