A centralised travel programme with a global travel manager sat in HQ is common for many companies.
However, many global travel managers are coming across obstacles when it comes to rolling out a programme outside of their home markets.
Air fares, for example, cannot often be negotiated globally. Fares vary between city pairings and depending on where the traveller starts their journey.
Even if the rates can be agreed globally, they cannot then always be uploaded into booking tools easily. In a case study for Business Travel iQ, one EMEA travel manager for a media company shared the difficulties of implementing technology across regions where products and booking behaviour vary.
But it's not just the products buyers need to consider.
In an age where personalisation and being traveller-centric is increasingly the focus there is more talk of breaking up policies. A top-down, mandated strategy is difficult to impose when travellers know that they can get a different, sometimes better, experience elsewhere. A bottom-up, market-owned programme may be hard work, but could be more worth it in the end.
Conversations around personalised policies tend to lean towards traveller behaviours or levels of seniority, yet discussions at the pre-Business Travel Show conference last week suggested a need for policies, negotiation and responsibility to sit with local travel managers with direction from HQ. Some countries need local insight to get in the door and work in the appropriate culture.