Case study: The power of corporate travel benchmarking

The power of corporate travel benchmarking

Forward-thinking travel programme managers are proactive and don’t sit in a vacuum. They understand the importance of having their ear on the ground internally and externally to stay ahead of change and trends.

Benchmarking is a part of that strategy. It’s an exercise that is an independent review and assesses how your corporate travel programme is performing compared to others. You can benchmark a specific element such as: 

  • Air programme: Negotiated rates, ancillaries, T&Cs, cancellation terms, benefits, carbon footprint, traveller wellbeing

  • Hotel programme: Negotiated rates, ancillaries, T&Cs, cancellation terms, benefits, carbon footprint, traveller wellbeing

  • Travel policy and online booking tool: Average cost of trip, booking lead time, flexibility/inflexibility, compliance, adoption, usage, climate impact

Why benchmarking is important 
 

Benchmarking is never a stand-alone activity; it should be part of your wider business strategy. In today's business environment, if you aren't running benchmarking exercises, you run the risk of your travel programme not being competitive or you may make travel decisions that aren't backed by relevant data.  

If you are not able to measure how your programme is faring, your prices might be too high. Which then affects compliance, if your travellers start looking for cheaper flights and hotels elsewhere on the internet. Additionally, you need this comparison and validation to underpin your travel programme strategy. It tells the story of your performance to internal stakeholders and brings confidence to your forward action plan.

Where to start with benchmarking

“There are several places to start with standard benchmarking, such as trade press and business travel trade associations,” advises Jo Lloyd, Global Head of Account Management and FCM Consulting. “These tools give you a basic level of understanding of how your travel programme compares.”  

Travel programme managers using FCM already have additional benchmarking data to hand. Using the FCM Platform’s reporting dashboards, they can view benchmarking data for hotels and air fares based on booking habits across all our clients. They can easily compare how much they’re paying for hotels and flights over a designated period. 

For a fuller investigation and to really understand your programme performance, you need to engage a specialist.

When to involve an expert navigator

For a fuller investigation and to really understand your programme performance, you need to engage a specialist. A benchmarking exercise can answer burning questions such as:  

  • Are we getting a good enough discount from supplier/s?  

  • What are the gaps and where should we be paying attention to?  

  • Is our policy too generous or too rigid?  

  • Can I take this to management to elevate the value of my role and the travel programme? 

As each programme is so different, it can be difficult to get a statistical change, but the exercise still generates value. You can also download these stories here.

Here are some of the ways our experts at FCM Consulting have conducted benchmarking exercises.

Manufacturer's hotel programme

Hotel programme analysis

Question: Do we have the best negotiated rates in our corporate hotel programme?

Analysis: Our hotel specialist, Rachel Newns, reviewed six months of booking data across the client’s top 10 cities. She analysed room nights, average rates, and global booking volumes.

Outcome: Rachel confirmed some rates were on par with market trends but flagged others for renegotiation. With her expert context and supplier connections, the client had a clear path to stronger deals and knew what ‘good’ looked like going forward. The client could confidently make the best decisions in their hotel programme, and suppliers were educated during the process, too.
Air programme diagnostic

Air programme diagnostic

Question: How would a travel policy change affect costs?

Analysis: While difficult to compare apples with apples, our team used ACiQ, FCM Consulting’s benchmarking tool, to overlay contract data and booking patterns. The team then reviewed key metrics like lead time and length of stay to compare differences and airline performance.

Outcome: Validation and value. After analysis and recommendations, the client had the information they needed to move forward with any changes to the travel policy, back it up with data internally, and reignite supplier conversations with confidence.
Forward-thinking travel programme managers are proactive and don’t sit in a vacuum. Discover how benchmarking different policy elements can help you stay ahead of change.

Travel policy benchmarking

Brief: Is our policy too strict or too soft compared to others?

Analysis: Led by Juan Antonio Iglesias, the team compared the client's travel policy against three others: one from a similar business, one from a different industry, and one outlier. They looked at eligibility rules, business class allowances on short to long-haul, and flexibility.

Outcome: Juan offered dual-focused recommendations: control costs without restricting travellers. And included multiple ways the policy could be tightened or loosened. The client walked away with a policy that balanced fiscal responsibility and employee satisfaction.

With a blend of cutting-edge data capture, smart tools and decades of experience, travel managers can move forward with confidence in their programme performance and keep ahead of change.

 

View more ways the FCM Platform can help travel managers have technology stacked in their favour. 
 

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