The 411 on Our 101 Travel Management Guides

Whether you just became the leader of your travel department or “travel manager” is an addendum to your full-time role, running a corporate travel program is a more complicated job than most in your firm probably realize. From trying to rein in travel costs when hotel and airline rates keep going up to bolstering your travel risk management program for your employees’ safety, there are a lot of different hats to wear and duties to juggle.

We understand the challenges of the job, especially for those who are newly appointed — which is why we have put together a series of 101 guides to serve as your assistant. Consider them the CliffsNotes version of a voluminous travel management company textbook:

• Travel Management 101. This guide is an excellent place to start if you are fresh on the job and want an overview of what will be coming across your desk. Touching on such topics as sharing economy, duty of care and communication strategies, it defines where travel managers are focusing their efforts today and how they are shaping their policy for tomorrow.
• Travel Policy 101. A written travel policy is the foundation of any managed travel program. This guide will help you get started on crafting your own.
• Cost Savings 101. Want to earn brownie points with key stakeholders? This guide gives you eight steps that can trim your organization’s travel costs and includes everything from why business travelers should purchase nonrefundable airline tickets to solutions that automatically will scour for, then score a better rate for you.
• Travel Safety 101. Keeping your travelers safe during their journeys may feel like an overwhelming task. But this guide will show you how to develop and implement a strategic plan — from building your risk management team to equipping yourself with the right tools — in seven easy steps.
• Data and Reporting 101. Now for the fun stuff. You may be the type to shy away from digging into the numbers, but once you learn which key performance indicators to use as your guide — and how much it can unearth about your program and steer you to which actions to take — you’ll be diving right in.
• Procurement Savings 101. This guide will help drive savings during the procurement process and land you a better deal with your preferred suppliers.
• TM Terms 101. All this time you thought that “TM” was an abbreviation for trademark symbol? Not in this industry. But don’t worry. In this handy guide, we’ll decode some of the obscure lingo and acronyms regularly tossed around in this biz — so you won’t be caught asking Siri or Alexa.