With such a large variety of self-booking tools and other helpful aids for business flights, one might wonder why the business community still has such a strong connection with travel agencies. The truth is, there are a huge number of benefits conferred upon business travelers when they work with travel agencies and a business that does not use quality travel agencies can be losing out not only on exceptional customer service and support but even losing money as well. So what are some of the top reasons to continue using a travel agency for your business travelers?

Greater access

Travel agencies will be able to provide you with a superior amount of access to all the information you need to have for any flight or trip. With their powerful online tools, you will be able to look up and determine a variety of factors that may affect your trip simply at the touch of a button. Things like the ability to print your tickets, look up whether any portion of your flight has trip delays, whether your driver is scheduled to pick you up as your flight lands, and a variety of other important things such as destination warnings if there are any points of concern about where you are going or will be traveling through.

This one is a particularly nice feature to have especially during the winter time. Flights can be delayed or diverted for any number of reasons, weather not being the least of them. When you work with a travel agency to book your corporate travel, you ensure that not only will you have exceptional access to information as it becomes available but there is also a team of individuals working to fix the problems as they arise.

Discounts and perks

Corporate travel agents and business travel agents bring with them a slew of other benefits for business travelers such as discounts on flights. Corporate travel agents and others who work in the travel industry often move large volumes of individuals around the world. This has put business travel agents in a unique place to be able to leverage that volume and the persons involved to get their clients better rates and discounts on flights. Your travel agent likely has access to discounts that are simply not available to an average flyer or even a corporate traveler booking on his own.

But this is not the only perk that they can convey to you because with their longtime service in the travel industry in addition to working on flights, hotels, ground transportation, and other parts of the travel industry, your corporate travel agent can get you access to flight upgrades, reduced fares for those flights, exceptional room upgrades, restaurant vouchers, access to VIP lounge, and A-list ground transportation.

Inside information

With years of experience in the field, your travel agent will be able to provide you with inside information that is either not known or not available to the regular public. This insider information can look like knowing when a flight price will drop and being able to get you a better flight at a cheaper rate than you could get on your own. These insider information tidbits can also help get you upgraded which pays for itself, especially on long transcontinental flights.

Another one of the key benefits of working with a corporate travel agent is that your corporate travel agent can likely make itinerary changes without you having to pay the high change fees that so many airlines charge for rebooking. If you need an extra day to seal that important deal for your business but don’t want to be charged to alter your flight, then you should seriously consider working with a business travel agent. A business travel agent will be able to make these types of itinerary changes at little or no cost to you, saving you and your business potentially thousands of dollars.

Emergencies

One of the most important features that your corporate travel agent can do for you is to act as an emergency contact. Whether you are traveling domestically or abroad, there is a strong likelihood that you will not have individuals or friends whom you know in those areas. You have no support network and if you do not speak the language you are at an even greater disadvantage. If for whatever reason there were a storm on location or political upheaval, then you might find yourself stranded and potentially without proper documentation. However, your corporate travel agent is your lifeline. Your business travel agent works as an emergency contact, able to help sort things out and assist you at a moment’s notice, anytime, anywhere in the world you are. Having a travel agent on the case takes the stress off of you to sort out the problem. They’ll be able to reach out to their contacts on the ground and get everything sorted out so you can continue to enjoy your business trip.

A seamless trip

Having a travel agent for business travelers is incredibly important because as a business traveler, your responsibility lies with why you traveled. Making a deal, forging new contacts, selling a product, or finding new partners – your primary responsibility is to your business and you should not be concerned with the ins and outs of the trip itself. The fact is, if you have to book your own flight, manage all your own connections, arrange your ground transportation (especially in a foreign country), book your rooms, make your own monetary conversions, and hope that you’re not being taken advantage of are all things that distract and delay you from your primary responsibilities which are making your business money.

When you work with a corporate travel agent, he or she takes all of that stress off of you and is able to provide a seamless trip from touchdown to driving home. There will always be somebody who is monitoring your trip for any concerns, travel warnings, and weather issues and making adjustments accordingly so you are not even aware there was ever a problem.

By working with corporate travel agents, you are not just getting an individual to book your flights, what you are truly booking is efficiency and peace of mind.

Read also: Increasing Corporate Travel Customer Loyalty

Find out more about TTS Corporate the corporate booking tool that allows corporate travel agents to be at the top of their game.

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