Changing travel management company is easy to defer. The incumbent is embedded and the migration looks painful, so real problems get tolerated for years before anyone acts.
After around five years with a much larger Travel Management Company, the business found its travel programme was no longer delivering what it needed.
The challenge
Following the pandemic, pricing had become less competitive. Travellers increasingly began booking flights, hotels and car hire directly using company credit cards, which is what people do when the official route stops feeling like the easier one. The result was limited visibility and control over spend, at exactly the point the business most needed both.
At the same time, the business had moved to a service model without a dedicated account manager, leaving no clear point of contact when issues arose. Its booking and approval platform had become increasingly outdated and inefficient, requiring frequent manual maintenance and struggling to support the evolving global nature of the business.
With limited transparency around fees and costs on top of that, it was time for a change.
The approach
In 2025, the business carried out a comprehensive review of its travel programme, looking for a partner that could provide a more customer-focused service, greater value for money and a commitment to best practice.
Three TMCs, including the incumbent provider, were invited to present against the tender requirements.
Chapman & Carter was selected for offering the best overall balance of functionality, customer support and cost, alongside a dedicated point of contact and a strong commitment to developing the service further. Importantly, we met the vast majority of requirements from the outset while demonstrating a proactive willingness to work collaboratively on any remaining gaps.
The result
The new travel programme was implemented successfully and delivered on schedule.
Employee adoption has been extremely positive, with almost 100% uptake of the new booking process and very few complaints - reflecting both the ease of use of the system and the effectiveness of the implementation. Adoption is where travel programmes usually fail, and no platform delivers it on its own.
The business also has direct access to key contacts across our management, reservations and accounts teams, ensuring queries and issues can be addressed promptly and effectively.
A pre-booking approval process is currently being developed to provide greater oversight and control of travel spend, while the teams continue to work closely together to meet stringent technical, security, GDPR and data protection requirements.
