Corporate Travel Management Blogs
7 Corporate Travel Policy Templates To Help You Define
Sajit Chacko
Co-Founder
A corporate travel policy template can be a valuable tool to help companies define their policies and ensure that all employees are compliant with the company’s expectations. With a template, companies can quickly create a customized document that will ensure their travel policy meets all legal requirements as well as any other specific needs of the business.
For a business to implement a trip, it must first select and purchase the most economically viable choices for flights and accommodations. Apart from flight tickets and stay, incidental expenses commonly include trip aspects such as food, gifts to customers, newspapers, laundry services, value-added hotel services, dining charges, events tickets, local commutes, room service, and long-distance calls.
By 2022, global corporate travel spending was expected to amount to over US $930 billion, emphasizing how expensive it can be to secure these expenses and successfully conduct a feasible business trip.
Additionally, it is worth noting that planning and implementing these trips through traditional expense management systems makes it more expensive, tedious, and time-consuming than it needs to be. Due to the lack of transparency and restrictions of these systems, it is often a challenge for companies to track these non-budgeted expenses until post-trip reconciliation.
By this time, it’s too late, and the employee already charges the costs to the enterprise. For a company to maintain a trip’s economic feasibility, it is crucial to establish the appropriate cost-cutting measures well before the trip’s planning phase takes place.
A well-written company travel policy can be instrumental in achieving this by providing businesses and travel stakeholders the means to reduce, streamline and curb associated corporate travel costs.
Studying the approaches leading organizations have taken to address their corporate travel and employee needs is an excellent way for aspiring businesses to devise their corporate travel strategies.
Make sure to emphasize the perks of following your policy for travelers, like keeping them safe and providing support, so they understand why it’s important.
This article aims to provide businesses with seven market-tested robust templates that they may leverage as inspiration to create a winning corporate travel policy.
Before you begin, it is essential to understand what a business travel policy is and what it can help your business achieve.
What is a corporate travel policy?
A business’s travel policy is a set of regulations and parameters set by business leaders to effectively manage travel bookings and expenditures when employees travel to visit partners, sites, prospects, clients, colleagues, and conferences.
This crucial document contains information on the extent of expense coverage and considerations that travelers must follow when making flights, accommodation bookings, and incidental expenses during all travel phases.
For an employee to secure timely T&E reimbursements, it is an absolute must to abide by the rules and guidelines this policy sets.
Best Corporate Travel Policy Templates
To help you understand these policies better, let us take a look at seven well-established organizations and their take on corporate travel:
Netflix
Netflix, the world-renowned streaming platform’s travel policy, is a reflection of its organizational work culture and merely states, ‘Act in Netflix’s best interest.’ These five worded simplistic travel policies provide employees an elevated level of freedom, control, and responsibility over planning and implementing their corporate travel than most other companies.
Instead of restricting employees with a stringent corporate travel policy, Netflix enables its employees to make their own travel decisions how they see fit as long as they conduct themselves in the company’s best interest and continue to drive value to the organization. Employees are free to take vacations without restrictions on the number of days a year.
The goal here is to give employees the freedom to use their best judgment and make wise decisions by understanding the context of what management considers appropriate and inappropriate without imposing strict guidelines.
This policy is enforced by a lead-by-example approach where Netflix’s leadership takes vacations that are also productive for the company.
Although this famous policy may not be suitable for all organizational types, it is still worth studying to gauge if any aspects of it may benefit you.
Basecamp
While Basecamp’s policy follows a similar approach to Netflix’s, it is not nearly as simple. Basecamp instead takes it one step further by providing all employees with an American Express card that they can use without restrictions or approvals.
The only criterion this highly trust-based approach expects from its employees is to be reasonable regarding the expenses they charge to the company account. It is a tricky system for businesses to implement as it requires high transparency of documented transactions for finance departments to ensure that expenses are justifiable.
Basecamp additionally offers its employees perks such as monthly capital allowances for recreational and fitness activities such as massages, yoga, and gyms.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) follows a traditional travel policy that provides its employees with informative and simplistic documentation of its policy coverage. This travel policy provides guidelines on all travel categories and transparent information on what expenses qualify for reimbursements.
Being a sustainable corporate travel policy, it encourages employees to prioritize public transport, preferably rail, to reduce the company’s environmental impact. The expense policy also dictates using communication tools such as Telepresence, Skype, and other video conferencing options as an alternative means to conduct business to travel whenever possible.
When air travel is unavoidable, the expense policy asks employees to make all flight bookings through BBC Travel & Delivery. The policy also requires travelers to obtain formal pre-approvals from the Divisional Finance Director for all bookings.
If group bookings exceed ten travelers, the tickets must be procured well in advance with the BBC’s preferred suppliers and vendors. The company allows personal travel to be combined with business travel only if it reduces the cost of travel to the company.
Employees must book the lowest-priced economy-class tickets regardless of the airline. Travelers may book premium economy tickets if their flight duration exceeds six hours and are expected to work immediately upon arrival.
Business-class tickets are reserved only for employees that have to travel over eight hours and are required to work immediately upon arrival. First-class tickets are entirely out of the question for employees and not covered under the company’s travel policy without any exceptions.
The company vigorously enforces these rules and carefully monitors upgraded tickets. Employees are encouraged to stay in private accommodations, for which they can claim £20 per day, including food. Employees can claim reimbursement of incidental expenses such as personal calls and basic laundry when their official stay duration exceeds seven nights.
The expense policy for meals states that employees may claim up to a contribution of £6 per meal inclusive of taxes within working hours and £16 for any meals for work conducted after 8 pm. Employees must produce receipts for every meal and detail them individually in the Concur claim form.
The BBC also allows employees to visit theatres and other cultural locations, provided they can assess talent and generate potentially lucrative ideas for the company.
In such instances, the employee may purchase a single ticket reserved for themselves. They must also provide appropriate reasoning for their visit in the claims form to get reimbursed.
For local commutes, the BBC’s corporate travel dictates that the usage of cabs is permissible only for business purposes if it is the cheapest available mode of transport. When such a requirement arises, the ride cost should not exceed £100, including all waiting time, booking fees, trip costs, and miscellaneous costs, unless it is the cheapest transportation option available.
Employees traveling by cab must prove that they are commuting for work by filling out a passenger declaration form. When a cab ride for official work exceeds a distance of forty miles, the company will deduct it from the employee’s salary.
If it is the cheapest option, employees may engage in personal commuting for official business purposes. Their travel policy allows employees to acquire reimbursements for any fuel consumed during the commute, provided the traveler submits the appropriate receipts to the company detailing the business purpose of the journey.
The BBC also allows employees to submit claims for car parking and toll costs as long as they are reasonable and if they occurred while conducting official business.
FedEx
Federal Express, a global air freight network, provides reliable, prompt, time-definite delivery to over 200 countries and territories around the globe. As an international company that conducts its operations in numerous geographical locations, it formulated an iron-clad corporate travel and expense policy template that leaves no room for doubt for its employees on its coverage.
All business travel ticketing, including airline tickets, rail tickets, hotels, and rental cars, must be booked through FedEx’s authorized travel agency or tools. Traveling employees are permitted to use only economy class, although travelers are allowed to use Business-class if the total travel time exceeds six hours.
Flying First-class is reserved only for the company’s President and Vice Presidents.
FedEx Corporation has a preapproved list of hotels offering discounted corporate rates for their traveling employees across the globe. Employees may book a stay at a non-preferred hotel only when preferred hotels are busy or unavailable.
The corporate policy dictates that all employees must use the least expensive transportation option available such as public transportation, free shuttles, or personal vehicles, with the use of rental cars reserved only when it is cheaper than public transport and economically viable.
Upon using a rental car, travelers must utilize it optimally with other team members to reduce the overall transportation cost to the company. Upon trip completion, the original receipts and rental agreements must be submitted to the finance team at FedEx for approval.
Its corporate policy requires employees to carefully retain all receipts and submit expense reports trip-wise or weekly basis. FedEx remains clear that non-adherence to its corporate policy can lead to employee termination, depending on the circumstance.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College’s corporate policy template is a comprehensive document that clearly defines all allowed and disallowed expenses to keep employees clear on their expense limitations.
It details the penalties one might face when one fails to abide by the policy. It may not be a simple playbook, but it was designed specifically for the educational institution and its employees.
Dartmouth College recommends that all traveling employees who travel at least once a year obtain a corporate card for their travel expenses. Its policy dictates that employees book airway tickets through the Dartmouth travel portal.
Employees not possessing a corporate card may acquire advances to cover incidental costs for a maximum daily limit of US$50 as long as they provide a valid justification for it accompanied by proper receipts. These advances must be requested at least ten business days from the travel date and under no circumstances should be used to cover personal expenses or activities.
Non-compliance or abusing the Dartmouth travel policy will result in the Dartmouth Controller’s Office revoking the traveler’s advance privileges.
The educational institution’s policy requires employees to choose the least expensive flight tickets, factoring in reasonable comfort and convenience requirements. It also encourages employees to leverage Dartmouth College’s contract with Travel Leaders to ensure they book the lowest fares.
A significant employee benefit of the T&E policy is that travelers can personally retain the frequent flier points they accumulate through the corporate travels they can redeem for personal benefit. These benefits do not include any membership fees the employee may pay to join the frequent flier club.
Employees are allowed to book business class tickets when the travel time exceeds five consecutive hours in duration or during exceptional circumstances subject to the approval of the Dean, President, Vice President, Board of Trustees, or Provost.
Value-add-ons such as preferred seat selection and baggage fees are deemed acceptable per the policy, provided they are reasonable.
Workable
This company has a simple, transparent, and easily adaptable policy template that businesses can use as a starting point for writing their corporate travel policy. Businesses must download the customizable policy template from Workable’s company website and alter it based on their unique organizational travel requirements.
The policy requires employees to contact the office manager, HR generalist, or finance manager for travel-related bookings. The robust approach requires employees to utilize their best judgment while on their trips and submit all travel-related invoices post-trip completion.
In their policy, a ‘business trip’ is any trip whereby an employee travels to a city different from where they typically work to conduct official business. The policy recognizes employee travel for client meetings, lectures, presentations, events, conferences, off-site company locations, and research trips as reimbursable.
In such instances, all car, bus, or train commutes employees take that exceed an hour in travel time are also considered reimbursable business trip expenses. The policy does not consider daily work commutes of employees as a business trip regardless of how far they have to travel to get to the office.
It dictates that traveling employees are eligible to book a premium economy ticket, while Executives can book business class. Employees who utilize alternative means of air transport, such as boats, coaches, and trains, are eligible to reserve premium seats to and from their destination.
Although, Workable’s travel policy does not cover any value-added services or extra baggage. The policy mandates that employees seek written approvals from their respective managers and book travel tickets and accommodation at least two weeks before the travel date.
However, the policy facilitates flexibility for unforeseeable circumstances where the need for travel is unexpected.
Traveling employees are allowed to travel by their personal vehicles or taxis for their business trips. In the case of the former, fuel and toll bills, and for the latter, the cab fares, are reimbursable provided the employee provides the appropriate receipts. A rental car is a third option per the policy for trips permissible when employees travel to multiple destinations to conduct official business.
In such instances, the employee must book a basic two-four-door, compact, automatic transmission and petrol-powered automobile.
Employees are entitled to stay in three-star hotels or the best available accommodation available in the area, which will be paid for by the company. They are further encouraged to leverage business partnerships with hotels for discounted rates.
Pending approval from the manager, employees can upgrade rooms or stay at higher prices if they pay the price difference. The policy stipulates that the company will not pay for upgrades or value-added services.
Employees are also permitted to travel with a friend, partner, or family member if the extra member does not increase the travel cost to the company. In such cases, the policy requires the employee to pay in full for all additional expenses incurred that may arise due to the non-employee.
Workable’s policy allows employees to claim up to US$20 for meals, including lunch and dinner, during business trips. Client dinners also come under the policy’s coverage for up to US$150.
The traveling employee must acquire approval from Workable’s Chief Finance Officer (CFO) if the bill exceeds that amount.
Corporate Traveler
Although it’s not a readily usable travel policy template, it serves as a guide for businesses to deploy their T&E policy. It dictates the steps and important considerations when devising a robust policy for unique business travel demands. It focuses on streamlining the corporate travel process to reduce costs and keep travelers safe.
Employees are encouraged to use preferred suppliers and always opt for travel insurance. It motivates employees to avoid using business class or premium economy unless the flight time exceeds 10 hours.
Additionally, the policy encourages businesses to outline clearly and precisely to employees on all reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses, including meals, per diems, and ground transport, amongst others.
Create and enforce your travel policy with Tripeur
Tripeur is a state-of-the-art travel management platform that simplifies the burden and responsibility of creating, updating, and enforcing your corporate travel policy.
Once you write your policy, our system eliminates compliance issues by logging all business travel expenditures in real-time. These logs actively give employees T&E visibility to inform them precisely on what travel expenses they are entitled to and their limitations.
Tripeur’s platform aims to help businesses overcome compliance issues by providing managers with the functionality of delivering WhatsApp and email approvals accompanied by automated expense reports. Through our system, management can instantly identify and mitigate any non-compliance in real time and enforce preventive measures to prevent future occurrences.
Our innovative and user-friendly product could be the solution to create a robust travel policy that can effectively handle the re-emergence of international corporate travel. Every tool you need to maintain compliance is readily available within Tripeur’s powerful platform.
Trying to figure out how to get better compliance with corporate travel policies? When you get Tripeur to book your business trips, it’ll link in with your travel policy. This makes it easier to spot when something isn’t following the rules and enables employees to make smarter decisions quickly.
Contact us at Tripeur to find out how we can help you create robust corporate travel policy compliance and ensure your employees remain compliant.