New research, commissioned by North East-based travel specialist, Travel Bureau, has revealed that almost half of organisations in the North East do not have a written policy for corporate travel which, experts warn, could lead to spiralling costs, lost productivity and even danger to staff.
The research, based on the responses of more than 100 business people* reveals that, of the companies that do have a policy, more than a third have not been updated in the past four years and 32% have never been reviewed at all. Travel Bureau warns that this could lead to inefficient practises and puts both employers and employees at greater risk. To address the hiatus, Travel Bureau offers a free of charge, travel health check for businesses and organisations across the private and public sectors.
The survey further highlighted that business people’s principal concerns when travelling for work, and arranging journeys, were: obtaining value for money through the booking process (33%); service disruption caused by bad weather or strikes (22%); finding good quality services and accommodation (20%); time taken to research options and book (15%), while 8% were most concerned about security.
Anne Bromley, Joint Managing Director of Travel Bureau who has over 30 years’ experience in corporate travel, said: “For many organisations, travel – nationally and internationally – is central to daily operations. Many are experiencing spiralling costs, wasting time whilst also leaving their employees open to greater risks from extreme weather or international instability.
“At Travel Bureau, we work with businesses across the region and beyond, from all sectors, to ensure that policies are fit for purpose and deliver cost-effective, efficient and safe processes, which help to allay staff concerns. Our unique travel health checks are designed to identify areas of inefficiency, highlighting where time and costs can be reduced and recommending ways of simplifying the complexity of business travel.”
Travel Bureau, which was established in the North East in 1961, is an independent travel company specialising in personalised travel arrangements for individuals and organisations. The travel health checks are part of Travel Bureau’s corporate service, which offers a comprehensive travel management and travel planning service including account management, online booking solutions and traveller profiling.
For further information or to book your free travel health check with Travel Bureau, please emailconsulting@travelb.co.uk. To find out about Travel Bureau’s full corporate travel management service, please visit www.travelbcorporate.com
*The survey was carried out with members of the North East of England Business Network Group on LinkedIn