How to Create a Better Travel Booking Process
Even the most intrepid road warrior can use a helping hand. That’s why so many business travelers work with administrative assistants to manage their trips. Admin support can take a significant amount of work off a traveler’s plate, but it can also add some complications.
Without a system for collaborative trip planning, one of two things happens:
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The admin has to check every booking decision with the traveler.
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The admin is never informed of a traveler’s preference, and has to resort to guessing. In practice, this usually means playing it safe by selecting familiar options regardless of cost. The Ritz might be $200 more expensive than a hotel across the street, but if you were arranging a trip for your boss, would you take any chances?
In the first case, time’s wasted. In the second, money is. Without clear guidelines, travel bookers are put in a losing position.
If you work with an admin to manage your business trips, or if you book trips on behalf of colleagues, there are things you can do to avoid needless complications. The more up-front communication the better. By taking a few minutes to document travel booking “best practices,” you’ll:
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Save time by cutting down on back-and-forth.
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Establish what factors are most important for the traveler’s comfort and convenience.
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Encourage use of cost-effective options that fit within the traveler’s parameters.
Here’s what you need to create a seamless experience for admin-supported travel planning.
Traveler Profile
The traveler profile gathers all the information booking sites require to complete a transaction. This includes a traveler’s legal name, date of birth, TSA known traveler number, contact information, and frequent flyer numbers. If a personal credit card is used to book business trips (as opposed to a shared corporate card), the traveler profile form can also include billing details.
Traveler Preference Survey
A traveler preference survey is an easy way to communicate flight and hotel preferences to whomever is booking a trip. It not only shows which brands the traveler is open to using, but also identifies underlying booking priorities: the amenities to look for, the traveler’s level of flexibility with regard to airline and hotel choice, even where he or she likes to sit on the plane. With a comprehensive overview of these preferences in hand, an admin can know the traveler as well as they know themselves (at least when it comes to booking business trips).
Business Trip Booking Request Form
Having a standardized format for trip booking requests makes life a lot simpler for an admin. It reduces the chance of miscommunication and cuts down on back-and-forth during the trip planning process. Essentially a template for outlining a desired itinerary, a booking request form should take less than two minutes to fill out.
If someone books business trips on your behalf, or if you’re an admin who helps arrange travel for a colleague, you’ll love Rocketrip’s Essential Travel Planning Toolkit. Get your copy using the link below, and read about Rocketrip’s new Copilot feature to see how we motivate affordable travel booking.
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