Emailing hotels, confirming reservations, rescheduling cancelled bookings, tracking workforce traveller movements and verifying expense claims; the business of business travel can be laborious. It doesn’t have to be.
We’ve rounded up the best travel management software available in 2024. These business travel booking systems make administering and managing your business travel more efficient, saving you time and money and helping you meet your duty-of-care obligations to employees on the road.
But which is the best option for your team? Here’s our lowdown:
TL;DR
- Travel management software simplifies business travel organisation, from booking to expense management.
- While self-booking poses challenges, travel management platforms ensure compliance and flexibility.
- Roomex offers exclusive rates and a vast accommodation selection, saving up to 12%. TravelPerk excels in usability, while Egencia caters to global needs and Goodwings prioritises sustainability. Expensify streamlines expense management for frequent travellers.
- These tools optimise processes, which in turn save you money while enhancing the travel experience for your employees.
What is travel management software?
Travel management software is a digital solution that simplifies and reduces the cost of business travel. It’s the go-to tool for companies that want to manage business travel more efficiently, from booking accommodation to handling expenses.
Usually you’ll find features such as centralised booking platforms and expense management tools. Alongside those, real-time travel updates keep you on top of duty-of-care obligations, while comprehensive reporting functionalities help you optimise travel budgets.
Why does this matter? Business travel is growing fast, with workforce traveller numbers expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. And while the pandemic curtailed travel, 70% of employees view business travel as pivotal to their companys growth.
That increase and appetite for business travel impacts your team. With more travellers on the road, you, your travel managers, office managers and finance teams will need to look to digital solutions and travel booking systems to lessen the administrative burden.
What’s the best way to book corporate travel?
We’re not biassed, we promise, but the number one best way to book corporate travel is via a digital travel management solution or a B2B travel booking system. Why?
By using travel management software, you make business travel more cost-effective and compliant with company policies:
- Centralised booking platforms provide access to a wide range of accommodation and transport options in line with your travel policy.
- Negotiated rates save your business serious money.
- Real-time travel updates keep your employees safe on the road and make it easier for you to assist in emergencies.
- Invoicing on account and prepaid debit cards mean you can manage expenses without needing to collate thousands of receipts or pour through pages of spreadsheets.
- Comprehensive reporting helps you make informed decisions and monitor travel expenses effectively.
Can I self-book corporate travel?
While some employees may prefer to self-book their travel arrangements, this approach can pose challenges. Self-booking is often not compliant with company travel policies, making it difficult to track expenses and maintain your duty of care to your travelling staff. Your employees are more likely to end up out-of-pocket, too, by paying for their own accommodation or transport and then waiting for reimbursement in the next pay run.
However, travel management apps or hotel reservation software can give your workplace travellers the flexibility to book their own travel while keeping them compliant with company policies. These apps will highlight preferred suppliers and integrate approval workflows.
What is the best travel management solution in 2024?
For accommodation bookings Roomex:
Roomex is a travel management solution tailored for workforce travellers, offering a central booking platform with over two million workforce-suitable accommodation options. With Roomex, you can book and manage all your accommodation in one place, reducing the time spent searching multiple sites and negotiating rates leaving your travel managers to focus on other tasks, enhancing overall productivity.
Who is it for?
Roomex is ideal for companies with frequent domestic travellers, such as civil engineers, rail workers and other professionals in need of standard accommodation across the UK.
Why?
- Benefit from Roomex-negotiated rates that save your business money.
- Choose from over two million workforce-suitable accommodation options, including popular chains like Premier Inn, Travelodge, Holiday Inn and Ibis. Effective filtering helps you search for the features your employees need.
- It’s free and there’s no contract.
- We estimate you’ll save 12% on travel expenses by using the platform.
- Roomex integrates with Trainline, allowing you to book rail travel alongside hotels and take advantage of cheaper rates with split ticketing.
- You can plug in your travel policy to help employees choose in-policy accommodation.
- Roomex Support periodically checks reservations with hotels to confirm bookings and fulfill additional needs, like flexible check-in.
For useability TravelPerk:
A giant in the world of business travel booking software, TravelPerk boasts global clients like Airbus, FarFetch and WWF. Its ease of use and responsive customer service team are rated highly. TravelPerk offers clients an intuitive interface and app with access to a vast global collection of flights, accommodation, trains and more.
Who is it for?
TravelPerk caters to businesses of all sizes, particularly those experiencing rapid growth. Its global reach and extensive travel inventory make it an ideal choice for companies with international operations, too.
Why?
- Users benefit from 24/7 chat and phone support from real people, with a target response time of 15 seconds.
- It allows users to easily share and plan trips, making coordinating travel arrangements and internal approvals a much smoother process.
- Users can confidently book business travel without relying on personal credit cards, keeping personal information secure.
- TravelPerk provides comprehensive reporting and real-time cost visibility, which help you stay on top of travel budgets.
Drawbacks:
Some users report that the flight filtering features are inconvenient and that it’s not possible to pre-select seats when you book.
For global reach: Egencia
Egencia, part of the Expedia group, offers a comprehensive corporate travel management program and software for travel tailored to businesses. It supports policy compliance with authorization workflows, expense tracking, risk management and policy adherence all within a user-friendly interface.
Who is it for?
All businesses, from small and medium enterprises to global corporations, will find Egencia beneficial when booking business travel and managing expenses.
Why?
- Egencia provides a central platform for booking all aspects of business travel.
- The platform supports travel policy compliance and helps you track expenses.
- Users can charge travel expenses directly to corporate credit cards, eliminating the need for personal payments and reimbursement processes.
- Egencia allows users to enter travel information and set up administrators, which can speed up the approval process.
- With 24/7 chat and phone support in 32 languages, Egencia users receive assistance and support whenever they need it, regardless of their location or time zone.
Drawbacks:
Some users find it inconvenient to have to make changes or cancellations through the platform, rather than directly with an airline or hotel. There are grumbles about the website’s navigation and search functionality among reviewers, too, which some say make it difficult to find desired flights or accommodation.
For sustainability Goodwings:
More than 90% of us want to travel more sustainably and Goodwings is tapping into that green appetite. This Denmark-headquartered Certified B Corporation is dedicated to making business travel more sustainable. By calculating and offsetting carbon emissions associated with travel, Goodwings enables businesses to travel Net Zero at no extra cost.
Who is it for?
Businesses of all sizes committed to sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint associated with corporate travel.
Why?
- The platform calculates total travel emissions and removes an equal amount of carbon from the atmosphere by purchasing high-quality reforestation credits at no extra cost.
- Goodwings helps users explore more sustainable travel options, making it easier to make responsible travel decisions.
- Users can book flights, rail, rental cars and hotels all in one place, with 24/7 traveller support.
Drawbacks:
Despite its benefits, Goodwings lacks a mobile app, which is inconvenient if you prefer mobile accessibility. Additionally, reviewers note the platform currently does not support externally negotiated rates, which can limit flexibility for businesses with specific pricing agreements.
For travel expense management: Expensify
Expensify automates the entire travel spend management process. No more manual reconciliation: Expensify will scan your receipts and submit your expense claims automatically with approval and reimbursement part of the programme, too. Book all aspects of travel via its concierge service, and track your mileage and sync with corporate credit cards at the same time.
Who is it for?
Businesses with staff who travel a lot. Salespeople and other regular workforce travellers will find its ability to connect with corporate credit cards useful, which reduces paperwork and facilitates submitting expenses.
Why?
- Snap photos of physical receipts with Expensify’s SmartScan technology, or forward digital receipts for automatic transcription.
- Users can log trips in miles or kilometres for tax purposes or reimbursement.
- Expensify syncs with corporate credit cards, so you can see how much is being spent in real time, with automatic receipt matching and reconciliation.
- The platform allows users to submit expenses with automated coding and schedule expense reports for submission.
- You can book travel using the concierge service and create/send invoices as necessary.
- The platform integrates with major accounting packages.
Drawbacks:
Reviewers mention occasional quality issues. These focus around a lack of features and a general dissatisfaction with the Expensify customer service.
Our final thoughts
Online hotel booking software and corporate travel management apps help your business manage travel more efficiently and save money.
Roomex hotel booking software includes a simple central booking platform, with exclusive rates available on over two million workplace-suitable accommodation options. Use it, and youll save on average 12% on your yearly business travel expenses. Our user-friendly interface makes it easy to manage prepaid cards or filter accommodation options to suit your specific requirements. Ready to try it for your business?