The complete guide to corporate travel policies 

You’ve heard the term “duty of care” before, so it’s important to create a policy that puts traveller safety and accessibility needs first. You’ll need to define and assign the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, including a travel manager, if you have one.

Set up an emergency plan and provide access to traveller safety information. Determine who is the emergency contact (your TMC?) and how to get in touch. Do they have 24/7 emergency support available?

Invite your HR department, the travellers themselves, and your DE&I manager into a discussion to find out what needs your team has as individuals, what hiccups they face when travelling, and what holes exist in your travel program that make it difficult to navigate. 

Working with a TMC is a great way to ensure travellers are kept safe before and during their trip.  

You have a budget you need to adhere to, but is it realistic? Setting reasonable budget limits is key to an effective policy. 

Your budget should account for all business travel expenses, including airfare, accommodation, meals, and ground transportation. And once you’ve set your budget, you can determine reasonable costs. Build these caps into your travel booking software to help travellers stay within the set parameters, which will later help with accountability. 

It's important to set clear rules on what the company can pay back and what types of business travel expenses are out-of-pocket. 

If you’ve set a maximum daily rate for meals on work trips, it's crucial that travellers understand the limit before racking up additional charges. Requiring receipts can also help keep track of employee spending and make sure they're not going over budget. 

By working with a travel management company like Corporate Traveller, you can review your previous year’s expenses and find where you can optimise or make changes based on market changes. 

If you're unfamiliar with how to write an expense policy, creating a simple process for claiming expenses is key to getting your team on the same page. Do you have access to a payment system that pays for the majority of expenses at the time of booking? This could be a good way to save time and stress down the road.

The more you can pay for before your travellers get to their destination, the easier everything is to reconcile after they get home.

If you have a person in charge of reviewing expense reports and watching pre-trip approvals, make sure to set criteria for claim approvals and look at automating processes to make approvals simple! 

Finding the right travel management software is essential. The right booking platform can provide travellers with an easy-to-use experience, giving them access to the best fares and availability.

Corporate Traveller's all-in-one platform includes an online booking tool (OBT), reporting suite, traveller profile manager, and so much more.

The simple user interface, combined with dedicated travel managers and expert 24/7 support, makes it simple to book, manage, and keep track of your business travel. You’ll be able to access exclusive deals and perks (alongside many negotiated contracts and online deals) and take care of all your travel needs from one place.

From the get-go, you’ll be able to work closely with our team to ensure that all of your needs are met. We'll help you customise your travel program to meet specific business needs, build your travel policy into the platform, and offer training to staff to help them along the way.

Does your travel program have different rules, limits, or allowances for different levels of seniority? Are some junior members expected to travel in economy class, while some executives are allowed to book in business class?

If some exceptions and situations allow for an employee to book business class, regardless of their position, you should include that in your policy as well.

Making this as clear as possible will avoid an approvals nightmare down the road.

It’s great if you’ve already centralised most of your business travel expenses like flights, accommodation, transportation, and car hires, but your people gotta eat! It’s super important to include a meal allowance policy that clearly outlines which meals (and how much) you’ll cover.

Some of your team might be travelling with corporate credit cards, while others might need to be reimbursed. The guidelines and procedures for submitting expenses or asking for reimbursement need to be crystal clear!

Make sure to outline if you have a policy for alcohol, too! You don’t want murky policies when it comes to footing the bill for drinks.

Some things to consider for your meal allowance and alcohol travel policy:  

• Which meals are covered and for how much? 
• Who is footing the bill for an alcoholic beverage with dinner? 
• If entertaining clients, what is the budget, and how flexible is it? 
• What is the process of submitting company card expenses? 
• What is the process for requesting reimbursement?  

Your team will always have questions about the policy on food and drinks, so make sure they can find the info easily and have a point of contact for whoever can offer more clarity.  

We briefly touched on executive travel when we talked about travelling in business class, but there is certainly more to it when the top dogs are travelling. 

Executive travel can be a touchy subject if there are more lenient policies in place than there is for less senior team members. Your executives also may need to know the guidelines in place for their own travel, so they don’t accidently go overboard, which could be an accounting nightmare!  

You’ll need to make sure you deliver a guide for approvals, procedures, booking deadlines, meals, accommodation - basically everything.  

Lay it all out. Make your policy as digestible as possible, and for a busy exec, consider bullet points and titles in bold so they can easily skim to the areas they need to know.  

Unexpected events can disrupt business travel in an instant. From grounded flights to widespread safety concerns, disruptions impact relationships with clients, planned meetings and, in some cases, business continuity and budgets.

Many organisations are now thinking proactively about the “what-ifs” in their travel programs. When something significant happens, hoping for the best isn’t enough.

Natural disasters are a key example — earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, bushfires and severe weather can put travellers at risk. Do you have a plan or policy in place to support your people and guide them through the unthinkable?

In a 2022 survey of 120 employees across various industries, more than half (51%) said their companies didn’t provide resources or safety tips for travel. Duty of care isn’t something to set aside — it’s your legal responsibility to ensure your people are informed and supported.

So, what’s the solution?

Partnering with a TMC gives you the backup you need when unexpected disruptions occur. With Corporate Traveller, your travel policy lives in one central location for quick access, plus our travel experts can guide your team on what to do, who to contact and how to get home safely as soon as possible.

Remember when we said travellers will only read your policy to find a solution for a specific need? Whether it’s a link, a phone number, or a step-by-step tutorial – a well-managed travel policy should provide them with the right resources.

Instead of treating it as a list of rules, treat it like a resource sheet. Here are some key pieces of information travellers might need to pull up easily:  

• Your approved online booking tool (and steps on how to use it) 
• QR codes to download your mobile travel app
• Preferred airlines, including class, budgets, and other limits
• Permissible hotels, including guidelines on star-class and incidental expenses
• Guidelines on ground transportation (trains, ride-sharing services, public transport, rental cars, and personal car usage)
• How to get travel support
• Travel insurance carrier
• Clarification on the reimbursement process (more on this later)

You can also include other factors specific to your company, but this should at least be the necessary groundwork to help employees make the right choices on their own.

Let’s face it: even with the best communication efforts, there’s always a chance that an employee may violate policy, even unintentionally. So, what can you do?

Build policy into booking.  

By building your travel policy into your travel management software, it becomes unavoidably embedded in the booking process, so even the most easily confused employees end up following by default. With Corporate Traveller, your policy is built into our all-in-one platform, meaning you can customise your spending limits, approval flows, and more to build a booking system that works for you.

Automation tools can sound the alarm on out-of-policy bookings and even provide an audit trail. This can be especially helpful for employees who may struggle to remember procedures and policies, especially after big changes to your travel program.

No one wants to get stuck waiting on the money they’re owed – or worse – find out they’re not getting reimbursed for an expenditure they thought would be covered.

Having a clear and well-defined expense claim process is critical in any travel policy. Employees need to know how to claim their travel expenses, how soon they need to submit an expense report, and when to expect reimbursement. Find out if your TMC integrates with your current expense management software for an easier process.

The travel and expense policy should also be clear about what are and are not reimbursable expenses, including any limits or exceptions. For example, if an employee needs to book a different seat class to accommodate a disability, the policy should include the process for requesting and approving this expense. 

Plus, a submission deadline reduces cash flow issues and provides more accurate and complete expense data for that period (your finance team will thank you later).

As a company, you have a duty-of-care responsibility. When it comes to business trips, you need to be prepared for the unexpected. No matter how much effort you put into planning, there will always be a few hiccups along the way.   

For instance, lost luggage, cancelled or delayed flights, and sudden weather or political emergencies in unfamiliar destinations could all leave your employee stranded.   

“Companies need to be prepared to plan for the particular, not just the universal. Every aspect of the travel program needs to be able to fit each of your travellers like a glove, from adaptable plans and experts on call, to technology that makes the journey seamless.” - Emese Graham, DE&I Manager @ FCTG.

Don’t let unexpected situations blindside you. Have processes in place to ensure travel safety and security. Make sure they know what to do, where to go, and who to get a hold of if something goes wrong. Taking a proactive and prepared approach to your policy can minimise the impact of emergencies and take care of your team’s well-being while they’re on the road.  

BONUS TIP: Update your policy regularly  

Here’s a free business travel policy best practice just for you! It isn’t just a “one and done” deal – it’s a living document.

What’s that mean? As your company grows and travel conditions change, so should your travel policy. Revisit your travel and expense policy at least once a year to keep it relevant and effective – and lead you towards new cost-saving solutions. 

Data is going to be your best friend here. Here are a few key factors you should look into when updating your travel policy:

• Analyse travel spend patterns: Are you throwing a lot of company money at certain suppliers? You might want to see if you can negotiate a new deal or find better rates elsewhere.
• Identify areas of overspending or inefficiency: Are employees accruing high parking fees or travel costs? See if you can get season tickets or other accommodations.
• Evaluate the overall performance of your policy: Are you still compliant with any new regulations that have come into play since the policy was established? How can traveller experience be improved?

You may even want to consider enlisting the help of professionals, such as a travel management company with experience in expense management, to give advice on how to optimise your travel policy to better meet the needs of your employees and your business as a whole.

Building a travel policy that's good for business and travellers and meets their needs is no small feat. But whether you're looking to retain your team, attract new talent, or make life a little easier for your travellers, investing in a well-designed travel policy is definitely worth the effort and great for company culture.

By following these travel policy best practices and ensuring your policy meets all travellers' needs, you’ll be on your way to smoother, safer, and more enjoyable travel experiences for all.