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What Is Corporate Travel Management?

Things to consider in corporate travel management, options for corporate travel management.

  • Challenges of Corporate Travel Management

Tips for Creating a Corporate Travel Management Policy

Budgeting and reducing costs for corporate travel, the bottom line.

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A Complete Guide to Corporate Travel Management

Organize Your Employees’ Travel Itineraries and Manage Business Travel Efficiently

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Travel is a major expense item for many companies, and while teleconferencing via Zoom and other online platforms may have eliminated the need for some trips, it remains essential for a wide range of business purposes, such as industry conferences and trade shows, critical sales calls, and certain meetings.

Corporate travel management (CTM) is one way that companies large and small can attempt to control and cut down on their travel costs. If you’re considering implementing a corporate travel management program for your business, here is what you need to know about how it works.

Key Takeaways

  • Corporate travel management is a way for companies to try to control their travel costs and cut back on them if necessary.
  • Some companies handle this function themselves, while others outsource it to specialist companies.
  • Corporate travel managers can be involved in setting itineraries, booking flights and hotel rooms, and managing other travel-related costs.
  • Today, many companies are concerned with not only the financial costs of employee travel but also its environmental impact.

Corporate travel management refers to processes that businesses put into place to oversee their employees’ travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses and ensure that they comply with the company’s policies. That can include approving (or rejecting) travel plans, arranging itineraries, purchasing tickets, and auditing expense reports.

A large company might have a separate department dedicated to corporate travel management, while a smaller one may assign the tasks to their human resources and accounting departments. Still others may outsource these functions to third-party travel management companies.

While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant cutbacks in business travel, an October 2023 survey by the Global Business Travel Association found that 84% of companies said their business travel had “largely” or “mostly” returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Companies can choose to exert varying degrees of control over their employees’ travel, from fairly general guidelines on spending limits to very specific, step-by-step procedures, including which travel suppliers to use. Here are some of the matters they may take into consideration.

Itineraries

A business travel itinerary is a summary of a proposed trip, including travel dates and times, flight numbers, hotel bookings, meeting appointments and contact information, and so forth. Corporate travel managers may develop itineraries in collaboration with employees, making sure that each aspect complies with company policies. A written itinerary is also a handy reference for employees to bring with them on their trips.

Transportation

Corporate travel managers will often make transportation arrangements on behalf of employees, much like a travel agent might for someone’s personal vacation. Because they may control a high volume of business, they can have more leverage in negotiating with suppliers, such as airlines or rental car companies. They may also have special arrangements with certain suppliers, and the company might require its employees to use those suppliers whenever possible.

Even if they don’t have such arrangements in place or much power to negotiate prices, they may have tools at their disposal for searching out deals and discounts that individual employees don’t have. For example, they may have access to an online global distribution system (GDS), such as Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport, allowing them to compare multiple carriers at the same time.

Accommodations

As with transportation providers, corporate travel managers can help arrange hotel bookings, often securing discounts that would be unavailable to employees individually. Hotel prices and availability are also provided on GDS platforms, which can save employees a lot of time and effort calling around to book a room.

Meetings and Events

For companies planning meetings and other events, corporate travel managers can book venues and assist attendees with their travel arrangements. Some companies may have separate travel management and event planning departments or merge the two into a single department. They can also farm out these functions to third-party companies that specialize in arranging events and have deep experience and contacts in that area.

Costs and Reporting

Since keeping costs under control is a major reason for implementing a corporate travel management program, setting spending policies and enforcing them is one of the managers’ key responsibilities. Employees must generally submit expense reports at the conclusion of their travel, which travel managers can then review.

Keeping accurate records, and receipts where necessary, is also important for tax reporting purposes. Companies can generally deduct employees’ travel expenses if they have a clear business purpose and are “ordinary and necessary” and not “lavish or extravagant.”

In many cases, companies will provide corporate credit cards for employees to use during their travels. Corporate credit cards can make it easier for companies to collect the information they need for reporting purposes, and spare employees the cost and bother of putting travel expenses on their own credit cards and having to wait for reimbursement.

Policy Compliance

Most companies of any size will have a written travel policy that they expect their employees who travel for business to become familiar with. This document will cover matters such as any required approval process before starting on a trip, spending limits, preferred travel suppliers, expenses that are reimbursable (or not), rules on the use of a corporate credit card, and how to fill out and submit an expense report at the conclusion of a trip. Written travel policies serve the dual purpose of controlling company costs and saving employees unwelcome surprises over expenses that the company won’t reimburse them for.

Beyond specific travel-related policies, corporate travel can be affected by broader company policies. For example, a 2023 Deloitte study reported, “Climate concerns will likely put a cap on corporate travel gains for several years to come. Four in 10 European companies and a third of U.S. companies say they need to reduce travel per employee by more than 20% to meet their 2030 sustainability targets.”

Travel Support and Assistance

In addition to helping employees with the logistical and financial aspects of travel, corporate travel managers can provide other forms of support, including help in a medical or other emergency. Many large corporate travel departments and third-party companies have support services available 24/7, just in case.

As mentioned, companies don’t have to take on all (or any) of these responsibilities themselves but can hire another company to handle it for them. While that represents an added cost, a company that specializes in corporate travel is likely to bring greater expertise to the role and may find cost savings that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Companies can also buy travel management software programs that allow employees to book their own travel arrangements and that may link to the company’s accounting software to simplify expense reporting. Such software can also flag and even reject any expenses that don’t comply with company rules.

If they don’t have access to professional GDS platforms, travel managers can also make use of regular consumer booking sites, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor.

Challenges of Corporate Travel Management 

While corporate travel management will often benefit a company from a financial perspective, it does present challenges.

For example, because it takes away some of the autonomy that employees may have become accustomed to in planning their own trips, it can cause them to feel mistrusted or micromanaged and make travel seem like more of a burden. In addition, for corporate travel management to be effective, it requires that the people who oversee it know what they’re doing, which may require not only training but also frequent refresher courses to keep up with the rapidly changing travel industry.

A good corporate travel management policy will lay out as specifically as possible the company’s rules for arranging flights and other transportation, booking hotel accommodations, and expensing other reimbursable travel-related costs, such as meals and entertaining. Any caps on costs should be regularly revisited and revised as necessary to keep up with inflation and changes in the marketplace.

The policy should describe a clear process for having travel approved in advance, if that’s required, and submitting expense reports after the trip for timely reimbursement.

An effective policy will also strive to avoid situations in which lower-level employees feel they are subject to stricter or more penny-pinching rules than higher-ups.

Finally, it’s important that employees be encouraged to read the policy and know the rules. They may also be given the opportunity to provide feedback on ways that the rules can be improved next time the policy is revised.

Corporate travel managers not only play a role in monitoring how a company’s money is being spent and looking for ways to cut its costs. They also often have a major say in setting the company’s annual travel budget, based on previous years’ needs and anticipated pricing changes throughout the travel industry.

Today that may involve weighing in on when a virtual meeting can substitute for an in-person one. A 2023 Morgan Stanley survey of 100 global corporate travel managers found that they planned to replace 17% of their corporate travel with virtual meetings in 2024 for reasons “ranging from cost savings to lower carbon footprints.”   

Why Is Corporate Travel Important?

While many companies learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that they could sometimes substitute virtual meetings for in-person ones, they have also found that travel can more than justify its cost in many instances . As Harvard Business School Associate Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury remarked in a recent interview on the university’s website, “Even in a hybrid world, even in a world of work-from-anywhere, we still need to occasionally meet colleagues in person for social purposes.” In addition, face-to-face meetings can help establish more profitable and productive relationships with a company’s key customers and suppliers.

Who Handles Corporate Travel?

Companies handle corporate travel in a variety of ways. Many have created internal departments dedicated to corporate travel management, while others outsource that role. However, many companies still leave most of the decisions to individual employees. One 2023 survey by Morning Consult Research Intelligence reported, “Over half (51%) of those who travel frequently for work book on their own using a platform of their choice.”

What Does Corporate Travel Include?

Corporate travel can include both domestic and international trips that have a business purpose. It generally doesn’t include employees’ everyday commuting. Commuting costs are not tax-deductible for employees, but companies can choose to subsidize them up to certain limits through what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls qualified transportation benefits. Those benefits are not taxable to the employee, but the employer doesn’t get any tax deduction for providing them.

Corporate travel is expensive, but many companies find that its benefits outweigh the costs. Corporate travel management is one way that companies can try to keep those costs under control and get the most value from their travel budgets. While many companies have embraced corporate travel management programs, others still leave most decisions to their individual employees.

Global Business Travel Association. “ Global Business Travel Industry Sees Rebound in 2023 with Shifting Challenges and Opportunities for 2024 .”

American Express. “ What Is Corporate Travel Management and Why Do You Need It? ”

Internal Revenue Service. “ Topic No. 511, Business Travel Expenses .”

Deloitte. “ Navigating Toward a New Normal: 2023 Deloitte Corporate Travel Study .”

Oracle NetSuite. “ What Is Corporate Travel Management? ”

Morgan Stanley. “ 2023 Outlook: Business Travel Bounces Back .”

Harvard Business School. “ Why Business Travel Still Matters in a Zoom World .”

Morning Consult Research Intelligence. “ Business, but Not as Usual ,” Page 18.

Internal Revenue Service. “ Publication 15-B: Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits ,” Page 22.

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Managing travel risk

Travel risk management has never been more important. Find out how you can manage risk, deliver duty of care and make your business travelers feel secure.

  • A comprehensive and quickly adaptable business travel policy is crucial. Use this free guide to help you create a travel policy that adapts to your needs.
  • Make traveler wellbeing a priority. Inform, alert and assist them in real-time via the mobile app and online booking tool
  • Reduce risk by improving travel policy compliance

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You want employees to feel fully supported from the time they book until they return home. Amex GBT Egencia travel experts are ready to assist.

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Even as the travel industry changes, businesses still need to make strategic decisions based on cost and ROI. Amex GBT Egencia can help you boost your bottom line.

  • Gain insights, identify savings and optimize travel spend in real-time with Amex GBT Egencia Analytics Studio
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