Now the question that every travel manager should ask himself or herself is that is whether a business travel policy is black and white, or non-adaptive to the demands of specific situations. Say no to traditional travel policy, and bring in flexibility to the system. Read on how to develop a dynamic business travel policy:
Travel policies in the beginning were quite inelastic in nature. But as the range of travel options increased and as travel technology, thanks to the rise of AI, Chat bots and machine learning, becomes more available, travel policies have continued to improve in matters of flexibility than ever before.
A dynamic travel policy is one that adjusts depending on the options on plate at the time of booking. For example, “You must book the cheapest hotel fare available” or “Your fare must cost less than INR 5000”, a dynamic travel policy would allow the purchase of the ticket within X% of the cheapest available option.
Here are some of the advantages of a dynamic corporate policy:
Increased travel policy compliance and less leakage:
Many companies have evolved not to have a travel policy carrying a dictatorial tone. Our experience too suggests that this might be the way to go. Enforcing an inflexible travel policy on end users may signal the wrong message. Furthermore, it will not eliminate out of policy bookings and leakages.
Great range of choice for business travellers and booker autonomy:
For many organizations these days company culture is dearer than ever before, and push forward the feeling of flexibility, trust and freedom. Because most travellers, more often than not, find themselves away from home, that is why travel policy must integrate a ‘give and take’ culture.
Budget-friendly rates:
Although some companies might feel that a dynamic and flexible travel policy could compromise cost savings, the fact of the matter, however, is it can actually increase travel spend reduction efforts.
The travel manager must take advice and seek support of travelling employees on how to develop a travel policy that is both dynamic and flexible.