There is a common misconception that Travel Management Companies (TMCs) only deal with companies who exceed a minimum annual spend threshold of £1million. This came about as £1million used to be the parameter used in negotiating flight deals with airlines.
We believe that any company, no matter how small, should have access to the best airfares. We also take great pride in helping clients to grow their independent businesses by reducing their travel spend. Some of our clients spend as little as £10,000 per annum. Nothing is too big or small for a TMC which takes pride in its work.
But we don’t want to pay expensive fees and be tied into a contract
Businesses are often worried about being charged excessive fees and being tied into contracts. Although TMCs do charge fees for booking travel and these are usually minimal, considering the airline savings a TMC gains your business access to. The best TMCs will not even insist on contracts, as they will be confident that the savings and service they provide will keep their clients coming back for more.
Stephen Ashcroft from A&G Corporate Travel says:
“Working in business travel for over 20 years as an Account Manager, you build close relationship with many businesses and get to understand what’s important to them. We offer no contracts as we know companies want flexibility.
If you offer an excellent service, your clients will not want to go anywhere else. Also, I think people are worried about the fees, but they are very low in comparison. We only charge £15 for flights within Europe and £20 on long haul flights and no charge for hotel bookings. There are many occasions we have saved the client hundreds and thousands, so when you compare the savings versus fees.’’
Time saving
Using a TMC can save a company a lot of time. If you don’t have an in-house Travel Manager and you are booking all your own business, a TMC can do all the research work for you, providing suitable options, based on time, price and airline preference. We can also hold the flights, avoiding price increases and leaving you time to finalise meetings, before confirming your trips. We work with a lot of PAs and Executive Assistants, who have previously spent inordinate amounts of their time searching for flights. This is not necessary. We bridge that gap so a company PA can spend their time on other, more critical, tasks.
We don’t have a huge budget
A Travel Management Company can negotiate rates on your behalf, particularly if you regularly fly a particular route or stay at the same hotel. This is a perfect opportunity for us to approach the airline or hotel, using our established contacts to negotiate a better rate on your behalf.
If you are an SME and have been considering using a Travel Management Company (TMC), why not give us a try. We assure no contracts and low fees but the savings that we provide and the speed and efficiency of our service are what will keep you coming back for more.
