17 April 2012

Questions to Ask When Buying Business Travel Services

Whatever the travel needs of your business, you may be better off outsourcing all your bookings to business travel agents rather than arranging it in-house.

Whatever the travel needs of your business, you may be better off outsourcing all your bookings to business travel agents rather than arranging it in-house.

There a number of ways your organisation could benefit, including getting access to cheaper prices, saving time, added extras such as help with visa and passport issues, and 24 hour emergency assistance.

So, if you've decided to source business travel agents as potential partners for your company, what sort of questions should you be asking in order to find the right supplier?

• What can you provide that other business travel agents can't?

Don't be afraid to put a company on the spot when buying business travel services. The answer you get to this question will give you a good insight into what a company can offer as well as their approach to customer service.

• Will we have our own account manager?

Building a relationship with your own account manager can make dealing with business travel agents so much easier. If you end up dealing with a different person every time you call or email, it can feel like starting again from square one.

A dedicated account manager will get to know your preferences and those of your staff over time which will make for seamless travel and accommodation bookings.

• What added extras can you provide?

There's a lot more to buying business travel services than just getting from A to B and finding somewhere to stay. What happens if you lose your passport abroad? Can you get discounted rates on car hire? Can your form of business travel agents arrange to meet and transport you or your guests on arrival?

Other additional services you may require include travel insurance, help with translation and language problems, as well as airport car parking.

• Why should we use you rather than booking all our own travel arrangements?

You may or may not have the resources to book all your own travel in-house, but it's still worth asking this question.

As with any supplier decision, it's important to make sure you're getting the most value from the arrangement. Buying business travel is no different; if you can't see how you can achieve a positive ROI either in terms of finances or convenience, you may want to speak to another provider.

**Author Bio: **The Co-operative Travel Management provides a professional and reliable range of business travel services. Visit to find out more about how your company can benefit.