BUSINESS TRAVEL INFORMATION

In business travel, as in leisure travel, there are significant advantages to using professional business travel agents vs. booking directly with one of the online travel agencies. Let’s consider the major factors in deciding on which type of travel agency to use.

Cost: The content rich booking systems that professional business travel agents use as well as other sources such as the Internet, air consolidators and the ability to call a company directly provide travel agents the opportunities to build lower cost itineraries than is not possible by using the online travel agency web sites.

In a study conducted by Topaz International, an independent research company serving the conventional corporate travel industry, businesses using online travel agencies paid an average of $75.00 more per itinerary than businesses using corporate travel agencies. (read the complete article)
Price And Service Are Primary Drivers of Corporate Travel by Rick Mazza, Travel Trade November 26, 2007

Service: However you look at it, the service you get from professional travel agents beats the online travel agencies hands down. There is no comparison here.

Time: How much is your employees’ time worth? Within a few minutes, professional travel agents can easily book a business travel package that includes air, car and hotel. For a few more minutes, they can put together a much more complicated itinerary with multiple destinations and flight connections. How many hours of company time will it take your employees to research, coordinate and book even a simple business trip? What about a much more complicated itinerary?

Whether you book a simple flight and hotel package or a complicated itinerary with multiple international flights and destinations, professional business travel agents can easily beat the prices of online travel agencies. When we add the quality of service and saving in time, there is absolutely no doubt about the advantages in using professional business travel agents.