What a corporate travel account should include

Whether you are a company with weekly regional travel or an NGO moving staff and consultants, these are the things to ask any travel agency before you hand over your bookings.

Service

• Will you have a named consultant who knows your travellers?
• How do travellers send requests: WhatsApp, email, a portal?
• What happens out of office hours, when a flight is cancelled at night or on a Sunday?

Policy and approvals

• Can the agency apply your travel policy: cabin rules, preferred airlines, hotel limits?
• Can bookings wait for a manager's approval before ticketing?

Payment and reporting

• Can you pay on monthly invoice, and on what terms?
• Will statements show traveller, department, project or grant codes?
• Will you get a regular summary of spend by route and airline?

Fees

Ask how the agency is paid. Whatever the model, the terms should be agreed in writing before your first booking, with no surprises on the invoice.

Duty of care

Ask whether the agency can tell you, at short notice, which of your people are travelling and where. For organisations with staff in the field, this matters.

Thinking about an account? Tell us how your organisation travels.