Corporate travel agents provide consulting, research, and booking services to commercial clients, helping employees make business travel plans in line with corporate policies and reducing costs. They can also organize group travel and maintain detailed records of employee travel preferences. Aspiring agents can receive training at vocational schools or community colleges and seek specialized certifications.
A corporate travel agent provides consulting, research and booking services to commercial clients. These travel agents assist company executives and employees in making business travel plans in line with corporate travel policies, as well as ensuring that business travel is completed in a manner that respects employee and business schedules, and reduce costs. The agent may work internally for a company or may be accessible to company personnel through a website or dedicated phone line. In addition to facilitating regular corporate travel, a corporate travel agent can also help the company organize group travel for corporate team building events or large company-sponsored meetings and conventions.
Many workers are required to engage in business travel, some quite regularly. A corporate travel agent does the work of looking up airfares, hotels and car rental companies and then booking the travel for the employee. Not only does this prevent the employee from having to make travel arrangements while on the job, but the agent can use their expertise to secure the best rates for the employee’s travel. This helps prevent unintentional overspending by employees, who may make more expensive travel arrangements due to lack of information about their options. In situations where a company has comprehensive employee travel policies, the work of a corporate travel agent can help prevent policy violations by ensuring that all travel arrangements meet corporate travel criteria.
In situations where a company needs to coordinate group travel to an offsite training location, the travel agent can research and then book the necessary arrangements for all event attendees. In some cases, the travel agent may also book trips for employees who have earned trips as a company incentive. The agent can also maintain detailed records about workers and their travel preferences, ensuring that employees can receive preferred seats on planes and that an employee receives credit for hotel and flight stays through supplier loyalty programs.
Getting a job in this field is usually a matter of completing the appropriate training for travel agents in the jurisdiction in which a person wants to work. Depending on where an aspiring travel agent lives, they may receive training at a vocational or vocational school or community college. In some cases, travel agents may be trained on the job. The corporate travel agent may also seek specialized certification for the corporate travel agent’s work, as well as certifications from specific travel providers. She can start working as a general travel agent through an agency or as an independent agent at home. As she increases her experience, she may land a job working for a corporate travel company or for a company that needs in-house support for corporate travel.
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