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Searching for best value travel
Blog posted by: Duncan Spokes, Procurement Manager - Corporate & People Services.
While there’s no doubting that you can find a bargain online if you spend long enough searching for it, does the Internet really always offer the best value option?
“I can get it cheaper on the Internet.” It’s a phrase we’ve all heard many times, at home and at work. We all tend to think that the Internet provides the cheapest option for everything including holidays and travel.
Take corporate travel. Many organisations have moved away from booking travel through a corporate travel service, put off by the associated booking fee and confident that rail travel and accommodation can be booked cheaper online. This means that hours and hours are spent trawling through websites (of which there are many) trying to find the best deal. Time, one could argue, which could be better spent elsewhere.
There are other options available which can save organisations both time and money. Our travel management services framework, developed with partner procurement organisations, provides access to an advanced, online booking system which enables public authorities to book travel tickets and hotel accommodation without paying a booking fee. The online booking system provides access to both special public sector deals, and those found on the wider internet so saves time trawling many sites.
That’s not the only downside to exhaustive online searches. Of course, with so many employees now looking online for the cheapest and most cost effective travel deals, travel purchasing has become fragmented. This means it can be difficult to track and manage business travel arrangements. Not only that, but some organisations struggle to have full visibility of corporate travel spend.
Implementing a travel management service can provide a solution. Not only does it keep all travel bookings in one place, it also enables policy decisions to be put on things such as class of travel or hotels. Hotels listed through the service have been vetted so you can be confident that employees are staying in good quality, safe accommodation without over spending on the travel budget.
So when you’re next booking your corporate travel, perhaps think twice before you say that well used phase, “I can get in cheaper on the Internet.”
YPO has developed a public sector travel management services framework with partner procurement organisations. It provides access to an advanced, intuitive online booking tool which enables customers to book online rail travel and hotel accommodation with no associated booking fee. For more information on the framework contact travel@ypo.co.uk.
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