The Busy Business Traveller Blog

 In the midst of a pandemic that brought travel of all kinds to a grinding halt, with little clarity on when and how it will resume at scale, the work of managing corporate travel was not business as usual in 2020. A prolonged decline in business travel appears likely, but that does not necessarily mean a decline in demand for skilled travel managers. In fact, the most skilled and savvy report increased demand for their abilities and respect for their strategic value.  At companies big and small, whether thriving or struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate travel managers faced remarkable challenges in 2020, and their roles continue to change as they navigate unpredictable years ahead.  From Crisis Management to the Messy Middle  In the early months of the crisis, travel managers played a big and very visible role. The more tightly managed a travel program was the easier it was to locate employees, assess their risk, and st...

  As you start to lay the groundwork for consolidating your corporate travel program, here are some important factors to consider: 1. Balance standardization and localization An important part of consolidating a travel program is to standardize processes and policies across different geographies, as it makes the program more efficient. But while having a globally consistent approach has many advantages, ignoring market-specific nuances can be a big mistake. For example, having an integrated visa offering may not be a priority for employees in Singapore, but it would be a key priority for local employees in India as they require visas for most of their international travel. Similarly, having a standard tax reclaim process will not work across offices due to different regulations. Striking the right balance between standardization and localization is key, especially in a region as varied as Asia Pacific. 2. Understand cultural differences Related to the previous point, you also need ...

  Travelling During Lockdown . It is important to remember that there is still a pandemic out there and no cure in sight. Travelling has been allowed, some Airbnbs and hotels have opened, however, this is mainly for business-related travelling only. It’s still high-risk travelling, even if it is for work. But there are ways you can be safe. Here are a few things you can do before leaving home and once you have reached your destination. Do your research It is important to do your research before your trip - a corporate travel planning business can help with this. Although the regulations in every province are the same, a city might have its own extra rule on the side. Find out what one usually does when one arrives at your destination. This is especially important for the Airbnb or hotel that you are going to be staying at. If you’re not somebody who usually reads up on hotel policies, now is the time to be that person. Many places have changed their policies and rules to adjust to...

Travelling for business is often a necessary evil, depending on your job and workload, but if the trip is well organised - perhaps by a business travel agency , you can get all the work done that you need to finish before returning home. It is important that you take some time to prepare for your business trip so that you can be as organised and efficient as possible while you are away. Business trips can be stressful and chaotic, so you want to have everything in place before you go so that the trip is productive and as enjoyable as possible. You should avoid leaving everything until the day before you go away so that you don’t have to deal with any added pressure on the days leading up to your trip. Here are eight tips on how you can best prepare for a business trip and the different things you will want to consider. Make Sure You Have a Passport… and One That it is Valid This may seem like an obvious thing to do before any trip, but you will be surprised at how many people forget th...

One of the main consequences of COVID has been change – and lots of it. Almost all aspects of daily life have undergone a transformation to a certain extent, and how and why we travel is certainly no exception. It is evident how business travel, in particular, has altered over the past few months, but what remains to be seen is what it will look like in the years to come. So, what are the changes that corporate travellers can expect to see in a post-COVID world?  1. Business travel will experience a slow and steady revival Currently, most business owners are taking a wait-and-see approach to organising corporate travel for their employees. The State of the Market research recently conducted by the Flight Centre Travel Group indicates that 26% of businesses are planning to return to the same pre-COVID-19 levels for domestic travel during 2021. The remaining 74% of businesses predict reduced domestic travel for the immediate year ahead. Having said that, there is no escaping the fact...

  Who wouldn’t want international travel to be part of their job description?  Most people consider business travel a status symbol and a perk of the job – in fact, according to a survey by the accommodation website Booking.com for Business, 30 percent of people who travel on business would take a job at a lower salary if they could travel more. Similar research by the website LateRooms.com indicates that 41 percent of workers want to do more business travel. This suggests that company bosses may be underestimating the value of business travel as an incentive and an element of remuneration. The Booking.com research shows that more and more employees are blurring the line between business and leisure by extending trips to include leave time in overseas destinations. Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents in the Booking.com survey had done so in the previous 12 months and a third of them intended to do so again at the earliest opportunity. In fact, the trend is so well establis...