Business travel booking is a vital and challenging activity. Lack of proper knowledge and experience in travel booking can create hassles for employees, impacting the productivity of business trips. It can add to travel costs and upset business travel programs. A small business travel agency is essential in supporting the comprehensive management of the company’s business travel program. These service providers facilitate hassle-free travel and accommodation booking to ensure a better travel experience and business productivity. Smooth travel booking by a small travel agency saves staff hours, as flight and hotel booking is time-consuming. Creating business trips within the budget by understanding the specific travel needs is a core function of the best travel agency for small business customers.

These are a few standard services for a travel agency.

  • Developing travel itineraries
  • Fulfilling visa requirements
  • Offering travel insurance
  • Negotiating with suppliers for special rates
  • Streamlining expense reporting and reimbursement processes
  • Booking flights
  • Arranging local transport
  • Booking hotels within budget
  • Implementing Duty of Care obligations
  • Supporting business travelers with prompt help

Corporate travel agencies for small business enterprises function like a company’s travel manager by executing multiple tasks of business travel by employees. They have proven expertise in business travel management. They ensure a safe journey and cost savings for the company.

Advantages of travel agency for small businesses

small-travel-agency-agency

Businesses become more agile and productive by hiring corporate travel agencies for small business enterprises. Note a few advantages of the small business travel agency:

1. Work within budgets

A small business travel agency has an in-depth understanding of the company’s travel budget. It strives to offer travel solutions within those budgets. They can strike the best deals with hotels for concessional rates. Special corporate rates help companies save travel costs.

2. Streamline expense processing

Expense processing is an overwhelming activity that requires employees to spend hours creating statements and accounts staff to process reimbursements. A small travel agency can take over the job to relieve your employees of complex paperwork and approvals.

3. Custom travel solutions for various travel needs

Custom-travel-solutions-for-various-travel-needs

A small business travel agency has vast experience working with different industry sectors. The travel agency understands the travel requirements of employees to customize travel solutions.

4. Dependable support to employees

Your employees travel without stress as they get prompt help in case of any issues with bookings or changes in travel plans.

What to look for in a business travel agency

What-to-look-for-in-a-business-travel-agency

Implementation of travel policy is a critical consideration while choosing the right business travel agency. These are a few tips to select best travel agency for small business:

  • Ability to align with your travel policy
  • Should tailor services to accommodate your business travel needs
  • Should offer support across all trip destinations of your company
  • Should have the relevant industry experience to match your travel requirements
  • Ability to arrange events like trade fairs and conferences
  • Negotiation skills to get the best discounts on hotels and flights
  • Access to a vast inventory of suppliers
  • Should be ready to accommodate last-minute changes in itineraries

Suggested Read: How Do Small Business Travel Agency Add Value To Business Travel

Conclusion

Enabling smooth and cost-effective business trips is the most noteworthy advantage of a small travel agency. Employees can focus on business activities as they do not have to spend hours booking flights, fixing hotel rates, and arranging local transport.
However, travel agents can add to the cost of business operations because of their annual fees and fees for each transaction. They lack transparency in dealings, and there is always room for better discounts on travel and accommodation. Your employees cannot reach them for support after office hours.

User-friendly travel management platforms like Paxes.com eliminate the need to hire a small business travel agency. These automated solutions are customizable and accessible round-the-clock through smartphone apps. Employees can book travels within moments by accessing cost-effective options from the vast inventories. Expense processing, itinerary tracking, and travel policy compliance are additional benefits of travel management platforms.

Small Business Travel Agency FAQs

What is a business travel agency?

A business travel agency plays the role of a middleman to book business trips for corporate clients and offers services to plan travel across diverse domestic and international destinations.

What is a business trip?

A business trip aims to facilitate the business objectives of a company during business trips. Employees undertake business trips to increase sales, attend trade events, or meet business associates.

What are travel booking systems?

A small business travel agency leverages an online booking system to execute business travel bookings more efficiently. It allows booking all aspects of travel, including transportation and accommodation. The platform ensures discounts on hotels and flights.

What is a post-trip service by a business travel agency?

A corporate travel agency for small business customers provides travel bills to the finance team of a company to process expenses. The agency can also take up issues with the hotel or transport service.

How does a travel management platform ensure the safety of business travelers?

The online travel management platform integrates with a smartphone app. It shares real-time information about flight schedules and travel advisories besides a 24x7 emergency contact facility.


Pratyush

Pratyush is a traveling enthusiast who always looks for innovations in business travel management. He has 5 years of experience writing content on corporate travel management and working closely with expert business travel facilitators.

Leave a Reply