Traveling for business purposes is essential to the operation of many companies, despite the fact that it represents one of their most significant costs.
After a few years of upheaval, it is safe to say that international business travel is once again on the agenda. In addition, as companies get ready for the next phase of business travel, they are keen to get started on better managing their travel programs.
A growing number of businesses all over Europe are enlisting the assistance of travel management companies in order to help them cut costs, streamline their business operations, and improve the efficiency of both their travel budgets and travel programs.
If you are ready to centralize and modernize the processes involved in the management of your business travel, we have compiled this guide for you, which includes a list of travel management businesses in Europe. It covers the following topics:
• The benefits that come with outsourcing business travel booking and management to a travel management company as opposed to doing these tasks in-house
• The essential qualities to search for when selecting a business to manage travel arrangements
• An analysis of Europe’s leading travel management providers, ranked from best to worst
To what end does employing the services of a travel management business contribute?
There are many more types of customers that travel management companies serve besides businesses. Using the services of a travel management company can help businesses of all sizes and in all fields save money on airfare, lodging, and other travel-related costs. These benefits are available to businesses in all industries.
Accurate expenditure reporting, optimized budgets, and high levels of compliance with the organization’s business travel regulations are available to companies that optimize their travel programs (and, in turn, their travel budgets and future plans for business travel).
Let’s take a look at some of the additional advantages of utilizing travel management companies in Europe to manage the operations associated with your business travel:
• Management of business travel that is centralized: Companies that handle their travel programs in-house typically resort to a plethora of spreadsheets and convoluted email chains in order to organize their work trips. However, these time-consuming and complicated procedures can be avoided when a firm utilizes the services of a travel management organization. Booking trips, handling expenses, and adhering to company travel guidelines can all be consolidated onto a single, straightforward platform with the assistance of travel management businesses.
• Cost savings on travel and accommodation expenses One of the primary advantages of utilizing the services of a travel management company is the fact that they have the experience necessary to negotiate the most favorable corporate travel prices. A reliable travel management business will also be able to build long-term connections with hotels and airlines, which will enable you to save money in the long run.
• Self-booking engines that are simple to use: A reliable travel management business will support self-booking, which means that your employees will be able to make their own travel plans with the assistance of travel policies that are built into the system.
• The capability to make decisions that are driven by data and to optimize your travel spending: Travel management companies collect your travel data and compile reports on the trends of your travel spending. These reports include a breakdown of expenses by team, department, or project in order to assist you in optimizing future budgets.
• Increased compliance with travel policies: Even companies that have travel policies in place still have problems with unauthorized bookings that violate the guidelines laid out in the policies. Travel management companies have the ability to identify and prevent improper bookings, as well as incorporate your company’s travel policy into the way they manage your business’s travel program.
When selecting a travel management business, it is important to look for the following features:
There are a lot of travel management companies in Europe, and many of them offer travel technology to help with the booking process. Even while many of these platforms have a contemporary and user-friendly appearance, they may not always provide the functionality that are necessary to operate an efficient travel program.
If you choose a travel management business that does not provide you with all of the features that you require, you will be put in the same position as before, with all of the same constraints that you were confronted with in the past.
When comparing travel management firms in Europe, one of the most important things you should look for is a set of key features that can help you save money, safeguard your business travelers, and streamline your whole travel management program. These crucial characteristics are detailed below.
• Extensive travel inventories It is essential that the travel management company that you choose provides you with access to extensive inventories of transportation and accommodation providers, as well as the ability to compare prices, dates, and offers that are tailored to best meet your travel requirements.
• Built-in approval workflows: Embedding your travel approval workflows and travel policy into the platform of your travel management company helps you increase policy compliance rates and eliminates the need to manage travel and expenses via long email threads. This is one of the benefits of working with a travel management company. • Built-in approval workflows:
• Collection of invoices in a centralized location: Because certain travel management organizations do not function as a single vendor, you may still be required to collect and compile invoices from a variety of businesses even if the company handles the collection of invoices. You may save a lot of time and avoid a lot of headache by working with a travel management company that provides a system that combines all of your monthly invoices into a single invoice from a single vendor.
Why Booking options that are flexible Businesses are able to handle any last-minute changes to trip dates or cancelations after booking for no additional cost or at a rate that is affordable if booking options are flexible.
• 24/7/365 Customer support: Unexpected occurrences are unavoidable when traveling for business, and you need to be confident that your travel management firm will be there to assist you in the event that something goes wrong during your trip. It is crucial to have a customer support component that is both timely and easy to contact in order to assist your travelers in managing any concerns that may arise.
• Access to multiple modes of transportation: Whether your company is attempting to reduce its carbon footprint or does not conduct business in other countries, a good travel management company will give you access to modes of transportation other than air travel, such as rental cars and trains, through the same platform. This is true even if your company does not conduct business in other countries.
• Reporting capabilities: Being able to carry out major spend optimization operations allows you to obtain travel data that is segmented by individual business travelers, mode of transportation, booking type, cancelations, and recoverable VAT.
The five most successful travel management companies in Europe catering to business travelers
Now that you know what you want in a travel management business, let’s have a look at a list of travel management companies in Europe, along with an overview of the features that each firm offers, so that you can maximize the effectiveness of your travel programs.
All of the businesses on this list have international operations, but their headquarters are located in Europe. Here is a list of the five travel management businesses that we believe to be the best in Europe.
1. TravelPerk
TravelPerk is a corporate travel management company with an all-in-one platform that assists businesses in Europe and beyond in optimizing their travel programs. The company’s headquarters are located in Spain.
Not only does TravelPerk provide businesses with a greater number of travel services and support than any other travel management company, but it also gives users the ability to manage all business travel processes via its centralized, end-to-end digital platform. TravelPerk is the clear winner in this category.
With access to the world’s largest travel inventory for flights and accommodations, a one-of-a-kind VAT recovery solution, a carbon offsetting program, and FlexiPerk, a cancelation policy that grants users the ability to cancel business trip arrangements up to two hours before departure with a guaranteed refund of 80%, businesses can have peace of mind knowing that all of their travel needs are taken care of while saving money at the same time.
Other important goods and features provided by TravelPerk include the following:
• All-inclusive and up-to-date travel warnings to ensure the safety of passengers
• Travel policies that are integrated, as well as an in-app approval system
• Assistance with business travel arrangements around the clock and a response time of 15 seconds or less
• Capabilities for extensive report generation
• A streamlined procedure for handling travel expenses, streamlined expense dashboards, and real-time reporting of expenses
• Billing that is centralized as well as aggregated
• An extensive library of integrations with applications developed by third parties
The all-encompassing platform that TravelPerk provides can accommodate any and all of your requirements for business travel, regardless of whether you conduct business in Belgium, Mexico, Australia, or any other part of the world.
If you are interested in learning more about how TravelPerk might help your company’s business travel program become more streamlined, click here.
2. BCD Travel
BCD Travel is a corporate travel management firm that provides travel management services to enterprises located all over the world. The company’s headquarters are located in the Netherlands, and it has offices in 109 different countries.
In addition to providing the more common services associated with corporate travel management, BCD Travel also provides services for the administration of meetings, expenses, and the monitoring and reporting of carbon emissions.
BCD Travel is a typical travel management firm because its services are only available through travel agents; however, the company does offer some internet booking capabilities in the form of a software suite that is comprised of many independent platforms:
• BCD Pay is a solution for managing travel costs and expenses.
• BCD Alert is a mobile app designed specifically for business travelers that provides round-the-clock support and risk management.
• TripSource is an application that allows business travelers to manage their own trips independently.
• DecisionSource is a function that offers perspectives on the basis of trip program information.
Why should you book with TravelPerk instead of BCD Travel?
In spite of the fact that these online booking capabilities are available, the user experience provided by BCD Travel’s platforms is disjointed and decentralized because the platforms are not centralized.
Not only does TravelPerk close this gap with its unified business travel platform, which allows users to control the booking process from beginning to end, but it also excels in a number of other respects in comparison to BCD Travel.
For instance, while TravelPerk’s pricing is simple and there are no additional fees, users of BCD Travel must pay a membership fee in addition to the fees for any air or rail reservations they make. In addition, when it comes to flights and accommodations, TravelPerk has the largest inventory, whereas BCD Travel’s inventory is noticeably limited overall.
3. Egencia
Egencia is a corporate travel tool that specializes on business travel. The company’s headquarters are located in France, and it was just recently bought by American Express Global Business Travel (AMEX). The organization provides assistance to businesses in over 60 different nations with booking travel, risk management, and the welfare of its employees who are traveling.
The following is a list of the primary services and features offered by Egencia:
• Travel policy management
• Comprehensive answer for managing travel costs and expenses
• Dashboards that include both comprehensive reporting and benchmarking data
• Travel management consulting
• Approval processes for multiple levels of business trips
Why should you go with TravelPerk instead of Egencia?
Egencia still has significant modernization work to accomplish despite the recent acquisition it completed. The organization does not provide centralized itineraries for multiple bookings, has restricted availability for economy rates, and levies additional expenses for customer support.
TravelPerk, on the other hand, provides a straightforward price plan, as well as the greatest flight inventory in the world and consolidated itineraries for multiple bookings. Additionally, there are no additional monthly fees or hidden charges.
4. Capita Travel and Events
Agiito was once known as Capita Travel and Events. It is a firm that specializes in travel, meetings, and events and has its headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Users of this company’s app are able to obtain an overview of their entire trip, complete with flight information and check-in links, receive updates on any disruptions to their travel plans, and receive real-time notifications regarding platform and gate changes for train and flight travel.
The following are some of the primary products and services offered by the company:
• Meetings and events management
• Carbon neutrality and offsetting
• Traveler tracking and risk management
• 24/7/365 customer support
• Desktop and mobile travel app
• Integrated reservations to produce a unified travel plan
Why should you book your trip through TravelPerk instead through Capita Travel and Events?
The offerings for corporate travel provided by Capita Travel and Events are extremely limited. Customers do not have access to a rewards or loyalty points feature, the company has a significant amount of reliance on SAP Concur’s booking system, and it does not appear to offer any connectors with third-party services.
In the meantime, TravelPerk supports loyalty programs offered by airlines and hotels, offers a proprietary booking engine that is intuitive and user-friendly, and provides a long number of software connectors spanning a wide variety of fields.
5. ATPI
ATPI, which is situated in the United Kingdom, offers corporate travel and event management services to customers in a wide variety of industries around the world. These industries include retail, technology, construction, and financial services.
ATPI is a travel management company that specializes in serving enterprises that require bespoke travel solutions for specific industries. The offshore and energy, maritime, and mining and resources industries can all take advantage of the company’s specialized travel solution.
The following is a list of the primary services and features offered by ATPI:
• ATPI Halo, a service for measuring, reducing, and offsetting carbon dioxide emissions
• Online booking tool
• Corporate event management
• Traveler tracking system
• Expense management solution
• Methods of report generation
• Approval on numerous levels, as well as a variety of workflows
Why should you go with TravelPerk rather than ATPI?
When it comes to being a comprehensive solution for travel management, ATPI falls short of its potential, despite the fact that it is a good corporate management solution for specialized businesses.
When the feature set of ATP is contrasted with that of TravelPerk, for instance, it becomes abundantly evident that ATPI does not offer a trip inventory that is equivalent to TravelPerk’s, the same amount of third-party integrations, or a flexible cancellation policy for last-minute modifications.
With TravelPerk, you may take advantage of the very best experiences in corporate travel management.
Only TravelPerk is able to provide businesses with a comprehensive, up-to-date solution for their business travel needs from beginning to end. Businesses who are trying to optimize and streamline their corporate travel programs should absolutely go with this platform because of its low learning curve, extensive inventory of available trips, and seven-star customer service team.