When a business trip goes right, it can have enormous benefits for both employer and employee. But, when it goes wrong, it can leave everyone feeling frustrated as money and time can be wasted.
No one wants to feel exhausted after a trip, whether that’s the person embarking on one or the person left to organise everything. But, it’s not easy with delays, cancellations and several actions to consider.
According to published data, approximately 37% of flights within a seven-month time period in 2024 experienced a minor or major delay.
While this can be irritating, the domino effect of missing transfers, conferences and events can be even more devastating. This doesn’t even account for the stress a business traveller can face if they feel lost on how to approach the situation from a company perspective.
With this in mind, here are the top seven mistakes organisations make when booking business travel in-house, with advice on how to tackle the common issues.
1. Not optimising costs
There’s no denying that corporate travel can be an expensive additional cost for businesses,
Previously published research estimates a business trip costs around £497 a day, with an overnight stay in a four-star hotel in London now averaging £286.
An easy way to keep the costs down, as much as possible, is to book transportation and accommodation well in advance. As soon as the trip has been decided, it’s crucial to secure the main bookings early to get the best rates and availability.
Going through a corporate travel management company is a way to keep things affordable, as some have specific cost-effective rates with suppliers for flights and hotels. With this, early reservations can be secured, which can reduce the last-minute stress that you might otherwise experience if you were to book it yourself.
The company will also be able to advise on specific areas and neighbourhoods while ensuring the location makes sense for the purposes of the trip and those participating in it.
2. Not creating clear policies
Before an employee embarks on business travel, a corporate travel policy should be created to help establish some key guidelines and boundaries.
This doesn’t have to be extensive, but it should be detailed in an easily accessible document that is circulated to everyone involved. This should include the booking process, reimbursement and details on how to travel safely.
This can be incredibly helpful for those going away, especially if the booking process is complicated. This one-stop shop could also include key details about the area and any information people need to be aware of regarding the location.
Putting this together can be time-consuming, but it can be made easier if aspects are agreed on beforehand. This includes even the most minor of details, such as food budgets and how employees should reimburse expenses. Without this, the figures can go awry if people are unsure of how much they can spend each day.
3. Going ahead without considering duty of care
In the UK, employers have a responsibility to protect their employees and prevent harm to a reasonable degree. This duty of care spans health, safety and welfare, with safe working practices, risk assessments, and the necessary training and equipment provided.
When an employee goes on a business trip, the legal and moral duty of care is extended as there’s a responsibility to ensure employees’ safety and well-being while they’re away.
There are multiple steps to considering duty of care for corporate trips, with the first being conducting a risk assessment. With every trip presenting its own risks, health, medical, environmental and transportation factors need to be assessed.
Once these factors have been considered, it’s time to complete an employee-focused risk assessment to see if any personal considerations need to be made. The company should be open to the information shared and accepting of different feelings.
For example, someone may have a fear of flying and would prefer to take the train, whereas someone else may struggle to walk the distance between the hotel and the desired location. The pre-trip assessment should cover all bases and ensure the employee feels safe telling someone about their needs.
To improve on this consistently, a post-trip debrief should take place as duty of care with business travel shouldn’t just end when everyone returns to the office. This can be done informally through a catch-up with a manager or via a survey.
To get the best feedback, consider asking about the experience and general safety and comfort. This is also the time to check expenses and review the pre-approved guidelines to check what happened as it should have done and what needed to be done differently to improve the situation.
Once this feedback has been gathered, the business travel policy can be updated to account for necessary changes.
4. Not assigning a contact who is available whenever needed
Every person embarking on a trip on behalf of the business they work for should have a designated point of contact for the full duration.
Not only should everyone be aware of key emergency numbers, but a trusted person needs to be appointed. When this is established, the traveller will know who to contact should things go off course. They should also be aware they need to be contactable around-the-clock.
Frequent check-ins should take place if the trip is over several days, with WhatsApp Business or tools like Slack and Zoom being a handy way for teams to stay up-to-date. This contact should preferably be someone who is able to make decisions on behalf of the business should they need to.
5. Not planning for emergencies
Emergencies can leave even the calmest of people feeling nervous, which is why there needs to be some planning in case these are to take place.
It could be something as simple as a misplaced bag or a more serious health incident.
Whether it’s a lost passport, a crime, injury, or illness, there needs to be a strategy for what will happen. This should be detailed following the insights that were gained in the pre-trip assessment.
If a medical emergency has occured, the business should be made aware when emergency services have been contacted and the response team within the company should spring into action. This will be dependent on the situation, but could include having to arrange additional support, or perhaps a re-shuffling of the accommodation or the transport situation.
6. Not being informed about employees’ movements
From a safety perspective, being aware of where employees are on their travels can be beneficial. This way, someone knows of their whereabouts in case of an emergency.
This could involve regular check-ins or using specific technology depending on the team dynamics and privacy policies. If employees are away for multiple days, keeping them engaged and in the loop with team changes, business updates and the general happenings can help them to still feel included too.
7. Forgetting to create a backup plan
Although the goal is for everything to happen as it should, without a hitch, unforeseen circumstances do sometimes occur.
In light of this, and with duty of care in mind, a response plan should also be created to plan for possible situations regardless of how rare they may be.
This could include having alternative accommodations, transportation options and procedures for getting assistance if needed.
To do this as best as possible, a deep dive into the destination should be taken in advance of the trip. Not only will this help with the preparation, but the learned knowledge can be useful when booking hotels and deciphering general areas.
Business Travel: How to prevent these common mistakes
Business travel can have huge benefits, whether it be for morale-boosting purposes, to visit a client and secure a deal, or for a conference where key insights can be learned.
To ensure a good time is had by all, utilising a corporate travel management can enhance the experience and leave the process as stress free as possible for the person booking.
At Good Travel Management, we understand that each business is unique. Our travel experts can help you navigate complexities of corporate travel, while tailoring programmes to reflect trip goals, company culture and budgets.
We simplify the corporate travel booking process and can take care of your team’s travel needs, leaving you to focus on what matters.
Ready to book a seamless business travel trip that ticks all the boxes? Book a free consultation today.