Seven reasons why your business should use an online booking tool

 

In today’s digital world, exasperated by lockdowns and the worldwide pandemic, ‘offline’ booking methods seem even more obsolete and impractical. With a centralized, online travel booking process, businesses can increase their productivity and reduce costs significantly. Investing in travel technology such as online booking tools (OBTs) will be vital for companies looking to support the evolving needs of the business and travel workforce.

Save time and money

It’s no surprise that online bookings incur much lower booking fees compared to bookings made over the phone. When time equals money, utilizing automated services is the best way to save dollars and improve productivity for your employees – why wait in the phone queue if you don’t have to!

Booking domestic travel and simple itineraries online free up your dedicated travel advisor to assist with the more complex travel itineraries, that’s when their expert knowledge really comes in handy.

Increase employee efficiency

OBTs allow your employees’ travel requests to be processed faster and reduce the workload pressure on PA’s and EA’s. Training is provided to ensure employees understand how to use the OBT’s features with ease so that companies and their employees can experience the full benefit of their travel management solution.

Pre-trip approval features ensure time and money are not spent on unapproved travel, and can be configured to allow different levels of authority for different types of users (bookers, approvers, travelers). All user information can be securely stored in an OBT through its intuitive technology, reducing the risk of error when it comes to entering frequent flyer information or spelling a traveler’s name correctly.

Ensure duty of care

Knowing where your travelers are and how to contact them in times of an emergency has never been more front of mind. Traveler tracking and risk alerts allow companies to easily locate and contact travelers in a timely manner should any travel safety risks arise. Pre-trip approval features prevent any risky or unconventional travel plans from being booked. Companies can assign different levels of approval and functionality to users, meaning responsibility is delegated appropriately and decision-makers are held accountable for their travelers.

Travel policy compliance

Complete configuration of your company’s travel policy prevents users from booking travel that is not compliant. This can involve only displaying content from preferred suppliers or removing booking options that exceed price limits. If your company has negotiated rates with a supplier, you can upload those rates to the OBT and limit bookings to this provider only.

Improve data capture and reporting

Access to benchmarking data and travel reports provide regular guidance and proactive advice on how you can optimize your travel program. Advanced tools, such as Power BI, offer strategic account analysis to identify new savings opportunities and benchmark your contracts against similar companies – ensuring you get the best deal possible.

Sustainability

Sustainability has become one of the primary concerns for businesses, causing many to set firm carbon-reduction targets across their operations. By providing visibility over the carbon emissions for flights, hotels and car hire, OBTs allow you to evaluate the CO² emissions of each trip and better understand the environmental impact of your travel program.

Investing in an online booking tool will not only ensure your company is able to cater to the needs of the traveling workforce, it will also allow you to streamline processes, reduce risk and achieve your operational goals.

This informative blog on reasons to use an online booking tool was written by CTM’s Client Value & Sales Manager SME, Marc Gold.