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In this deeper dive into Travel Optimisation Management, we’re focusing on the core of your travel program’s potential: data. We’ll cover what travel data actually is, where it originates, and some of the main challenges in analysing it. Then, we’ll discuss what optimisation means in this space and look at strategies and tools to make it work for organisations of all sizes. What is Travel Data?  Let’s clarify some basics. Travel data, in this context, primarily refers to information related to business trips. For an organisation, it’s a comprehensive summary of business travel activities. While it sounds simple, compiling and analysing relevant travel data requires a clear understanding of what a “business trip” comprises. Consider a typical trip: an international 2-night conference visit with additional meetings in a nearby city. This one trip might include: 2 flights (different airlines) 1 hotel stay 1 domestic train booking 2 domestic taxi rides 2 international train tickets 4 international taxi rides 1 international car rental Numerous expenses This trip involves at least thirteen separate bookings, each one contributing unique data points. Let’s explore how these bookings are typically managed and what this means for data collection and integration. How Travel Data is Managed and Where Challenges Arise In most companies, bookings and approvals follow a variety of paths. Flights might be booked through an airline website, an online agent, or a travel management company (TMC). Accommodations are often booked just days in advance, sometimes outside the program using third-party booking sites. Rail tickets, domestic and international, may be bought online, through an agent, or locally. Ground transport is often booked as needed, sometimes managed by the TMC or platforms like Jyrney, or Mobility IQ, but not always integrated with the main program. This fragmented booking process impacts data collection. If a TMC is in place, they may provide booking data, accessible through an API or reporting tools—but typically, TMCs can only report on bookings they handled. Expense and credit card data are additional sources, but each has its limitations, and aligning all data to create a clear trip summary is complex. Who Uses Travel Data? Travel data is used across departments, including Finance, Procurement, Security, HR, and Sustainability.  Trip Stax, Travelogix, Power BI, PredictX, and Unlocked Data offer tools to support the travel data process. Yet even with these tools, fully optimising travel data requires a holistic approach that considers the needs of all stakeholders and converts raw data into actionable insights. Summarising Key Points Companies want to measure the ROI of business trips, manage and mitigate travel risk, and have clear data to guide decision-making. Business trips involve multiple components booked through various platforms, both in advance and during the trip. Travel data arrives in fragmented formats from different sources and needs cleaning, normalisation, and integration to have real value. Despite our best efforts, travel data today is still piecemeal and reactive. Optimisation means taking a proactive approach: it’s not enough to rely on the partial data provided by TMCs; instead, we must define what data we truly need and find ways to capture it fully. With optimised data, the potential benefits are substantial. It can empower decisions and responses to queries across Tax and Immigration, Travel Management, Carbon Reporting (including Scope 3), Traveller security and assistance, wellbeing, budgeting and more. Travel data is the key to everything; the tools that we are most impressed with right now are Voyage Manager and its sister company for SMEs Mia Bazo.  They are part of the TRA Technology community which will be sharing its aims and objectives across the industry at TOMS25.

A new term is emerging in the travel risk management field: Travel Optimisation Management. Earlier this year, we launched the Travel Risk Academy with our inaugural event, the Travel Optimisation Management Summit. Throughout the day, 75 attendees explored what it means to optimise a travel program to reduce risk. Our discussions revealed a shared understanding that managing travel risk extends beyond one individual’s responsibility. We found that the challenges we face transcend industries; fundamentally, it’s all about caring for people. When we adopt a holistic, cross-functional approach—bringing together stakeholders from: Travel Security HR QHSE ESG DEI Finance Procurement Global Mobility Data Security Cybersecurity Internal Audit Insurance Legal …to address travel program risks—we begin to unlock new opportunities. These collaborative efforts are the first steps toward Travel Optimisation Management. Travel Optimisation is uniquely relevant to each organisation; it’s tailored to your needs and designed to align your travel program with your company’s strategy and vision. Those familiar with risk management frameworks know that with risk comes opportunity, and travel often unlocks these opportunities. By reframing “Travel Risk” as “Travel Optimisation,” we ensure that travel programs support all departments, eliminate supplier redundancies, and increase our purchasing power. Aligning these programs with business strategy and setting measurable goals calls for innovative approaches to achieving objectives without adding strain to our teams or our planet. Optimisation isn’t solely the responsibility of the organisation; it’s also a responsibility of the industries that support your traveling teams. As your travel partners, we are committed to tackling common issues—issues that could be resolved through collaboration and fresh perspectives in areas like security, assistance, insurance, and more. The Travel Risk Academy has accepted this challenge, gathering dedicated mentors and ambassadors to create a space for meaningful exchange and solutions to shared issues in DEI, safety, carbon reduction, and beyond. We believe that technology is the fastest route to optimisation. With intention, it can radically improve how we design and manage travel programs for the better. However, technology’s full potential is currently hindered by data flow issues. Poor integration limits data quality, which in turn reduces visibility and control—creating a risk of disarray when precise conditions align. Uncertainty is challenging for everyone, and especially for those on the ground when issues arise. This is where Travel Optimisation Management steps in: if traditional risk management focuses on checklists and policies, then optimisation gets under the hood, breaking the conventional “supplier-buyer” mold to design solutions that truly work for your organisation and people. In the coming articles, TRA Co-founder Bex Deadman will explore Travel Optimisation Management across the diverse sectors in travel management to guide you in building a travel program that not only performs seamlessly but also engages everyone in your organisation and drives business success. If you want to start optimising your programme right away, the best place to start is by understanding who your stakeholders are and introducing yourself.  Travel Optimisation Management involves the following stakeholders & roles and responsibilities: TTRM Stakeholders Travellers Travel Managers Human Resources Risk Management Finance Procurement Fleet & Facilities Meetings & Events Corporate Security Cyber Security Sustainability QHSE Legal Insurance Training (L&D) Internal audit Internal Comms Roles and Responsibilities: Booking & Travelling Managing Travel People Management & Wellbeing Awareness, Avoidance & Mitigation Spend Contracting Operations Managing internal external events Keeping people and assets safe Keeping data safe Carbon reduction & reporting Traveller Safety & Security Duty of Care to employees Medical and Travel Personal safety and development Maintaining standards Communicating travel programme Much of the work that we do at the TRA is about working together across departments to optimise your time, resources and savings. At the Travel Optimisation Management Summit (TOMS) we create a space for your Travel Optimisation Team to come together, to learn with peers and to proactively make changes across our collective industries for the better. You can book tickets for TOMS25 here there are group discounts available for cross-departmental teams.

Creating a Travel Risk Management Policy A comprehensive Travel Risk Management (TRM) policy should include several key elements to effectively mitigate risks, ensure traveller safety, and meet duty of care obligations. Below are the critical components that a TRM policy should include: Purpose and Scope * Define the purpose of the TRM policy and who it applies to (e.g., all employees, contractors, guests etc.) * Outline the scope, including all travel types (domestic, international, high-risk regions, etc.) and the activities covered (business trips, conferences, maintenance etc.) Risk Assessment and Travel Approval Process * Establish a clear process for assessing the risks of a travel destination, considering factors like security threats, health risks, political stability, and environmental concerns. * Detail a pre-travel approval process that evaluates the necessity of travel, the travellers own preparedness, and specific security measures for high-risk destinations. Duty of Care Obligations * Highlight the organisations legal and ethical duty of care responsibilities to ensure the health, safety, and security of its travellers. * Include guidelines for employees to follow during travel, covering expected behaviours and personal responsibilities. Roles and Responsibilities * Define the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved in travel risk management, such as HR, security teams, travel managers, and travellers. * Identify the team who is responsible for monitoring risk levels, communicating with travellers, and managing emergency responses. Traveller Education and Training * Specify the training required for travellers, including pre-trip briefings on health, safety, security, and cultural awareness specific to the destination. * Include resources such as travel safety tips, medical advice, and emergency contacts. Emergency Response and Crisis Management Plan * Provide clear protocols for responding to travel-related emergencies, including medical incidents, security threats, and natural disasters. *Outline communication procedures and designate emergency contacts both at the company and locally, including any third parties. Include evacuation /shelter in place plans and insurance details. Health, Safety, and Security Measures * Establish standards for safe accommodation and transport options, ensuring they meet health, safety, and security criteria. * Provide guidance on managing personal health during travel, including vaccinations, medications, and travel insurance coverage. Traveller Tracking and Communication * Implement a system to track travellers during their trips, ensuring real-time monitoring of their locations. * Include protocols for regular check-ins and emergency communications to maintain contact with travellers. Incident Reporting and Post-Trip Debrief * Establish a process for reporting safety or security incidents during travel, including near misses and emergencies. * Require post-trip debriefing to identify any issues faced and capture feedback for improving future travel safety measures. Insurance Coverage * Detail the insurance policies available for travellers, including health, accident, repatriation, and travel disruption coverage. * Ensure that the policy aligns with local regulations and provides sufficient protection for high-risk or high-risk activity travel. Legal and Regulatory Compliance * Ensure that the TRM policy complies with relevant local, national, and international regulations, including health and safety laws, and aligns with ISO31030:2021 Travel Risk Management guidelines. * Include guidance on compliance with local laws and customs in the travel destination. Continuous Monitoring and Policy Review * Establish procedures for continuously monitoring travel risks and updating the policy as needed to reflect new risks or changes in travel environments. * Include a formal review process to assess the effectiveness of the policy and incorporate lessons learned from previous travel incidents or feedback. Traveller Well-being and Support * Address the well-being of travellers, including mental health support, stress management, and maintaining work-life balance while travelling. * Provide access to resources like employee assistance programmes (EAPs) or assistance services during travel. At the Travel Risk Academy, we offer a multitude of resources and good practices to help guide you on your journey to protecting your travellers effectively.  We align with the practices set out in ISO31030 and work with a myriad of experts across the widest scope of TRM. Find out more about our services here; membership has additional benefits, and we look forward to welcoming you to our diverse community soon.

Top 10 Tips For Building Safer Accommodation Programmes We understand that building accommodation programmes is tough; there is so much to consider and the need to integrate robust measures around safety and security are more prevalent than ever; as well as the challenges of managing and maintaining these measures across so many vendors, including hotels, serviced apartments and more. “Traveler safety and well-being is the top priority for U.S. travel managers at small and midsized programs, while cost is their biggest pain point, according to a survey of 299 travel stakeholders at U.S. SMEs conducted by Corporate Traveler and the Global Business Travel Association. The survey—conducted from June 17 through June 20 with participants from companies with between $200,000 and $10 million in annual travel spending—showed 40 percent named traveler safety as their No. 1 priority, and an additional 29 percent said it was their second- or third-highest priority. It ranked it as a higher priority than cost savings, which was named a top three priority by 57 percent of respondents, split about evenly in ranking it first, second or third, according to the survey. Companies with less than $1 million in annual spending were more likely to rank cost savings as their top priority.” Michael B Baker – BTN With the RFP season upon many organisations, the TRA has got together with our friends at mysa to put together our top 10 considerations when planning your next accommodation RFP. The Travel Risk Academy launched the Accommodation Conformity Focus Group in April 2024 to determine what would constitute ‘best practice’ amongst programme managers, risk experts and accommodation providers the world over.  Following a number of workshops, we are delighted to advise that the prototype, developed by mysa, is now ready to release to industry experts.  If you are a programme manager across travel, mobility, security, or HR and would like to get involved please contact us below. Build by mysa empowers programme managers to take control of their accommodation programmes by combining direct procurement with evidence-based property safety and security intelligence to create a tailor-made programme.  For serviced accommodation, it also provides 100% online booking.