Adding Flexibility to Improve Traveler Experience

No matter how large or small your travel program is, you have travelers who are affected by your travel policy decisions. It’s important to think about the individual traveler and their journey to identify areas where there may be pain points. Unhappy travelers can have decreased productivity and overall poor morale, which eventually could cost the company in many ways, up to and including that employee. 

Consider these simple policy changes if elevating your traveler journey is a priority.  

Creating Choice Through Flexibility

Here are a few of our favorite and most common travel policy options that can make a huge difference for your employees and their sentiment towards company travel:  

Lift Restrictions on Departure Cities

While smaller airports may be more expensive, consider allowing a traveler to depart from a location closer to home. By offering your employees options, you allow them to spend their time in a more meaningful way. Whether that’s on the job rather than in the car, preparing for that big presentation, or, more personally, spending time with their family, you are putting time back into their day and showing them that you value how they spend it.

Allow Direct Flights

Similar to lifting departure city restrictions, this added benefit puts choice and trust in the employee’s hands to do what is best for both company efficiency and for the individual. While layovers may come with a cheaper fare, direct flights allow for increased productivity for the company and improved health and safety for employees by reducing physical stops. 

Increase Per Diem

Increasing the amount of spending money available allows travelers to make options more aligned with their dietary and personal eating habits, which may include DoorDash or Uber Eats. If you are reviewing your per diem rates and wondering where you stack up, check out this Per Diem Index to see how you compare. Keeping business travelers happy, healthy, and safe on the road may be worth a few dollars more. 

Include TSA-PreCheck

Every traveler sees it when they go through security: the TSA PreCheck line. Those who travel frequently and even those who don’t often look at that empty line with envy. By providing TSA PreCheck, even if only for the biggest road warriors in your company, you are granting an experience where employees feel valued.. 

Every corporate travel program has goals and budgets. How you craft your policy depends on your unique organizational needs. Some of the ideas above might have a significant impact on your travelers, while others may not be within the scope of your program today. Our goal at Fox is to create a dialogue with you about how best to serve your travelers and your organization.  

As corporate travel policy continues to evolve, you can rely on Fox World Travel as your advocate and consultant to ensure you have what you need to keep your travelers well cared for.