10 Best Business Travel Management Apps
Libby Zay
•29 Aug 2023•
Technology has ushered in new tools designed to simplify, automate, and enhance the complex process of business travel planning. These solutions can streamline corporate travel booking, itinerary organization, expense management, and policy compliance — which can help companies cut costs on their travel program.
Many business travel management apps are on the market, each promising to revolutionize how organizations handle their travel needs. In this article, we’ll cover:
- How corporate travel management apps can help companies
- Questions to ask when seeking the right fit for your business
- A comparison of popular business travel management apps
Get ready to take your corporate travel program from chaos to control.
How Business Travel Management Software Helps Companies
Business travel management software offers a range of benefits that make organizing and managing work-related trips and expenses more efficient and streamlined.
These smart tools can help with:
- Travel Booking: Similar to an online booking tool, these apps provide options for airfare, accommodations, car rentals, and other travel arrangements.
- Travel itinerary Creation: These software solutions help create detailed itineraries for trips, making it easy for travelers to stay organized and access information on the go.
- Approval Workflows: These tools can help route employee travel requests through the appropriate channels for review and approval.
- Policy Compliance: Modern technology allows administrators to configure and enforce corporate travel policies. Employees better understand the travel policies and how to stay within company guidelines, which helps control costs.
- Travel Risk Management: Duty of care is a company’s legal and moral responsibility to ensure traveler safety. Business travel management companies can help identify potential risks, track and communicate with travelers, and send real-time alerts.
- Travel Support: Travel agents and AI chatbots should be able to assist travelers at any point in their business trip, ensuring they have a smooth and stress-free experience should there be a travel disruption or cancellation.
- Travel Data Insights: Business travel management software often comes with reporting and analytics features, allowing companies to analyze travel spend patterns and identify cost-saving opportunities.
Bonus: Tracking Company Travel Expenses
Choosing an app that combines business travel and expense management software can simplify time-consuming reimbursement and expense-reporting management processes. It can also integrate with accounting software and HR systems, ensuring seamless data flow and reducing manual data entry. Understand the benefits of an all-in-one solution.
What to Look for in Business Travel Management Apps
The right tool does more than assist with booking trips. Software provided by a travel management company (TMC) should streamline all of the company’s business travel needs while providing a great travel experience to employees.
Here are some questions to ask any corporate travel management company your company is considering:
- How expansive is the software’s travel inventory?
- How long does the travel booking process take for an end user?
- What is the approval process for traveling employees and managers?
- Does the software provide business travel policy compliance tools?
- What kind of support is available? Are travel agents on hand 24/7 globally?
- Does the software provide real-time travel data?
- Can the software integrate with the company’s corporate credit card?
- Will the travel management tool be able to scale with the company?
Consider any other needs unique to your company, such as integrations with HRIS systems (to help the finance team) or a white-glove travel service for VIP travelers (like CEOs and CFOs).
The right partner should integrate the latest technology into a solution proven to slash busywork, increase efficiency, and lower costs.
Just getting started with your business travel program? Check out Corporate Travel Management 101: An Introductory Guide.
10 Best Business Travel Management Apps
Various mobile apps and software solutions have emerged to simplify the lives of finance team members, travel managers, and frequent corporate travelers. Let’s explore some of the top business travel management apps in the travel industry that help professionals stay organized, make informed decisions, and navigate the complexities of travel with ease.
1. Navan
Navan (formerly TripActions) is consistently ranked the No. 1 travel management software by end users. The software revolutionizes global business travel management by offering an integrated platform that combines business travel, corporate cards, and expense management software. Administrators can craft highly tailored expense policies to ensure employees are well-informed about covered expenses and curb out-of-policy spending before it occurs.
Noteworthy features:
- End-to-end travel and expense management
- Built-in policy and approval flows
- Travelers earn loyalty points and rewards for cost-effective choices
- Meetings and events assistance
- Visualize all company spend in real-time dashboards
- 24/7 traveler support
Navan User Review
“Navan will make everyone’s life in your company easier! It has helped us plan travel, track spending quickly, know our spending limits, and more. It answers a lot of questions instead of having numerous employees contact our finance team for guidance, as everything is embedded into the application and website. Don’t hesitate to get it, as everyone in your company will love it.” –Cora C., via G2.com
2. Kayak for Business
Launched in 2021, Kayak for Business is a specialized version of the popular online booking tool tailored to the needs of corporate travelers and businesses. It offers a suite of features to simplify the travel management process and integrates with expense-tracking platforms, allowing companies to optimize their travel-related activities.
Noteworthy features:
- Comprehensive booking options
- Policy enforcement and compliance
- Personalized recommendations
- Travelers earn loyalty points
- Expense integrations
3. Egencia
Egencia combines technology, data-driven insights, and travel services to empower companies and their employees to make the most of their travel experiences while adhering to policies and budgets.
Noteworthy features:
- Comprehensive booking options
- Travel policy adherence
- Risk management and duty of care assistance
- Expense integrations
- 24/7 traveler support
Egencia User Review
“If you literally just want a basic booking platform, Egencia will be fine. But if you want something beyond just a booking platform, look elsewhere. There are a lot of cool new products in this space that incentivize cost-conscious decision-making by employees, which is the direction we went.“ –Anonymous User, via G2.com
4. CWT
CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a global travel management company that provides services to help businesses manage their travel programs effectively. It is also known for its meetings and events management services.
Noteworthy features:
- Comprehensive booking options
- Travel policy adherence
- Meetings and events management
- Risk management and duty of care assistance
- 24/7 traveler support
5. TravelPerk
TravelPerk is a Barcelona-based corporate travel agency that offers booking options for flights, accommodations, and transportation. It also provides functionality for expense management, reporting, and policy enforcement.
Noteworthy features:
- Comprehensive booking options
- Centralized travel itinerary management
- Policy enforcement and compliance
- Expense integrations
- 24/7 traveler support
TravelPerk User Review
"The system requires a lot of human interaction from [TravelPerk’s] side. They are supported out of the EU, so the time zones are a nightmare for U.S. employees.” –Anonymous User, via G2.com
6. SAP Concur
SAP Concur is an online booking tool that offers features for booking flights, hotels, and rental cars. It integrates with corporate credit cards and provides policy enforcement and compliance tools. Although SAP Concur is one of the most well-known business travel management solutions, it is limited by outdated technology and struggles to keep up with modern solutions.
Noteworthy features:
- Book and manage travel and expenses
- Enforce travel and expense policies
- Receipt capture and Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- Integrations with financial and accounting systems
SAP Concur User Review
“Not very user-friendly and has a complex workflow. No scan and auto-fill feature in SAP Concur. The mobile app is not easy to use and operate. I mostly used the web version.” –Shafeek A., via G2.com
7. TravelBank
TravelBank is a corporate travel management solution that provides travel bookings and expense reporting. It caters to small- and medium-sized businesses and lets employees capture receipts on their phones.
Noteworthy features:
- Book and manage travel and expenses
- Automated policy compliance
- Travelers earn rewards for cost-effective choices
- Integrations with financial and accounting systems
- 24/7 traveler support
TravelBank User Review
“The expense management piece is very clean and easy to use (other than lacking automation for PNC). Still, the travel portion is less user-friendly, and accumulating travel rewards when booking with TravelBank is complicated.” –Anonymous User, via G2.com
8. BCD Travel
BCD Travel is a global travel management platform that offers various services to help organizations optimize travel-related processes while ensuring cost efficiency, policy compliance, and traveler satisfaction.
Noteworthy features:
- Risk management and duty of care assistance
- Integrations with financial and accounting systems
- 24/7 traveler support (emergencies only after business hours)
9. Amex GBT
Amex GBT (American Express Global Business Travel) provides corporate travel management services, including travel planning and booking, expense management, and travel risk mitigation.
Noteworthy features:
- Book and manage travel and expenses
- Automated policy compliance
- Risk management and duty of care assistance
- Integrations with financial and accounting systems
- 24/7 traveler support
Amex GBT User Review
“They have a strong industry presence and deep knowledge of industry tools/systems. Some of the technologies they prefer to use are outdated, and it has been a lengthy process to align our processes with their own.” –Anonymous User, via G2.com
10. CTM
Established in 1994, CTM provides an online booking tool for corporate travel and a portal for travel administrators to see who is traveling and any disruptions they face. It also offers meetings and events services.
Noteworthy features:
- Book and manage travel and expenses
- Risk management and duty of care assistance
- Integrations with financial and accounting systems
- Meetings and events assistance
- 24/7 traveler support (emergencies only after business hours)
Do The Research
Remember that the effectiveness of business travel management apps and software can vary based on your specific business needs, company size, and industry. Evaluate each solution based on user experience, integration capabilities, pricing, customer support, and the specific features that align with your organization’s requirements. Always check for the most recent reviews and updates before making a decision.
Why Companies Should Avoid Disparate Solutions
The travel industry is tackling the challenge of how modern corporate travel programs should evolve. The term “all-in-one” can be misleading and is often used when multiple companies cobble together solutions.
There is a big difference between a business travel management app offering an expense integration and one built to work as a seamless, end-to-end solution. Consider that:
- Managing several pricing schemas, budgets, relationships, and products/services requires time-consuming project management
- Cleaning and consolidating data from multiple systems makes it impossible to gather accurate insights in real time and reduces overall visibility for finance teams
- Submitting expenses manually and tracking travel spending takes time away from employees trying to fulfill the core responsibilities of the jobs they were hired to do
Navan has created the only true all-in-one travel, corporate card, and expense management solution. Thousands of global customers trust Navan with their travel, corporate card, and expense management programs. Learn more about Navan today.
