This is the age of traveler-centricity, and it is leading to the development and research of many new intelligent services. Traveling has seen a shift in the command-and-control perspective. The focus is now on the individual traveler and how productive each trip is. It is essential that travelers get the best return on their investment. Young managers and employees are becoming more adept at being travelers. Recognizing that employees who travel on business trips often consider some of their trip a leisure activity, it is important to allow for more flexibility. With increasing globalization and rise in companies sending their staff overseas to network and connect with their offshore prospects/customers/suppliers, corporate travel is a highly profitable tourism segment. Before we discuss how tourism companies can better serve business travelers, let’s first examine why they prefer to use corporate agencies to traditional agents.
Why should businesses use corporate travel agencies?
This is the most fundamental question a travel agency needs to ask about why they should use agencies that specialize in corporate travel, when there are many regular agents on the market. This is why it is important for corporate travel agencies to have online systems that allow business travelers to access their entire itinerary.
CTAs have the following information at their disposal:
Full business itinerary details
Up-to-date tracking information of flights (including delays and rescheduling).
Transparent details regarding additional costs, such as baggage fees and in-flight charges
Travel alerts in the destination area, if any
Complete and current information about visa procurement policies and identification is required
Conversion rates and currency requirements
What can corporate clients expect of Corporate Travel Agencies?
Negotiated Fares
Many Corporate Agencies have tie-ups to hotels, car rental companies, and airlines. They have access to discounted fares that can only be used by frequent business travelers. They offer room upgrades, VIP check-in lines, and flight upgrades as well as discounted prices.
Comprehensive information on the travel industry
Corporate travel agents have faster access to travel resources than leisure travel agents and can also make reservations quickly. Further information can make business trips more convenient and enjoyable.
Itinerary
There are high fees when an airline ticket has to be rescheduled, cancelled or rescheduled. Most times, schedule changes can usually be made at no additional cost when booking through a corporate travel agent.
Viable emergency contacts
Business travelers need to be able to contact the right person when they have a problem. The corporate travel agent has the professionalism and experience to ease stress for both the business traveler as well as the company.
