If you’ve ever sought out a corporate travel management solution to book travel for your employees, you’ll probably have come across Corporate Traveler. Based in the US but operating on a global scale, they offer a centralized booking platform, referred to as Melon, for booking, safety, reporting, policy, and expenses.
Finding the right solution to meet your travel needs can be an overwhelming task, with many potential options. Whether you’re a small business looking to start working with a TMC, or a long-term customer of a travel agency, in this guide we’re going to examine the five best alternatives to Corporate Traveler so you can make the best decisions about your business spending when it comes to corporate travel.
From car rental to duty of care, to itinerary management to expense tracking, these TMCs each offer specialized travel services to ensure a smooth corporate journey.
Let’s take a look.
1. TravelPerk
TravelPerk is an end-to-end travel management company with an all-in-one digital platform for businesses and corporate travelers.
The modern platform is built with traveler self-management at its core and enables users to manage the business travel booking process from beginning to end from its centralized platform. From travel management reporting and trip approvals to policy compliance and traveler safety features, TravelPerk provides a best-in-class experience for business travelers and finance managers.
As well as access to the world’s largest travel inventory for flights and accommodation, TravelPerk offers the most comprehensive and unique set of corporate travel features. These include a VAT recovery solution, a carbon offsetting program, and FlexiPerk, an add-on that allows users to cancel their travel plans up to two hours before departure with a guaranteed refund of 80%.
TravelPerk noteworthy features
- An intuitive, user-friendly online booking platform — all traveler data, preferences, and loyalty points can be stored to use whenever needed.
- Integrated travel policy and approval flows to streamline the booking process.
- A simplified travel expense process with real-time expense reports.
- 24/7 business travel assistance with a 15-second response target from the 7* customer care team.
- TravelCare, a complete and modern travel safety and alerts system that provides business travelers with peace of mind.
- Centralized and single invoicing for all business travel, removing the need to send invoice requests and reminders.
- A huge catalog of integrations with third-party software.
How customers rate TravelPerk
G2 rating: 4.6/5 (as of June 2023)
Capterra rating: 4.8/5 (as of June 2023)
TravelPerk pricing
Since TravelPerk is suitable for businesses of all sizes, there are four pricing plans to choose from, starting with a free tier. All plans have access to the world’s largest travel inventory and the 7* customer care support team, and customers can add an unlimited amount of travelers or administrators to the platform.
Across all of TravelPerk’s paid plans, businesses only pay the monthly fee if they travel that month. Here’s an overview of TravelPerk’s pricing tiers:
- Starter: This plan is free to use, meaning there is no monthly subscription fee. Plus, the first 5 bookings each month are completely free too, with a 5% booking fee thereafter. Users have access to consolidated invoicing, unlimited cost centers, one policy and approval workflow, and travel restrictions information and alerts.
- Premium: Priced at $99/month with a 3% booking fee, this plan offers concierge services for special requests, savings of up to 25% with VAT-ready invoices, and secure traveler sign-in and automated user setup.
- Pro: This plan costs $299/month with a 3% booking fee and provides unlimited policy and approval workflows, unlimited budgets by cost center, custom reports and insights, and access to corporate rates.
- Enterprise: This tier is designed for enterprise businesses that want to customize their requirements. To find out more about this plan, get in touch with an expert.
Languages supported by TravelPerk
TravelPerk supports the following languages: English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French.
Corporate Traveler vs. TravelPerk
- TravelPerk offers an outstanding worldwide inventory
TravelPerk’s vast array of travel options offers everything their clients need. Covering flights, hotels, and transport, it enables travelers to access the best rates on the market both quickly and easily.
- TravelPerk offers top-notch customer support
TravelPerk’s customer services have been described as exceptional by happy customers who feel that the team consistently ‘responds quickly’ and ‘provides helpful solutions’. The in-house support team is always on hand to answer any queries, resolve any concerns, and offer guidance.
- TravelPerk’s booking platform
When it comes to user-friendliness, TravelPerk’s booking platform ticks all the boxes. Navigability is a priority, to ensure that all customers can easily make and amend their bookings. With TravelPerk, everything is in one place: cancellations, changes, integrations and real-person customer support.
- Lack of online reviews
TravelPerk boasts an impressive collection of reviews on popular sites such as G2 and Capterra, but there are none available for Corporate Traveler. Because of this, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to directly compare them with their competitors.
2. Egencia
Egencia is a modern travel management platform specializing in travel for B2B businesses. In addition to booking transport and accommodation, they offer their clients specialized new distribution capabilities (NDCs), tailored risk assessments and B2B-specific travel advice.
Egencia noteworthy features
- Industry-first NDCs for all clients
- Sustainable travel program: use of cutting-edge business travel technology and practices to help travelers reduce their carbon footprint
- Specialist knowledge in B2B and SMB corporate travel
- Smart booking tools to ensure compliance with company travel policy
- Egencia Preferred Rates: exclusive discounts, air credit tracking and increased visibility into travel spend
- Multilingual platform: Egencia is available in over six languages, making it accessible to a wide variety of users
How customers rate Egencia
G2 rating: 4.4/5 (as of June 2023)
Capterra rating: 3.9/5 (as of June 2023)
Egencia pricing
Prices are determined based on individual company needs: to get a quote you’ll need to contact Egencia directly.
Languages supported by Egencia
Egencia supports the following languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Danish, Czech,
3. AMEX GBT
AMEX GBT is a travel management company providing end-to-end solutions to connect travel and meetings. AMEX specializes in larger businesses—having recently acquired Egencia to work with SMBs. They provide services including expense management, meetings and events, and business consulting services.
AMEX GBT noteworthy features
- A unified travel platform for managing bookings and expenses.
- Mobile app for on-the-go travel management and updates.
- Data and analytics with Amex GBT’s Premier Insights
to compare your program to industry peers and identify opportunities to improve your program. - Monitor rate drops and easily rebook tickets to save money with re-shop tools.
- Airline credit reporting: a holistic view of total refund amounts and any unused tickets available is visible in the easy-to-use reporting tool.
- Risk alerts provide you with direct communication during disruptions.
- Navigate business travel challenges while traveling with personal assistants ready to assist.
How customers rate AMEX GBT
- G2 rating: 4/5 (as of June 2023)
- Capterra rating: AMEX GBT have no Capterra ratings (as of June 2023)
AMEX GBT pricing
Pricing information isn’t available on the site; you’ll need to get in touch for custom pricing.
Languages supported by AMEX GBT
AMEX GBT provides support in English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, French Canadian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
4. CTM
CTM, or Corporate Travel Management, is a business travel management provider operating around the globe. They offer a range of services including travel booking, itinerary planning, expense management, and travel policy compliance.
CTM’s 25-year experience in the travel industry, combined with their use of tech technology, drive their comprehensive corporate travel management solutions.
CTM noteworthy features
- A self-serve online booking tool, Lightning, for making travel bookings
- An intuitive mobile app, from which travelers can plan, book, and change travels on the go.
- Visa and passport support to ensure seamless business travel.
- CTM SMART Data platform for insights to drive savings and efficiencies.
- CTM Climate+ to help travelers understand and optimize the impact of business travel.
- Traveler wellbeing insights to identify potential wellbeing issues and stress triggers in your corporate travel program.
- Solutions designed specifically for small and growing businesses.
How customers rate CTM
- G2 rating: 1.8/5 (as of June 2023)
- Capterra rating: CTM have no Capterra ratings (as of June 2023)
CTM pricing
You’ll need to get in touch with CTM to request pricing information.
Languages supported by CTM
CTM provides support to clients in English. The Lightning booking tool is available in English, German, French, Italian, and Swedish.
5. BCD Travel
BCD Travel provides business travel management service and tools to businesses big and small through a variety of solutions. It offers service via a travel agent and a variety of digital tools to support your corporate travel program.
BCD Travel noteworthy features
- BCD Pay provides T&E spend management features to travelers and finance managers
- Real-time alerts in BCD’s mobile app to make sure all travelers are safe
- Data reporting within 90 minutes of making a booking
- TripSource®, a tool allowing admin staff and travelers to manage trips in one place
- 24/7 customer service
- Access to Connect by BCD platform to network with industry peers and develop travel management skills
- BCD Developer Hub provides APIs and developer tools to power the next generation of corporate travel
How customers rate BCD Travel
- G2 rating: BCD Travel has no G2 ratings (as of June 2023)
- Capterra rating: BCD Travel has no Capterra ratings (as of June 2023)
BCD Travel pricing
Pricing is available upon request.
Languages supported by BCD Travel
BCD travel offers services in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Wrapping up
Whether you’re sending employees to Tokyo or San Francisco, you can streamline the entire corporate travel management process with the right tool. That could be Corporate Traveler, or any one of the alternatives that suit you and your business travel needs.
Make sure to do your own research and consider your own travel needs before deciding on a solution. We at TravelPerk are ready to talk when you are.
See how TravelPerk can help you save money today
The post The 5 best Corporate Traveler alternatives in 2023 appeared first on TravelPerk.
