Why more businesses are rethinking how their travelling workforce gets from A to B
For many organisations, travel policies are reviewed once, uploaded to a shared drive and largely forgotten until a problem arises.
The trouble is that workforce travel has changed significantly over the past few years.
Travel costs remain volatile. Sustainability reporting requirements are becoming more demanding. Rail networks continue to expand. Employees expect more flexibility. And travel disruptions, whether caused by strikes, weather events or geopolitical issues, have become an increasingly common part of doing business.
A travel policy written three years ago may still cover basic booking procedures and spending limits, but it may not adequately address the challenges organisations face today.
That matters because a travel policy is more than a set of rules. It shapes traveller behaviour, controls costs, supports compliance and helps organisations protect their people while they travel for work.
As we move through 2026, now is the ideal time to review whether your policy is still fit for purpose.
Here are ten updates every travel manager should consider.
Travel policies have traditionally focused on three things:
- Cost control
- Booking procedures
- Expense management
Those fundamentals still matter, but they are no longer enough.
Today’s travel managers are increasingly expected to contribute to wider business objectives, including:
- ESG reporting
- Procurement efficiency
- Risk management
- Employee wellbeing
- Supplier consolidation
- Carbon reduction
In many organisations, travel now sits at the intersection of operations, finance, procurement and sustainability.
That means your travel policy needs to do much more than tell employees where they can stay and how much they can spend.
One of the biggest shifts in workforce travel is the growing preference for rail.
Business travellers increasingly view rail as a viable alternative to domestic and short-haul flights. In fact, research shows that when journey times and costs are comparable, most travellers would choose rail over air.
The reasons are straightforward.
Rail often offers:
- City-centre to city-centre travel
- Fewer delays
- More productive journey time
- Lower carbon emissions
- Reduced travel stress
For many organisations, a rail-first approach is becoming a simple way to reduce both emissions and travel friction.
Your policy should clearly define:
- When rail is preferred
- Maximum journey times
- Approved rail classes
- Booking procedures
- Exceptions
The easier you make rail travel, the more likely employees are to choose it.
Roomex helps simplify this process by allowing organisations to manage rail and accommodation bookings through a single platform, supported by custom approval workflows and spend controls.
One of the biggest misconceptions in business travel is that flying automatically saves time.
In reality, the answer depends entirely on how the journey is measured.
Airlines typically advertise the time spent in the air.
Travellers experience something very different.
A flight often includes:
- Travel to the airport
- Early arrival requirements
- Security screening
- Boarding procedures
- Taxiing
- Potential delays
- Baggage collection
- Ground transport at the destination
By the time the traveller reaches their final destination, the journey can be significantly longer than the flight duration suggests.
Rail travel removes many of these steps.
Passengers can generally arrive shortly before departure, board quickly and travel directly into city centres without requiring additional transfers.
This is where the discussion around high speed rail vs air travel becomes particularly interesting.
Routes such as:
- London to Manchester
- London to Paris
- Madrid to Barcelona
- Milan to Rome
often demonstrate how competitive rail can be once total journey time is considered.
Many organisations now use a city-centre-to-city-centre measurement rather than comparing flight durations alone.
This approach provides a much more realistic assessment of the traveller’s experience.
Research consistently shows that rail becomes increasingly attractive when journey times fall below four or five hours.
For many domestic and regional European journeys, that threshold is already being met.
As rail infrastructure continues to improve across Europe, the number of routes where trains compete directly with flights continues to grow.
Travel policies have traditionally focused on financial cost.
Increasingly, they also need to consider environmental cost.
Many procurement teams, clients and regulators now expect businesses to understand and report the carbon impact of their operations.
Business travel plays a significant role in Scope 3 emissions reporting, particularly for organisations with mobile workforces.
Your travel policy should outline:
- Preferred low-carbon travel options
- Carbon reduction goals
- Reporting responsibilities
- Sustainable travel expectations
Importantly, sustainability objectives need to be practical.
Employees are unlikely to embrace sustainability targets if policies make travel significantly more difficult.
The goal is not to eliminate travel. It is to make smarter travel decisions.
Roomex’s Carbon Reporting tool helps organisations build a clear picture of travel-related emissions through automated reporting linked directly to booking data.
This helps businesses:
- Meet CSRD requirements
- Track Scope 3 emissions
- Support ESG reporting
- Demonstrate sustainability progress during tenders and audits
Travel disruption is no longer an occasional inconvenience.
Flight cancellations, rail strikes, severe weather and geopolitical events have become regular challenges for travel managers.
The problem is that many travel policies provide little guidance on what happens when plans change.
When employees become stranded or delayed, questions quickly emerge:
- Who approves alternative accommodation?
- What expenses are reimbursable?
- Can employees work remotely?
- Who manages rebooking?
- How often should travellers check in?
Without clear guidance, decisions become inconsistent.
A modern travel policy should include a dedicated disruption section covering:
- Emergency booking procedures
- Escalation routes
- Additional accommodation approvals
- Traveller communication expectations
- Alternative travel arrangements
The objective is not to predict every scenario but to create a framework that allows decisions to be made quickly and consistently.
Duty of care is often discussed but rarely defined in practical terms.
For organisations managing workforce travel, particularly in construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors, duty of care extends far beyond emergency response.
It starts with visibility.
You need to know:
- Where employees are travelling
- Where they are staying
- How to contact them
- Whether support is required
Your travel policy should define:
- Traveller tracking procedures
- Emergency contact processes
- Accommodation safety standards
- Incident reporting requirements
This becomes particularly important for lone workers, remote teams and employees travelling to unfamiliar locations.
Roomex’s Duty of Care functionality gives organisations a clearer picture of traveller locations and booking activity, helping improve visibility and response times during disruptions.
Many accommodation policies are built around nightly rate caps.
While budget control matters, price alone does not determine suitability.
For field-based workers, accommodation quality directly impacts wellbeing, productivity and safety.
A hotel that is technically within budget may still be unsuitable if it lacks:
- Secure parking
- Flexible check-in
- Food options
- Appropriate location
- Reliable internet
- Long-stay facilities
Accommodation policies should move beyond simple spending limits and define minimum standards.
Consider including:
- Distance from site
- Safety requirements
- Parking availability
- Dining options
- Long-stay suitability
Roomex gives organisations access to more than two million accommodation options while helping ensure employees stay in properties that support both operational requirements and traveller wellbeing.
Expense policies often become outdated long before anyone notices.
Meal allowances, mileage rates and reimbursement processes can quickly drift out of alignment with current travel realities.
Employees increasingly expect:
- Faster reimbursement
- Less paperwork
- Clearer guidance
- Digital processes
Your travel policy should clearly define:
- Eligible expenses
- Daily allowances
- Mileage claims
- Receipt requirements
- Approval timelines
The simpler the process, the greater the compliance.
Complicated expense systems often encourage policy workarounds rather than adherence.
A modern travel programme should reduce administration for both travellers and finance teams.
International travel and its requirements change all the time.
New entry requirements, border systems and documentation obligations mean that travellers need greater clarity than ever before.
Travel policies should clearly state:
- Who is responsible for obtaining visas
- Required travel documentation
- Passport validity expectations
- Insurance requirements
- Compliance obligations
Providing this information centrally reduces confusion and helps minimise last-minute travel issues.
Many organisations also include destination-specific guidance for higher-risk locations.
The objective is to remove uncertainty before travel begins.
Travel data has become one of the most valuable resources available to procurement and travel managers.
Unfortunately, many organisations still struggle to access accurate reporting because bookings are fragmented across multiple suppliers and systems.
Your travel policy should encourage centralised booking and clearly define reporting expectations.
This may include:
- Monthly spend reviews
- Supplier reporting
- Carbon reporting
- Policy compliance tracking
- Traveller behaviour analysis
Without visibility, it becomes difficult to improve performance.
Roomex Insights Pro helps organisations analyse travel spend, identify cost-saving opportunities and gain greater visibility into booking behaviour across projects, teams and locations.
One of the biggest hidden costs in workforce travel is fragmentation.
Different teams use different suppliers.
Employees book through multiple channels.
Data becomes scattered.
Policy compliance becomes harder to enforce.
And procurement teams lose leverage.
A travel policy should actively encourage consolidation wherever practical.
Benefits include:
- Better reporting
- Improved compliance
- Reduced administration
- Stronger supplier relationships
- Greater negotiating power
Consolidation does not necessarily mean reducing traveller choice.
It means creating a consistent framework that improves visibility and control.
By centralising accommodation, rail booking, approvals and reporting through a single platform, organisations can significantly reduce administrative complexity while improving oversight.
Before signing off your next policy review, ask yourself whether your travel programme includes:
✔ A rail-first strategy where practical
✔ Carbon reporting requirements
✔ Travel disruption procedures
✔ Duty of care guidance
✔ Modern accommodation standards
✔ Automated approval workflows
✔ Updated expense rules
✔ International travel guidance
✔ Clear reporting requirements
✔ Supplier consolidation objectives
If not, now is the time to make those changes.
The best travel policies are not long documents that employees never read.
They are practical frameworks that help businesses make better decisions every day.
- They reduce costs.
- They improve traveller experiences.
- They strengthen compliance.
- They support sustainability goals.
- And they provide clarity when things do not go according to plan.
As workforce travel becomes increasingly connected to procurement, ESG, finance and operational performance, travel policies need to evolve alongside it.
Roomex helps organisations put modern travel policies into practice through workforce accommodation, rail booking, one-click approvals, travel analytics, duty of care tools and automated carbon reporting.
Whether your goal is improving compliance, reducing costs or supporting sustainability objectives, the right travel policy is the foundation that makes everything else possible.
Ready to modernise your travel programme?
Book a demo today and discover how Roomex can help you simplify workforce travel, improve visibility and keep your travel policy working in the real world.
Why should businesses review their travel policy in 2026?
Business travel has changed significantly in recent years. Rising travel costs, increased sustainability requirements, greater duty of care expectations and new reporting obligations mean many travel policies are no longer fit for purpose. A policy review helps organisations improve compliance, reduce costs and support changing business priorities.
What changes should be included in a modern travel policy?
A modern travel policy should cover more than booking rules and spending limits. Key areas include rail-first travel guidance, carbon reporting, travel disruption procedures, duty of care responsibilities, accommodation standards, expense management, approval workflows and travel data reportin
Are businesses required to report travel-related carbon emissions?
Many organisations now need to track and report business travel emissions as part of broader ESG and sustainability reporting requirements. Travel is typically included within Scope 3 emissions reporting. Businesses operating under frameworks such as CSRD may need more detailed travel data to support compliance and disclosures.
Should rail travel be included in a travel policy?
Yes. Many organisations are introducing rail-first policies for domestic and short-haul journeys where rail is a practical alternative to flying. Rail can reduce carbon emissions, improve traveller productivity and help organisations meet sustainability objectives.
What is duty of care in business travel?
Duty of care refers to an employer’s responsibility to protect employees while travelling for work. This includes knowing where employees are travelling, ensuring suitable accommodation is booked, providing support during disruptions and having processes in place to respond to emergencies.
What should a travel disruption policy include?
A travel disruption policy should explain what happens if a trip is affected by cancellations, delays, strikes, severe weather or other unexpected events. It should cover emergency accommodation, alternative travel arrangements, remote working options, reimbursement rules and communication expectations.
How often should a travel policy be reviewed?
Most organisations should review their travel policy at least once a year. However, significant changes to regulations, sustainability requirements, travel costs or operational needs may justify more frequent reviews.
Several developments are influencing travel policy reviews in 2026:
- Increased focus on ESG and carbon reporting requirements
- Growing adoption of rail-first travel policies
- Greater scrutiny of business travel emissions within procurement processes
- More frequent travel disruption caused by strikes, weather and geopolitical events
- New expectations around traveller wellbeing and duty of care
Businesses should make sure their travel policies reflect these operational and regulatory changes.
From April 2026, employers are required to keep detailed annual leave and holiday pay records for a minimum of six years. This includes leave taken, carry-over entitlements and holiday pay calculations. While this is primarily an HR responsibility, organisations should ensure any travel disruption decisions that affect leave or absence are properly documented and retained.
