Time is Money - Don't Do It Yourself

How much time do you spend trawling the internet looking for the cheapest flight for your boss? And what happens when you have booked your boss on a flight to New York with ba.com and he is caught up in the chaos of Terminal 5's first day of operations, but you can't switch his ticket to Virgin Atlantic.

Anyone can buy a ticket on the internet; the difficult bit is buying the right ticket at the right price, at the right time, from the right airport, and marrying that together with hotel accommodation and airport parking, not to mention visas and foreign currency.

Plus what happens when there's a strike at Heathrow, an airline like Eos goes bust, or there's an earthquake in China? Are you the best person to sort out the crisis and get your boss a seat on another airline, or re-route him via a different airport?

We may all be internet savvy, but buying business travel is not like buying a book on Amazon. It is still a challenge for companies of all sizes and using a specialist travel management company (TMC) is therefore going to save time and money, even for SME businesses.

• Best fares - TMCs are committed to finding clients the best possible fare to meet the needs of whoever is travelling whilst still complying with company policy. If you make your own booking via ba.com or easyjet.com you are only going to see that airline's fare. A TMC's system rapidly searches through all airline fares simultaneously including low cost carriers, to find the best fare for your chosen destination.
• Cutting costs - it's not just about air fares. TMCs know how to cut the total cost of the entire travel process - they have global hotel programmes for example. Or they know the best way to buy rail tickets so you get the cheapest fare.
• Online booking tools - it's a little known fact that most TMCs have an online booking tool which clients can use to book their own flights and hotels if they want to be in control of the booking themselves. The system isn't biased towards one airline or hotel and will give you the best option for your destination and dates, but will still comply with company policy and be quality controlled by your TMC.
• Get me a visa - your sales director needs to fly to India or Russia on Friday. How on earth are you going to get him a visa in time? That's where your TMC steps in. They will handle the application and submission and get the visa back to you in time, even if that means queuing at the Russian Embassy for hours.
• Get me out of here - there's a strike at Heathrow, or an airline goes bust and your boss is stranded. If you have booked the business trip direct on the internet, there is no one to phone and sort out the mess. If your company uses a TMC, all it takes is a phone call to your consultant to re-route the traveller on a different flight or via a different airport.
• Comfort in a crisis - but perhaps one of the most valuable roles a TMC can provide is reassurance that your boss or colleagues are safe when there is a major international incident - 911, the London July bombings, an earthquake in India - travel management companies can track all travellers who have been booked via their systems, even if you made the booking via the TMC's online booking tool. A TMC can immediately confirm the whereabouts of your people offering security and peace of mind. This is particularly important with the introduction of new corporate manslaughter legislation meaning employers need to be far more vigilant about the safety and whereabouts of their staff.