Corporate travel management software
Streamline business trips with travel management software
As you grow your operations, the need for efficient and effective travel management software and dedicated support and service also grows. You need to streamline your business travel programme, whether expensing, duty of care, the booking process, or reporting. But where do you start?
Our travel management platform, Melon, is your ticket to a smoother, more thoughtful, and safer business journey. Melon has your back, from simplifying the booking experience to gathering insights and analytics and streamlining processes and risk management.
What is corporate travel management software?
Travel management software allows your company to:
- Book and manage your business trips
- Keep track of traveller data, traveller profiles, and preferences
- Report on your business travel bookings and travel spend
- Manage your travel policy and mitigate compliance issues and risk
- Consolidate your travel programme to keep it streamlined and organised
When handling your business travel, you likely use different tools, each doing different things. And you might be spending a lot of time jumping between them to complete the task at hand.
You may also have travellers booking their travel ad hoc online with credit cards. They then have to submit expense reports, potentially losing receipts and reservations in the process. A user-friendly travel platform makes it easy to comply with company booking policies and stay organised.
The beauty of working with Corporate Traveller is that we designed our corporate travel platform to simplify every part of your business travel management. You'll use a single platform and login to book flights, analyse data, and even keep your people safe.
Ready to dive in? Let's go!
Make business trips effortless with a travel booking software
At its core, a corporate travel booking platform like Melon, simplifies booking travel . It takes all the loaded fares and rates and makes searching, booking, and managing travel easy. But not all online booking tools are created equal, and not all of them are user-friendly or do what you need them to.
When you're comparing TMCs or auditing what your current solution offers, you should have these questions in the back of your mind:
- Do they have an easy-to-use online booking tool my travellers will love?
- Can bookings be made from any device, or do they have to be made on a desktop via travel booking software?
- What sort of rates can we access from the booking software? For example, is it only negotiated rates, or can you access online content, exclusive rates, etc.? More range = more choice.
- Can we streamline the approvals process through automation or built-in workflows?
As a business, efficiency is vital; streamlining or centralising procedures can help you get there. You'll need to make sure that your travel arrangements are consistent, compliant, and totally in line with company policies. A travel platform like Melon, helps you to develop processes that simplify:
Travel Policy compliance:
You've already gone through the trouble of building a policy that meets all your travellers' needs, but you need to make sure your travellers follow it.
A corporate travel management platform, like Melon, allows you to outline your travel policy in the platform and alerts bookers when they are selecting options outside the company guidelines to help them stay on track.
Travellers are prompted to choose from options that fall within budget and company preferences and, as a bonus, are served flights, hotels, and cars that suit their choices based on past bookings.
Read more about travel policy compliance.
Centralised booking:
Booking across different websites and compiling it into one organised itinerary is tricky. Melon brings all the available booking options, including flights, hotels, and transportation, into one platform. Say goodbye to a browser full of open tabs or digging through your search history to find the options you were comparing.
Melon gives you all the airline, hotel chain, and car hire options in one place so that you can book in just a few minutes. This also minimises the risk of fragmented bookings or potential booking mishaps.
Preferred vendor integration:
Have a preferred airline? Like a specific hotel bed the most? Collecting car hire loyalty points? Our travel platform, Melon, ensures your preferred vendors come up first so you always find what you're looking for.
When your bookers and travellers see their favourite options come up first, compliance is a breeze. You'll rest assured knowing they're choosing from the negotiated rates and exclusive deals that save your bottom line.
Approval workflows:
Jump off the approvals merry-go-round. With Melon, you can set up a custom approval workflow to make sure that travel requests are routed to the appropriate managers for review. Once approved, Melon takes care of booking the rest.
Quick. Easy. Streamlined!
Business travel analytics for informed decision-making
If your travel bookings aren't centralised, it can be a struggle to locate the data you need to understand the needs of your business travel programme. Bringing all of your bookings under one roof and one platform helps you to identify the patterns and trends of your booking behaviours. And by leveraging valuable insights, you can optimise, strategise, and keep hold of the reins.
Knowledge is power. The business travel analytics that Melon provides will ultimately help you make the calls that can end up saving you big time.
There are many ways to use business travel analytics to aid in better decision-making. Melon's robust reporting function gives you the bits and pieces to paint a clear picture of your expenses, spending patterns, and compliance, all of which help you forecast how that will look over time.
Dive into an expense analysis
Curious how much people are spending on hotels? Need help determining how you're tracking your annual budget? Travel analytics are taken from the data of both self-service bookings and agent-assisted bookings to provide a complete picture of your travel expenses. This allows you as a business to quickly identify any areas of overspending or leakage and implement cost-saving measures.
Sneak a peek into travel behaviour patterns
Frequent travel to Tokyo? Travellers selecting luxury over budget-conscious options? You'll quickly and clearly see the patterns by analysing your booking data and easily identify common travel routes, preferred airlines, and hotel choices to optimise the booking experience further.
Understanding this information leads to smoother negotiations with travel providers when trying to secure better rates or knowing how to tweak the algorithm in the platform to deliver more appropriate choices to your team.
Keep tabs on travel policy compliance
Listen, nobody likes having to police their travellers or micromanage their bookings. It's so much better if you can give them the freedom to book how they want to while being assured they comply with company policy.
Real-time travel analytics help ensure employees stick to corporate travel policies, and non-compliance can be flagged and addressed promptly. This leads to better control over travel-related expenses, and potential issues can be dealt with as they occur.
Plan your way forward with budget forecasting
Crystal balls that work are hard to come by, but historical data can help you predict future travel costs more accurately. You'll build more realistic budgets and be able to allocate your resources more effectively if you know how to see booking patterns.
Plan like a pro with travel reporting insights
Solid travel management platforms should not only help you see all sides of your travel programme but also give you the insights you need to plan like a pro. A good travel reporting platform is the backbone of your travel programme. It helps you create an environment where visibility is better than ever, and all decisions are based on data. That’s where Melon really stands out.
Suppose you know what's happening with your travel expenses, booking patterns, and other important metrics that inform data-driven decision-making. In that case, you'll be better prepared to deal with uncontrollable factors like economic change, political impacts, etc.
What kind of travel reports can I find in my travel management platform?
With Melon, you can pull more than 800 types of reports, so the insights are…plenty. Behind that travel platform is an entire world of travel reports! And while some customers and industries need to keep trips organised by project codes, others may need to look at bookings by destination, office location, you name it!
It's not uncommon for businesses to want to report on their carbon footprint, compliance, and unused travel credits or to understand their travellers' out-of-pocket expenses. Whatever you're looking for, there's a report for that.
All eyes on traveller safety with travel risk management
Whether your team is travelling near or far, duty of care is a top for every business that travels. It undoubtedly doesn't make sense to hire private detectives to keep tabs on your team, but having a travel risk management dashboard in your stack gives you peace of mind that they are safe.
With Melon's built-in traveller tracking and risk management dashboard, you can rest assured that you and your team will be updated about disruptions, travel alerts, and plan changes. You'll have access to:
1. Real-time alerts
These systems regularly monitor global events and provide real-time alerts about potential disruptions like political instability, natural disasters, or health concerns.
2. Traveller tracking
This is especially helpful for companies with teams of people travelling to multiple destinations. The dashboard makes it simple to locate employees' whereabouts during travel. And, in an emergency, you'll be able to locate and assist affected travellers quickly.
3. Communication channels
Whether your team is in destination and needs a hand, or you're at home and need a quick solution after-hours, help is here. With Melon's live-chat function, you'll be in touch with a travel expert who knows what to do in minutes.
4. Emergency response plans
Melon makes it simple to know who to call when and if an emergency arises. Your team can easily see their dedicated contact and access assistance in just a few clicks. You can also incorporate your emergency plans in your travel policy, which outlines the procedures for risky scenarios.
Features that enhance your travel experience
It's uncommon for a traveller to be totally disconnected these days. In such a connected environment, business travel apps have become reliable tools for jet-setters, whether they travel for short-term or longer durations. These mobile apps are essentially personal travel assistants that allow employees to manage their itineraries, book flights and accommodations, and stay informed about travel updates – all from the palms of their hands.
Here are some key features to look for in a business travel management app:
1. Itinerary management
A travel app like the Melon app provides a centralised platform for storing and accessing travel itineraries, eliminating the need for printed documents.
Your travellers can access their travel schedules, booking details, and important updates with a few taps.
2. Flight and hotel booking
Integrated booking features allow travel bookers and travellers to search, compare, and book flights and hotels directly through the app. It's simple for your team to stick to company policies while making travel arrangements without having their computer on hand.
3. Real-time updates
Some travel apps will inform you about flight delays, gate changes, and other crucial information in real time. This minimises disruptions and allows travellers to adapt their plans accordingly.
4. Communication tools:
The Melon app features a communication tool, or live chat, that enables your travellers to connect with expert travel consultants while they're on the move.
But travel management apps aren't the only apps that business travellers find handy. There's an app for nearly everything, including finding an airport lounge, booking local tours or excursions for your free time, or brushing up on your Spanish skills. In fact, we'll streamline your search and give you nine business travel apps that we find particularly useful!
A travel platform that grows with your business
Managing corporate travel effectively demands strategy and efficiency. The quickest way forward is a travel management platform like Melon that gives you everything you need in one platform, one login, encompassing booking, analytics, reporting, and risk management.
When you leverage these tools, you streamline your travel processes and make better decisions based on solid data. You'll optimise costs, enhance traveller experiences, and have safety in the foreground. It's a win-win all around.
Ready to take your travel programme to new heights with Melon? Let's chat!