Navigating business travel doesn’t have to be turbulent. With the right approach, common challenges can transform into opportunities to streamline operations, enhance traveler satisfaction, and boost your company’s ROI.
Here are nine frequent obstacles that many organizations face—and solutions that will help your travel program reach new heights, as well as actionable insights for overcoming these challenges and optimizing your business travel strategy.
1. Keeping costs under control
Striking the right balance between affordability and quality can feel like a constant tug-of-war. Searching for the lowest rates, negotiating with suppliers, and sifting through endless options is both time consuming and tedious.
“Travel is usually one of the three largest expenditures for an organization,” explained Dallas Stewart, manager of client consulting services at Christopherson Business Travel. “If not done correctly, it can lead to additional cost and not a lot of return on investment. It has been shown time and time again, that by integrating a purposeful travel program into their business, it not only maximizes your return on investment, but increases productivity of your employees.”
That’s where Christopherson’s corporate travel management solutions come in. We simplify the process, consolidate options, and help secure discounted rates to help your travel budget go further. Here’s how we help you save:
· Supplier discounts: Access exclusive discounts, benefits, and additional savings through ourcorporate programs, tailored travel management plans, and by leveraging your consolidated travel spend.
· Unused airline ticket management: Maximize your budget with our ticket tracking tool that centralizes and managesunused airline tickets to put them to good use.
· Policy integration and approvals: Whether booking online or with one of our agents, our tools seamlessly integrateyour travel policies and vendor programs—delivering savings without compromising service.
At Christopherson, our robust data and reporting tools—combined with expert agent support—help uncover cost-saving opportunities to protect your cash while keeping your travelers happy.
2. Enforcing travel policies
Keeping employees compliant with travel policies can be a challenge, especially when trips are booked independently. Without proper oversight, expenses can spiral and policy violations may go unnoticed.
The solution? Seamlessly integrate your travel policy into booking systems and automate compliance checks. This helps trips stay within budget while reducing the time and effort spent on manual approvals. Here’s how Christopherson can help you enforce travel policy compliance:
· Integrated policy automation: Embed your travel guidelines directly into our booking systems. Automated compliance checks flag out-of-policy bookings, ensuring your travel expenses remain under control without extra administrative effort.
· Expense policy templates: Simplify the process with customizable templates that guide employees to adhere to your travel expense procedures—no guesswork required.
· Custom programs: Tailor your corporate travel program to your business needs with our scalable tools and consultative services, designed to provide effortless oversight.
With Christopherson, enforcing travel policies becomes a seamless part of your workflow, freeing up your team to focus on what matters most.
3. Handling travel disruptions
Flight cancellations, train strikes, and other unexpected disruptions can derail even the most carefully planned trips. These issues not only frustrate travelers but also impact productivity and schedules.
To keep your business moving, real-time travel alerts and24/7 travel assistance services are essential. Quick responses and expert support help minimize disruptions and stress, ensuring your travelers can focus on their work.
“Oftentimes, you don’t get the customer service that you need from an automated tool,” Stewart said. “While we have both automation and full service, you need quality service to balance out your program to be successful. For example, during covid, we had many travelers abroad that booked on their own. They called our advisors to assist in getting them back home because they needed expertise and knowledge.”
Here’s how Christopherson supports your travelers:
· Real-time travel alerts: Stay ahead of disruptions with instant notifications that help travelers adjust plans quickly and efficiently.
· 24/7 travel assistance: We’re here for your employees whenever they need us, offering personalized support to navigate cancellations, re-bookings, or unexpected changes to make every trip as smooth as possible.
· Enhanced traveler experience: By providing immediate assistance during disruptions, we help reduce stress, keeping your travelers happy, productive, and ready to work when you need the most.
With Christopherson, disruptions don’t have to bring your travel plans to a standstill. We’ll help your team stay on track—no matter what challenges arise.
4. Managing duty of care
Traveler safety is paramount. From assessing risks to providing safety guidelines and implementing traveler tracking, travel managers must keep their employees’ well-being top of mind at every step. Christopherson’s travel risk management tools and expert support make this process seamless:
· Traveler tracking: Know where your employees are during their trips with robust tracking tools that provide real-time visibility and updates.
· Customized risk alerts: Identify and mitigate potential risks before they affect your travelers, ensuring a safer and smoother journey.
· Expert duty of care support: Our team takes the time to understand your unique needs and risks, helping you implement safety measures, manage challenges, and help with travel policy compliance.
With Christopherson, managing travel risk is simpler and more effective. Let us help you prioritize your team's safety while enabling worry-free business travel. Learn more on our blog: Redefining risk management: A modern approach for business travel.
5. Minimizing your carbon footprint
Reducing environmental impact has become a vital part of business operations, including travel. However, balancing sustainability goals with essential business travel needs can be challenging. Christopherson’s tools make it easier to track, manage, and reduce your organization’s travel carbon footprint:
· Carbon footprint tracking: Gain insights into the environmental impact of your corporate travel with tools that measure and analyze emissions.
· Sustainable travel solutions: Make informed decisions to reduce emissions while still meeting business travel objectives.
· Expert guidance: Leverage our expertise to align your travel program with your company’s sustainability goals.
With Christopherson, you can meet your business travel needs while working toward a greener future. Learn more on our blog: Sustainable business travel: Trends, challenges, and strategies.
6. Integrating technology
Navigating the rapidly evolving travel tech landscape can be overwhelming. Travel managers often struggle to integrate multiple tools and platforms into a cohesive system. Centralized platforms simplify the process by integrating various tools and streamlining travel management tasks. At Christopherson, we are committed to advancing travel technology:
· Centralized platforms: Manage all aspects of your travel program in one place for efficiency and ease of use.
· Streamlined features: Our innovative tools help travel managers control costs, measure savings, and focus on traveler safety.
· Enhanced collaboration: Integrated solutions create a seamless experience for both managers and travelers.
Discover how our cutting-edge technology can transform your travel program. Visit our technology page for more insights.
7. Managing travel data
Managing travel data effectively is critical for controlling costs, improving policies, and making informed decisions. Many companies still struggle with manual reporting and disconnected systems that slow down their ability to act. That’s why Christopherson developed Andavo, our new cloud-based, API-first platform that centralizes travel data management. With Andavo, companies gain real-time visibility into travel spend, compliance, and traveler activity—all in one secure hub.
· Centralized data: Eliminate silos with a single source of truth for your travel program.
· Real-time insights: Make faster, smarter decisions with live reporting and analytics.
· Scalability and security: Andavo is built in the cloud to support organizations of all sizes with enterprise-grade security.
With Andavo, business travel management becomes smarter, faster, and more transparent, empowering leaders to maximize ROI while reducing administrative burden. Learn more about Andavo here.
8. Giving travelers autonomy while ensuring adherence to policy
Balancing flexibility with policy adherence is key to traveler satisfaction and budget control. Christopherson helps by:
· Automating compliance: Our tools allow travelers to choose options within policy guidelines.
· Clear travel and expense policies: Internal templates streamline policy adherence.
· Integrated travel management: Corporate travel planning promotes operational efficiency and cost control.
Having clear and comprehensive travel policy standards offers a streamlined process for both employees and approvers. Many businesses opt to create their own internal travel and expense policies, along with templates, to simplify access for employees—rather than relying on third-party tools.
9. Keeping travelers satisfied
Satisfied travelers are more productive. Addressing business travel challenges throughout the trip shows that companies value their employees.
“Traveler satisfaction is part of the cycle of the program. If you drew a circle and had policy, cost, duty of care, and traveler satisfaction, they are all dependent on each other," Stewart explained. "If you have a satisfied traveler, they are more motivated to book within the program and save money. If they are out of balance, it could mean you are at risk of leakage, employee attrition, and higher costs.”
A GBTA study found that business trips significantly impact job satisfaction. Learn more on our blog: Prioritizing wellness for business travelers: Tips for travelers and travel managers.
Conclusion
Addressing the challenges of business travel head on opens the door to meaningful improvements, enhancing the overall travel experience and boosting employee morale. By prioritizing traveler satisfaction and aligning with company values, such as sustainable travel and cost-saving measures, businesses can make a positive impact.
By striking the right balance between traveler needs and company objectives, travel managers can craft effective policies that lead to smoother business trips and a reduction in travel-related challenges.
FAQs about business travel challenges
What are business travel challenges?
Common business travel challenges include managing travel costs, enforcing policy compliance, dealing with disruptions, ensuring traveler safety, and navigating international logistics. Without streamlined systems, these issues can lead to overspending, stress, and inefficiency.
What kind of factors may cause problems for business travelers?
Flight cancellations, hotel booking issues, safety concerns, and policy compliance can all cause problems for travelers. Not to mention time zone differences that can disrupt sleep patterns. Clear policies and responsive, expert help can help minimize some of the stress associated with business travel.
What are some other challenges of traveling?
In addition to disruptions, business travel can present other challenges:
· Financial: Staying within a clear travel budget while managing expenses.
· Psychological: The stress of navigating a foreign environment, handling cultural differences, and maintaining mental well-being during long or difficult trips.
· Logistical: Choosing efficient transportation, managing time zones, dealing with language barriers, and ensuring safety.
These factors can make travel difficult, so it’s essential to have the right system sand support in place so business trips go smoothly.
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