Planning a business trip soon? Business trips take much longer to plan than family trips, especially if the company is travelling to multiple locations. Not to mention, every employee has a different schedule, possible health complications, and preferences for stay and food.

A business travel management tool is a cost-effective alternative to travel agents that can help travelling businesses streamline the entire process.

It covers everything from arranging the necessary bookings, managing travel expenses, and ensuring compliance with corporate travel policies.

Best Business Travel Management Tools to Use

Here’s a list of some of the best travel management tools today.

Xpence

Xpence is a vetted and trusted provider of expense management solutions geared for companies. Xpence’s business-friendly expense management tools are preferred among all types of companies because they offer tremendous versatility at a cost-effective price, packaged in a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface.

With Xpence’s virtual cards, businesses no longer need to bother with tedious back-and-forth communication, reports, and payments with their employees. Everything can be optimised and automated according to the company travel policy, and to top it off, you can do this entirely from your mobile phone or from the desktop via the Xpence app.

Xpence offers distinctive experience in data security, spending insights, reports, and streamlined payments for its price range. To get started, you only need to open an Xpence account.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Corporate physical & virtual Visa cards. – Real-time auto-categorisation of payments. – Deep spending insights.	– Budget-friendly for all business sizes. – Beginner-friendly. – Incredibly user-friendly interface. – The time you were saving. – Ever-expanding integration ecosystem to support all vendors.	– It may lack certain advanced features for businesses with complex travel requirements.

TravelBank

TravelBank is a cost-saving travel and expense management platform. It offers end-to-end solutions for users based on their designation or industry. You can set parameters, budgets, and approvals for employees to manage travel expenses within the company’s policy. The platform centralises expense reports and provides detailed insights for finance departments.

Best-suited for: Small to medium-sized businesses that want a budget-friendly travel and expense management tool with a strong emphasis on cost savings.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Cost-conscious approach. – Rewards programs.	– Cost-effective. – User-friendly interface. – Real-time expense tracking.	– It may lack some advanced features that are available with more premium options.

Rocketrip

Rocketrip is a NY-based online travel agency that offers business-friendly travel and expense management solutions. It uses real-time travel data to forecast trip costs and suggest cost-saving travel options while ensuring employee safety and compliance with travel policies.

The Insights dashboard lets Managers access real-time reports on bookings, travel cost savings, and spending behaviour. The dashboard makes tracking expenses easy and sends customised spending alerts to teams.

Best-suited for: Businesses looking to incentivise cost-conscious travel behaviour and reduce expenses while offering employees travel options.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– A unique approach to cost-saving by providing rewards and incentives. – Supports carbon-neutral efforts.	– Encourages responsible spending. – Provides real-time cost-saving solutions. – Strategic support for travel managers.	– Not budget-friendly. – Does not have a mobile platform.

Rydoo

Rydoo is a versatile travel management tool that integrates travel bookings and expenses. It automates expense management with spending limits and warnings. Rydoo has a vast integration network, allowing users to manage all expenses in one place. It’s known for its mobile-friendly interface.

Best-suited for: Small to medium-sized businesses seeking a streamlined solution for travel and expense management with a strong focus on user-friendliness and integration.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Mobile-friendly user interface. – All-in-one expense management solutions.	– Integrates with various financial tools. – Provides automated approvals in compliance with policies.	– No rewards program. – Costs can vary based on the specific features and services opted for.

Egencia

Egencia, supported by American Express Global Business Travel, provides tailored travel management solutions for various industries. Their tech-driven approach streamlines travel and expense management with tools for expense compliance and policy alignment.

While geared towards medium to large enterprises, small businesses with limited travel needs may find the platform too comprehensive.

It is best suited for medium to large companies requiring industry-specific travel management and in-depth reporting, especially in technology, healthcare, and finance sectors.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Industry-specific expertise. – Mobile accessibility with a user-friendly interface.	– Comprehensive travel management solutions. – In-depth expense reporting capabilities. – Rich insights into cost-saving opportunities.	– Not budget-friendly. – Advanced features may result in a learning curve for new users.

Serko Zeno

Serko Zeno is an all-in-one platform for businesses with complex travel requirements. It offers advanced features like mobile accessibility and integration with other business tools. Serko Zeno streamlines flight, hotel, and car bookings, cancellations, and expense tracking tasks. It also offers features like shortlisting the best match according to company policy, pre- or post-ticketing changes, unused ticket credits, best rates of the day on every search, and traveller tracking.

It is best suited for medium to large companies looking for advanced travel and expense management capabilities focusing on efficiency and advanced features.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Advanced features with lots of different tools. – All-in-one platform for streamlining travel bookings.	– Integration capabilities. – Real-time expense tracking with advanced reports. – Data-rich insights to help businesses save costs.	– Not budget-friendly. – Advanced features may require training and onboarding for users.

Corporate Travel Management (CTM)

Corporate Travel Management provides all-in-one travel and event management services, ideal for global businesses attending/hosting overseas events. Services include travel booking, expense and risk management, policy compliance, and safety monitoring/assistance.

Best-suited for: Corporate Travel Management is an ideal choice for medium to large companies seeking a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for managing corporate travel, meetings, incentives, and events.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Tools and support for event/conference planning. – Risk management. – Incentives for top performers.	– Personalised solutions for all enterprises and industries. – Global presence. – Advanced reporting capabilities.	– Not budget-friendly. – Cost varies based on the complexity of services required, making it less predictable for budget planning.

American Express Global Business Travel

American Express Global Business Travel is a leading player in the travel management industry, offering an all-in-one platform for expense and corporate travel management, meetings and events, and business consulting services. Pros include tools for event planning, risk management, and incentives for top performers.

However, it’s expensive and not budget-friendly, with varying costs based on the required services. Despite this, it’s a comprehensive solution for all business travel needs.

Best-suited for: GBT is ideal for large multinational corporations seeking a full-service, globally recognised travel and expense management solution. It is particularly well-suited for organisations with extensive international operations that require a partner with a broad global presence.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Comprehensive solutions by industry and by need. – Strong global presence. – 24/7 traveller support and emergency assistance.	– Industry-specific expertise. – Extensive support system. – Advances tools for cost control and compliance. – Integration with various expense management tools.	– High cost. – Advanced features may be complex and require time to learn.

SAP Concur

SAP Concur is a travel and expense management platform that streamlines business travel. It offers tailored solutions for customised expense management, automates expense tracking and invoice approvals, and provides advanced reporting.

With advanced AI algorithms, it analyses transactions in real-time to improve compliance, find cost-saving opportunities, and identify blind spots in the budget. It offers plans for businesses of all sizes and has a unique VAT analytics technology for real-time VAT recovery breakdown.

Best-suited for: All companies ranging from small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– AI-powered automation. – Integration with various accounting tools. – Audit management. – VAT analytics.	– It helps businesses find numerous areas of potential savings. – Strong global presence. – Detailed reporting for businesses that make data-driven decisions.	– Not budget-friendly. – Integration with other business tools and software may require some expertise. – Complex cost structure.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Carlson Wagonlit Travel provides solutions for travel bookings, events, meetings, and expense reports. It has a global presence and leverages technology to cater to diverse needs, making it ideal for medium to large enterprises with international operations.

Unique Features	Pros	Cons
– Highly personalised solutions. – Regional/local expertise. – Integrated expense management solutions.	– Improves efficiency. – Technology-driven. – Promotes financial transparency.	– Highly costly. – It does not offer industry-specific solutions to the extent other providers do. – Learning curve for new users.

Final Thoughts

Selecting the right partner for your corporate travel bookings and expense management is crucial as it can save companies time and money.

Whether you’re a small business looking for a budget-friendly solution or a multinational corporation with complex international travel requirements, there is a travel management tool that suits your size, industry, and preferences.