Why use a company to manage my travel?

By Steve Hall, director, Mint Business Travel

I already manage staff travel in house; things seem to be running smoothly so why would I entertain using a travel management company (TMC)?

It’s a great question, so let me explain what exactly a TMC provides to their customers and give you some food for thought.

By working with a TMC you will gain access to all key travel distribution channels including all online content.

In addition you will have the benefit of preferred programmes and Corporate rates, which underpin a more certain fare or rate throughout the year. Your TMC will help you to obtain more favourable rates from your most used suppliers. A few things you can expect from your TMC would be; Duty of Care: It is vital to be able to locate your travellers at any point in their journey, without a TMC this could not be done quickly or easily Management Information: MI will give you visibility of your travel spend and enables the opportunity for you to reduce costs or improve traveller satisfaction Travel Alerts: Constant interaction with travellers means that when flights are delayed or cancelled, itineraries can be adjusted quickly and easily Travel Policy: If your company has a travel policy your TMC will be instrumental in encouraging compliance and they will provide any variances to the policy to enable you to challenge and improve it to better suit your business needs Reduced costs: Your TMC should be able to reduce the time and effort and ultimately the cost of travelling for your business