Companies and startups develop, nourish, and sustain customer relationships by investing in business travel. Also, they streamline corporate travel management by deploying in-house travel managers. Travel managers make business trips successful and control business travel spending simultaneously by optimizing a complex and crucial process like business travel booking.

However, as a travel manager, you have to plan and book business trips for individual and a group employees. While booking group travel for business purposes, you must consider varying travel preferences and travel itineraries of a group of employees. Likewise, you need to boost business travel experiences and the safety of multiple employees.

Hence, you will find corporate group travel bookings more challenging than booking trips for individual employees. Experienced travel managers simplify group travel booking by following some best practices. 

Here are some of the best practices that you should follow to book group travel for business purposes efficiently and successfully.

9 Best Practices to Book Corporate Group Travel Bookings Successfully

1. Consider the Travel Needs and Preferences of Each Employee

The members of a single group differ from each other in the category of travel preferences. For instance, some members of the group may prefer direct flights to connecting flights. Likewise, some employees may opt for homestays instead of hotels.

Before booking a group business trip, you must spend some time understanding the travel choices and preferences of individual employees. At the same time, you need to ensure that each member of the group arrives at the business travel destination at the same time.

2. Identify Group Leaders

You can understand their travel preferences only by interacting with individual employees. Hence, you must start planning the group business trip as early as possible. Also, you need to communicate with each member of the group regularly and repeatedly.

You can save time and effort by identifying specific employees as leaders of the group. The leaders will share relevant information with you by interacting with their coworkers. Also, they will communicate booking details to other members of the group.

3. Establish Business Travel Budget

Before starting the group business travel booking, you must refer to the organizational travel policies. The reference will help you understand what travel products to choose and what travel products you should not book. However, you also have to focus on controlling the group business trip costs along with ensuring policy compliance.

You can book the right business travel products and control costs by making a business travel budget. There are many tech tools that enable you to create realistic budgets by estimating business travel costs. The budget will make it easier for you to book business travel products at lower rates using offers and deals provided by vendors.

4. Research Business Travel Options

While booking group business travel, you have the option to choose from many air and ground transportation options. You must book the right flights and car rentals to ensure that each member of the group reaches the business travel destination on time.

Hence, you should consider booking a single flight for the group of business travelers. However, you must not forget to help your organization save money on group business travel booking while comparing and shortlisting travel options.

5. Control Costs by Getting Group Discounts

Airlines and hotel chains offer special pricing and special services to a group of travelers. The special pricing will help you reduce business travel booking costs. Also, the special services will boost the business travel experiences of the group.

You can avail of group discounts by booking the same flight and hotel for the group. However, you need to ensure that your choice of flight or hotel does not make work travelers experience stress or feel unsafe.

6. Focus on Change Management

You can save money on completing the group business travel booking early. But changes to business travel itineraries will make you cancel the booking at the last minute. Likewise, you have to help the group of employees manage minor business travel risks like flight cancellations and delays.

That is why; you must keep in place a contingency plan to manage last-minute changes proactively. It is also advisable to control business travel booking costs by booking fully-flexible tickets.

7. Ensure Regular and Seamless Communication

Communication is an integral part of group business travel booking. You have to communicate with each member of the group to know her travel preferences. Also, you need to share booking details with each member of the team after completing the travel booking.

At the same time, you must keep employees stress-free by delivering real-time information like flight delays and cancellations. You can stay connected with the entire team using group messaging apps. But you need to ensure that real-time information is delivered to each work traveler.

8. Control and Record Travel Expenses

While booking group travel for business purposes, you must control costs by negotiating with vendors and suppliers. Likewise, you should save money by getting group discounts offered by airlines and hotel chains.

However, it is also important to track the expenses throughout the travel booking process. The tracking will help you eliminate chances of overspending and policy violations.

9. Use Travel Management Software

Leading travel management solutions simplify business group travel booking by providing features and options. They help you meet the travel needs and preferences of individual employees by providing access to an extensive travel inventory.

You can use the self-booking tool provided by the software to complete group travel booking in a short amount of time while ensuring organizational policy compliance. At the same time, the software will help you get travel expenses reimbursed quickly by generating automated expense reports.

Conclusion

While booking business travel for a group, you need to consider varying travel preferences and boost the business travel experiences of multiple employees. At the same time, you have to focus on controlling the average business trip costs by saving money on travel booking. 

Hence, you should adopt best practices that help you control business travel costs without impacting the experiences of individual work travelers.