Analyzing Both Booking and Expense Data Reveals True Cost of Corporate Travel

ViewFrom36k explores how a company's incomplete view of travel spending hinders cost control efforts and negotiating leverage with suppliers

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Travel Leaders Group

Oct 11, 2018, 16:42 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Even as worldwide spending on business travel is poised to grow higher, many corporations have as little as 60-70 percent visibility into their total costs. That's because they're only studying their business travelers' air, hotel and car rental bookings versus including what was actually spent, according to the experts at ViewFrom36k.

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"Companies' travel and expense data is typically their second or third-largest expense," said Gabe Rizzi, President of Travel Leaders Corporate, a division of Travel Leaders Group, the organization behind ViewFrom36k. "If they don't get full visibility into what employees book as well as what they actually spend, companies won't understand the true cost of a trip and they won't have the right insights to negotiate.

In an article entitled "Incomplete Business Travel Data = Lost Opportunities," the experts at ViewFrom36k address and provide solutions to today's significant business travel issues and take a look at how companies can profit from more complete data.

Get A Full Picture of Travel Spend

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) BTI™ Outlook – Annual Global Report & Forecast, organizations worldwide spent $1.33 trillion on business travel in 2017 and they are expected to increase their outlays by another 7.1 percent by the end of this year. By 2022, companies will spend $1.7 trillion on business travel, the GBTA estimates. This total includes spending on air, hotel and car bookings, but also expenses for meals and other travel-related costs.

To determine a company's total picture of business travel spend, one should evaluate:

The airlines employees are flying on and related city-pairs for each carrier
Hotels booked and in what cities
Rental cars booked

"You should also look into employee booking behavior, such as when and how travelers book -- via travel agency, online booking tool or directly with a supplier, what cabin class or room type they book, and how often they change or cancel their airline tickets," added Rizzi.

Corral Your Maverick Spenders

Corporate credit card data holds the key to getting a fuller picture of what a company spends on travel, including for such items as meals and ride-sharing services. And, if a company has deals for preferred rates with airlines, hotels and car rentals, the data will reveal which employees are booking outside those agreements.

"It's critical to reduce your out-of-program spend to ensure you're getting the lowest negotiated rates," noted Rizzi. "Credit card data also reveals the true volume of business travel by vendor for better leverage on Request for Proposals."

Expense Data Completes Picture
Lastly, it is important to take a comprehensive look at employees' expense report data. Reviewing such information will provide extra insight into the out-of-pocket spending that factors into each trip's true cost. It will also help to enable the enforcement of expense reporting rules such as prohibiting personal charges and filing timely reports.

Many companies routinely contract with travel management companies (TMCs) to assess and then leverage their corporate travel data to negotiate supplier deals and save, for example, 20 percent on airline spend, 15 percent on hotel stays and 25 percent on car rental spending. Find out what you could be saving on business travel expenses by contracting with a TMC.

ViewFrom36k is a thought-leading digital content hub developed by Travel Leaders Group that gives a comprehensive big-picture view of business travel, along with the solutions needed to lower costs, increase traveler satisfaction and drive revenue growth.

Travel Leaders Corporate is a wholly-owned division of Travel Leaders Group, specializing in business travel fulfillment, strategic meetings management and data analytics.

For more information or to take advantage of Travel Leaders Corporate's personalized service and cutting-edge corporate business travel solutions that provide a complete travel enrichment experience, email [email protected] or call 877-404-4173.

About Travel Leaders Group
Travel Leaders Group is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients through our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers, Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands. With over 7,000 agency locations, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry's largest traditional travel agency companies.