Intro:
The corporate travel manager position deals with numbers and math. It also places a significant focus on logistics. Making reservations, approving expense reports, and reconciling budgets are part of your duties.
You also negotiate rates, build partnerships with the hospitality industry, and manage the internal travel calendars.
The duties of the position sound cut and dry. However, if you have a passion for travel, you probably enjoy each one.
Moreover, as a manager, there is plenty of room to implement creativity into the processes.
We look at how travel managers can implement more creativity in their job.
Incorporate Software
In 2022, all industries have software available to their teams. Software developers sought to minimize repetitive tasks and optimize high-impact ones.
Some features of travel management software include:
- Analytics
- Third-party integrations
- Booking system
- Workflows
- Notifications
More importantly, software helps professionals compile reports that provide valuable data.
Exploring the data might reveal that it’s best to book accommodations two months before travel instead of three. It can also show that your company is working with one ground transportation company more than others.
You can use your creativity to find practical solutions when you make valuable discoveries. You have opportunities to optimize the company’s travel budget and impress the executives.
Leaning on professionals is one creative way to find housing for traveling workers. For example, some trip planners use the services of Hotel Engine for booking long-term housing. Check them out.
Personalize Operations
Once you become the manager of your department, you have arrived. You’ll adhere to some company guidelines, but you’ll also receive freedom to personalize operations.
All employees contribute to their company’s bottom line, including administrative positions. Corporate travel managers make business trips seamless for executives and staff. They also keep the trips at or within the designated budget.
Ideally, you entered the position with a problem that you want to solve. To leave your mark on the department, use your creativity to solve it.
Establish Partnerships with Stakeholders
Corporate travel departments usually have ten members or less, even at corporations. The department has contact with staff who travel and stakeholders. Stakeholders include executives and members of the finance department.
To help operations move seamlessly, establish partnerships with stakeholders.
If a disagreement over the budget arises, you want to have a good working relationship with the finance department. Then, you can find creative solutions to keeping costs at an agreeable level.
In negotiations, both parties must compromise. If you don’t have the upper hand, you must come to the table prepared.
Improve Communication Skills
Email is the most common communication method among business professionals. Teleconferencing, phone calls, and face-to-face communication are the next three.
When you find the most efficient communication methods for your department, find creative ways to deliver your messages.
It’s usually best to keep messages concise. If you need to obtain buy-in, build micro-presentations that sway your audience in your desired direction.
Understand the Trends
Networking helps professionals find new opportunities and close deals. It also helps them catch up with their peers. If you can’t find viable solutions to recurring issues in-house, find out how your peers have approached it.
For example, your team might have difficulty adjusting to the new company mileage policy. However, it’s necessary to make changes as gasoline prices fluctuate.
Your peers might creatively present the change to their teams that you can adopt.
Explore Alternatives
Many companies use the top three hotel chains to house their teams during trips. However, several alternatives exist.
For example, you might need to find short-term housing or furnished options for traveling nurses, construction teams, and salespeople. Thus, you’ll need to explore extended stay lodging.
Other situations call for checking out boutique hotels or motels.
The hospitality industry sees innovation, just like other industries. Exploring alternative accommodations is one way to implement more creativity in your job.
You can use the same approach for ground transportation. Lyft and Uber slowly caught on with the business world. Now, it’s normal for travelers to use them over taxis and rentals in some cities.
Conclusion
Once you become a department manager, you receive freedoms to inject creativity into your position and operations. For travel managers, use software to uncover meaningful information. Then, focus on solving problems and improving processes. Remember to obtain buy-in from stakeholders and traveling staff to accomplish your duties and tasks.