Keeping up the pace with what’s new on the market and with measuring, analyzing and interpreting the customers behavior, pattern and expectations has always been one of the many challenges that Travel Management Companies are facing.
Add these to the fact that the travel sector and all its components are dynamic, the entire industry changing by the minute for being directly influenced by the constant development and evolution of technology, and the TMCs find themselves in a bit of a bother.
The corporate customers will always want a tailored travel experience, flexibility, control and a wide variety of choices when making their business travelling plans, so how can you meet their expectations as well as making the right choice for your own company?
The corporate self-booking tool is one of the most used travel management programs nowadays, thanks to its autonomy and simplicity in use, but most importantly thanks to allowing the companies to lower their transaction and travel costs as no travel agent assistance or support is required.
However, as many other programs, this one too comes in many forms, the market offering a variety of corporate self booking tools, hence the question: What should I be looking for when choosing a corporate self-booking tool?
Simple & easy
The first thing that should come to mind when thinking about the right corporate self-booking tool is simplicity. How easy is it to use? Will my corporate customers find it user-friendly and a time-saver in booking their next business trip, or on the contrary? Will it be easy to integrate?
In a fast-paced and busy corporate environment, time is of the essence, so whatever your choice, the tool needs to be simple to use and with a friendly and welcoming interface.
Also, it must easily integrate with a reliable and multi-market back office system, for this will ensure control over costs and travel policies at all times for travel managers.
Content freedom
Your corporate customers’ needs are constantly increasing, so they want to access more offers than ever, this being reason enough not to choose a CSBT with predefined content.
Instead, choose one that will include offers from commercial airlines, as well as low-cost carriers, from your own GDS contractors, hotels from wholesalers or the ones contracted directly by you. A myriad or possibilities will increase the adoption factor.
Also for you, as a Travel Management Company, the possibility of choosing your own suppliers means that you will be able to negotiate better offers and prices.
Travel policy configuration
It is highly important to choose a CSBT that allows you to set an advanced travel policy configuration because without the right policy in place and also without compliance, companies are likely to expose themselves to substantial unnecessary costs in their travel activities.
A good online booking tool permits policies definitions per various criteria, such as: type of service, total value of the transaction, departure or destination cities, airlines, flight classes, flight duration, hotel categories, regions accepted for accommodation and the list can continue.
Affordable
Solutions must fit the people’s needs and if you are servicing small and medium-sized enterprises, probably you can’t afford expensive tools. That’s why it’s important to choose an affordable CSBT from a vendor that doesn’t charge you for the transactions performed. You should also consider the tools that have no limitations with respect to the number of users allowed in the system.
Reporting
Another important aspect when choosing a CSBT is the reports that it can generate. An in-depth report will help your corporate customers have a better image over their travel reservations, policy compliance and will increase their level of control into re-adjusting travel policies or certain features.
They could easily centralize and download details about the services used, prices, the name of the users and what they have booked, who approved the reservations etc.
For a better understanding of how a corporate self booking tool works like and how can it improve and simplify travel plans for your corporate customers , try our FREE CSBT DEMO!
