5 tips for selecting a travel management company

Choosing the right Travel Management Company (TMC) is one of the most important decisions an organisation can make for its business travel programme.

A TMC helps companies plan, book, and manage travel efficiently, improving compliance, controlling costs, and enhancing traveller well-being. Here are five expert tips from Corporate Travel Management (CTM), to help you choose the best travel management company for your organisation.

1. What technology should a travel management company provide?

When it comes to selecting or changing TMC, an important focus for many organisations will be finding market-leading technology that will not only integrate with their current systems, but also help drive their business growth plan, improving efficiency, driving cost savings and supporting duty of care.

When assessing a TMC’s technology offering, ask:

• Does their booking platform integrate with your current systems (HR, finance, or expense tools)?
• Is their technology proprietary or third-party?
• Can it adapt to your specific markets and business needs?
• How does it help with data visibility, reporting, and traveller safety?

Each organisation has its own unique needs, so it is important to ensure that the technology solutions presented are compatible with the markets in which your organisation operates and customisable for your business needs. It is also important to understand if your TMC develops their own proprietary solutions, such as online booking tools and mobile apps, or whether they utilise third-party solutions. Those that have proprietary solutions can often adapt and enhance their technology at a faster rate, in line with customer feedback.

Through our continuous feedback loops and CTM User Labs, we understand businesses are looking for a streamlined, intuitive and positive end-user experience for their travellers and bookers. At CTM, we continue to invest in and develop proprietary travel technology and work with technology solutions that offer just that, by integrating easily with existing systems.

Our solutions also provide relevant information at the user’s fingertips, such as fare forecasting, data and reporting, allowing businesses and individuals to make more informed travel and policy decisions. Owning our technology allows for agile development, and the capability to support multiple third-party solutions. This means CTM customers benefit from our ability to develop or work with the solutions our customers are asking for now and, in the future, ensuring they are never stuck with outdated systems.

2. How should a TMC demonstrate value beyond low fees?

Selecting a TMC isn’t just about finding the cheapest service fees, it’s about measurable value and return on investment (ROI).

A strong TMC partner will:

• understand your broader business objectives
• tailor travel policies to support those goals
• provide ongoing analysis and recommendations to improve programme performance.

Businesses of all sizes should be looking for greater transparency and an identifiable ROI when selecting a TMC. For example, what solutions and services are included in the TMC fees and what are optional add-ons that incur an additional cost?

A TMC should always understand the organisation’s overall business objectives and look to help the customer align their travel programme and policies to these.

For example, at CTM, we ask questions and consider factors such as:

• Is the organisation undergoing a cost-reduction?
• Are they seeking to expand their business into new markets?
• Is employee satisfaction a focus for retaining and attracting high-quality employees?

This information not only helps us to assist in developing a tailored travel policy and programme, but it also demonstrates our ability to deliver the services our customers need in line with their specific objectives.

CTM also offers ongoing support and expertise through our account managers, who proactively offer strategic advice and analysis to identify opportunities in travel programmes for improved booking behaviour, cost savings, and process efficiencies. This ensures CTM is delivering customers the best value for money and a demonstrable return on their travel investment.

3. Why is customer service critical when choosing a TMC?

Customer service sits at the heart of every successful travel programme. It is vital to select a TMC that can deliver highly personalised service, backed by intuitive technology to drive efficiency and a positive customer experience for travellers and bookers.

When comparing TMCs, consider:

• Do they provide 24/7 support from in-region teams?
• Are consultants trained to understand your company’s travel policy and preferences?
• Is onboarding supported by tailored training and follow-up sessions?

While offering the benefits of a global network, at CTM, we believe local teams servicing local clients provide our customers with the highest level of service and support. They understand each customer’s needs and provide personalised and timely account management, travel and booking support.

CTM’s personalised service begins at implementation. To assist this process, we offer fully tailored training sessions for each customer, either face-to-face or virtual, based on size and internal travel management processes. The service and support do not end once implementation is complete. We also offer ongoing support for our customers post ‘go-live’ through follow-up refresher training sessions in line with their requirements.

4. How can a TMC support your sustainability goals?

Today, organisations face growing expectations to align business travel with sustainability objectives. Your TMC should not only understand these goals but help you measure and achieve them.

When assessing sustainability support, ask:

• Can they report on your travel emissions?
• What tools and solutions are available to support more sustainable choices at the time of booking?
• How transparent are they in communicating progress toward your goals?

When evaluating a TMC, consider how they incorporate sustainability into their services. This may include access to reporting tools that provide visibility into carbon emissions or SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) scores at the point of booking, helping your teams make informed travel decisions. Sustainability solutions give customers the ability to monitor travel impact, support internal reporting, and contribute to broader organisational objectives. In addition, CTM provides well-being measures to offer a lens into potential traveller fatigue based on trip volume, helping organisations balance productivity with duty of care.

5. Why does transparency matter in travel management?

At CTM we believe you should understand exactly how your travel advisors and account managers are financially remunerated or incentivised. This will ensure their behaviours and recommendations are driven by your best interests.

CTM’s travel consultants do not work on commission-based incentives and are instead motivated to meet and exceed customer-centric service level agreements. This ensures our customers’ best interests are at the forefront of our booking solutions.

Our CTM team is also happy to provide real examples and case studies to demonstrate the range of personalised solutions we have offered and the results we have achieved.