The Benefits of Managed Travel Programmes for Fast-Growing SMEs

Expansion, while exciting, can also increase the complexities and costs for SMEs. Business travel is one of the areas where rising costs can be curbed and even reduced with the help of corporate travel experts. 

“How?” you might ask.

It’s got to do with time saved, access to cost-effective travel plans, and analytics that provide insight into travel patterns, so you can optimise current and future arrangements. 

Why is this important?

An Amex Trendex: Business Travel Edition survey revealed that 95% of senior business
leaders expect their business travel requirements to either stay the same or increase over the upcoming year. This makes professional management essential to control costs and increase the efficiency of your travel plans. 

Unmanaged Travel Costs More Than Money

SMEs are at a distinct disadvantage compared to larger businesses because their travel arrangements are DIY. The unfortunate result is that they spend more on travel relative to their profits than larger businesses. It’s as if the more they try to save, the more they actually spend. 

This needs to change because:

• According to a report on Navigating the future of business travel: Key trends and insights for 2024, 63% of companies say that rising travel prices are an ongoing issue. 
• The average employee takes about 45 minutes to trawl for the best deals when booking a single business trip. When time is money, this kind of waste is significant for SMEs.
• Manual, decentralised bookings make it next to impossible to track expenses and itineraries, depriving SMEs of analytics that drive efficiency in travel programmes. 

Ultimately, unmanaged travel drains internal resources, which SMEs can ill-afford. 

Dedicated Travel Platforms Enhance Cost Control

Experienced travel managers don’t just promise savings, they deliver. Research has found that the majority of SMEs use travel managers to help them control travel costs and increase the efficiency of their travel programmes. 

This is because management agencies use dedicated platforms to:

• Increase buying power: SMEs using managed solutions have access to negotiated corporate rates and travel discounts. This is because collective booking volume lowers costs. It’s like the savings you get from buying in bulk, but you’re not the only one doing the buying. 
• Reduced costs: Online Booking Tools (OBTs) have been found to cut airfare costs. Travel managers can also save costs by optimising itineraries. A good corporate travel agency can deliver a 12:1 ROI on travel programmes. 

Professional travel managers know how to leverage platforms to get the most out of their features. SMEs with DIY travel programmes can’t say the same. 

Free Yourself From Rogue Bookings

Given half a chance, some people take advantage of poorly managed travel budgets and book upgrades (hotel rooms to suites, fine dining restaurants) that wouldn’t be available if there were someone assigned to manage travel costs. This type of rogue booking is particularly problematic for SMEs that need to nurture their budgets. 

A travel management platform can give them tighter control over travel spend by:

• Enabling SMEs to set limits that are automatically enforced. Rogue booking is impossible.
• Increasing visibility into employee behaviour. Travel managers take advantage of analytics and reporting features to ensure compliance with travel policy.

You get more insight into travel patterns without adding to the admin workload. 

Duty of Care

Companies have a duty of care to ensure employees’ safety and well-being are taken care of. It’s actually a legal obligation, which many SMEs aren’t aware of. However, it’s becoming clear that personal interactions still hold greater power than video meetings. You can’t do this with employees who are wrung out.

Dedicated travel management teams can monitor well-being through:

• Real-time tracking: Systems track travellers so you can see their current location (are they where they’re supposed to be?) and how they’re travelling (bus, train, taxi). This is especially important in emergencies.
• World weariness: For all its benefits, too much travel affects employees’ physical and mental health. Reporting tools track each employee’s travel frequency, duration, and distance, so you can balance travel demands among capable employees without overburdening just one or two team members. 

Sustainable Practices & Supply Chains

Sustainability and ethical business practices are a priority for consumers and businesses that have to meet net-zero goals. In fact, according to the GBTA, 38% of travel managers say that sustainability metrics are more important than cost when measuring the success of travel programmes.

AI-driven platforms can provide multi-level reporting on carbon emissions so you can make ethical choices based on real data. 

Why You Need a Managed Travel Programme Right Now

With 91% of business travel decisionmakers claiming they’d lose existing customers without in-person meetings, in-person connections can help maintain those existing relationships.

They need a comprehensive platform that provides OBTs, expense integration, and 24/7 human support. By leveraging the benefits SMEs enjoy, cost and risk management, and improved traveller satisfaction.

Posted on 30 January 2026 by VMR Travel