How can I see some flight options for going to Frankfurt?
Who is this person that can help me with clarifying travel conditions for London?
What hotel should I book for the customer meeting in Prague?
Who should approve my business trip to Warsaw?
If this type of question sounds familiar or you have heard similar ones before from your colleagues, then your travel program is not clearly defined, or it does not serve the actual needs of your team.
Defining a travel program that works for your organization and for your employees may seem hard work. However, if it’s not done properly, it can bring headaches and waste valuable time that could otherwise be invested in your core activities. The policies and processes you implement for managing business travel are essential when you have goals to grow and develop your business further.
In this blog post, we aim to show you why a subscription may be the right solution for your company in managing business travel in an efficient manner for your people.
What is a travel management subscription?
A new way of working within a B2B relationship that focuses on the wellbeing of the employees. Oombla Travel has adopted a travel management-as-a-service model that is both transparent and predictable for small & medium enterprises.
You may be more used to the term transaction fee or booking fee when thinking about what you pay to the travel provider you have contracted. Sometimes it may be clearly stated as a separate fee on your invoice or it may be hidden in the total cost of your business trip. What happens if you need something extra? What happens if you need to change a detail in your booking? Is there an extra charge for it?
This fee may not include all the other services you need for your business trip, or it may not reflect the services you should benefit of as a company, as an employer. This type of approach focuses on generating more transactions related to a booking and not treating the traveler as a priority.
As a business traveler you need to:
- get the best options for your flight or accommodation to fit your schedule,
- have all the information or documents needed for your itinerary,
- know the travel conditions at destination city,
- see what documents you need to prepare before the trip,
- get the support you while being on trip,
- book those extra services like a restaurant or conference room,
- receive notifications for schedule change,
- confirm your transfer as per flight change,
- be supported by a travel consultant that cares,
- have someone answer the phone just in case you need them to.
A travel subscription covers all the travel booking services, traveler assistance, duty of care, and costs related to business-to-business facilities that are performed for the employees included in the travel program. It starts with what your traveler needs to arrange his business trip, it continues with assistance throughout the journey, and it finishes the moment they safely return home.
For Bespoke Travel Management that works for you
For a travel management agency such as Oombla Travel, the travel booking itself is just the beginning of what we do for our customers… it’s the red thread for all the other services, like traveler wellbeing, hotel research, duty of care, travel expenses review, and reporting services, that we offer.
There is more to a travel program than just booking a business trip.
As a travel management company, we provide a range of services to our business customers that go beyond a simple travel booking. We believe travel management today means looking past the actual booking transaction.
- We assess the current travel needs of the organization, routes & suppliers.
- We look at past issues faced by travelers.
- We make recommendations for the travel policy.
- We provide consultancy based on our extensive expertise in the travel industry.
Our job is to consult the customer on having in place the right processes and manage communication regarding their travel program as efficiently as possible to save money and time. A well-managed travel program in a subscription-based model has some important characteristics: the company saves time and money on booking services and the decision-makers will have the proper information on travel spend based on transparent information provided on a regular basis.
For Keeping Things Under Control
How can you be sure that your travel provider is giving the best price available? How do you know that the price you got in the quote is coming from your negotiated contract?
Having visibility on actual travel prices is notoriously difficult.
Yes. We said it. It is a common practice for travel providers to top up booking prices and then add their booking fee. There is no transparency. Based on years of booking business trips we can say that the lowest price may not prove to be the lowest cost for you. Price is what you pay, value is what you get.
The offers we provide travelers have the same price that we get from the supplier. That is how we work and how we choose to do business in a transparent manner: net fares & net rates.
As we are looking for long-lasting relationships with our business customers, we seek to bring a different way of charging for the services we provide. When moving away from a transaction-based approach to a service subscription you have the guarantee that the rates you will see on your invoice will be matched by the ones Oombla Travel pays to its providers.
For Having Peace of Mind
Travel may be a big part of your business, but it’s not the business you’re in. Oombla Travel’s role is to be your representative within the travel industry environment. We build connections with hundreds of suppliers globally and regionally, focusing on the whole travel supply chain that is needed to keep your travelers safe and productive.
We engage continuously with airlines, whole sellers, ground transportation companies or technology companies so that our customers receive travel options that suit their requirements and keep travel expenses under control.
Whether you are a start-up or a small-medium enterprise you will have issues that are both unique to you and your people. We use our experience to give customers solutions that best fit their needs, whether they travel nationally or regional. We seek to work with our business customers in a bespoke manner that works for their organization.
Keeping things simple is not an easy job when we are dealing with a complex industry like travel is. That is why we keep close with top suppliers on the market to be able to make them bring feasible solutions in an uncomplicated manner.
Business travel management is an important activity for any successful company. And from what we see the best is not settling for average delivered or poor services, they’re looking for new and different ways to manage business travel for the wellbeing of their people.
Are you in charge of a small or medium-sized business? Do you travel frequently for your business? Do you need to deliver a better experience for your employees when they travel? Oombla Travel can help with that! Oombla is a travel management agency that is an expert in providing the optimum solutions for your business trips. With Oombla Travel, you will be able to give those extra perks that will help you with team engagement and retention.
Let us show you how you can redefine business travel for your team. Contact us.