A Corporate Travel Manager oversees all travel arrangements for the employees of a company or corporation or works for a company that manages such arrangements. The manager starts by reviewing the previous year's travel, including how many trips went to specific cities or countries; which airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and other suppliers were used most frequently; and the costs for these and other aspects of each trip.
The manager then consults with department heads to project the upcoming year's travel plans and works to negotiate favorable rates with the airlines, hotels, automobile rental agencies, and other frequent travel service providers to effect as much savings as possible. If enough employees are attending a meeting or conference, the manager may decide that a charter flight on a commercial airline or private plane may be more economical or a more efficient use of time and money than using a scheduled airline.
Corporate Travel Managers must consider many factors, such as who, if anyone, in the corporation travels first class; who receives the points and benefits from frequent traveler programs and how they are used; whether some or all employees are required to stay over a Saturday evening as required by some airlines to receive reduced airfares; and whether a train might be faster than a plane because of downtown train station locations and lack of weather complications.
Other considerations might be whether airline courtesy clubs are included and whether flights are to be booked on a lowest price or a shortest flight time. It is up to the travel manager to communicate these policies to the employees and make sure they are followed. All travel arrangements for conferences, sales calls, meetings, or other reasons are booked through the travel office as the need arises. These arrangements may include a car service to pick up the employee and drive him or her to the airport; airline reservations; car rental; hotel reservations; and car service for the return from the airport to the employee's home or office.
Because travel plans can be interrupted or changed for any number of reasons - from inclement weather causing cancelled flights to security violations that close an airport terminal - the Corporate Travel Manager must be on call 24 hours a day, particularly when an employee is traveling, to quickly make alternate arrangements, whether it is booking a flight on another airline or booking a hotel room until the next flight is available. The Corporate Travel Manager handles all requests for refunds, rebates, and whatever other issues may stem from problems experienced by employees who are traveling for the company.
When necessary, the Corporate Travel Manager will deal with an outside travel agency, so the manager must analyze the type of business an agency does and select one that is most appropriate. Sometimes it may be one in the same office building rather than in another city or one that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of its location. Weekly travel reports must be submitted to the appropriate ruling body and an expense report of all travel costs and reimbursements filed with the corporate comptroller or someone in a similar position. Much of the Corporate Travel Manager's work is done via the Internet, but in emergency situations it may be done by telephone.
The Travel Manager must be resourceful and have a number of alternatives available - a thorough list of suppliers who are available or who provide services at the last minute. The Travel Manager oversees the operations of the travel office, interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, and firing personnel. At times, the Travel Manager may also make travel arrangements of a personal nature for employees, if that is within corporate policy.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Brandon H. Porter at 09292010
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