bcd travel management

A family company with a passion for travel

The privately owned bcd group is a market leader in the travel industry. in over 170 locations worldwide, bcd group helps companies make the most of what they spend on business travel., leading the travel industry.

BCD Group was founded in 1975 by John Fentener van Vlissingen and consists of BCD Travel, and its divisions BCD Meetings & Events and Advito.

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Building on the foundation of the past is important; the future is even more exciting. John Fentener van Vlissingen Founder of BCD Group

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Established in 1946, World Travel Service is the wholly owned and independently run division of BCD Travel, the second largest travel management company in the world. Acquired by BCD in 2015, we currently manage best-in-class travel programs for hundreds of US mid-market, multi-national clients. Together we have wholly-owned, partner and joint venture offices in 109 countries. As the SME division of BCD Travel in US, we offer BCD’s award-winning reporting, duty of care, mobile technologies, and global vendor partnerships to organizations like yours.

World Travel Service helps US companies make the most of what they spend on travel. We give travelers remarkably innovative tools that keep them safe and productive and help them make good choices on the road. We partner with travel and procurement leaders to simplify the complexities of business travel, drive savings and satisfaction, and move whole companies toward their corporate goals. We’re very proud that our client retention rate has exceeded 98%+ for the past five years – the highest in a very competitive industry.

In short, we help each of our clients travel smart and achieve more.

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BCD Travel survey reveals growing importance of travel and expense spend management

Top payment & expense priorities are process simplification and traveler satisfaction

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, November 30, 2021 – As business travel bounces back, so has the relative importance of travel and expense spend management, according to a recent survey of 106 travel buyers responsible for T&E spend around the globe. Leading travel management company BCD Travel conducted the survey from Oct. 12-26.

On the list of program priorities, 76% of travel buyers consider payment and expense very to extremely important, an increase of 8 points compared to 68% in the previous survey in April. The top three priorities for payment and expense are process simplification (91%), traveler satisfaction (88%) and travel data insights (80%).

“Companies are plagued by cumbersome payment forms, manual processes, siloed systems and obscure spend visibility,” said Ajay Singh, Vice President of Digital Payment and Expense Products at BCD Travel. “With BCD Pay®, our single, cloud-based platform for T&E spend management processes, these frictions are gone. BCD Pay provides a smooth, automated, digital experience that gives travelers the convenience they crave, and travel and finance managers a simple process with the quality, enriched data for end-to-end spend visibility.”

Finance, travel management and procurement are the most relevant internal stakeholders to payment and expense management in business travel. Finance is typically the primary decision-maker, especially when it comes to selecting payment and expense solutions and VAT reclaim.

When it comes to forms of payment used to settle travel costs, corporate cards are the most popular (used by 94%), followed by central billed accounts (56%), invoices (41%) and virtual cards (37%). Travelers on the road mainly use corporate cards (90%). The use of personal cash (32%), cash advance (24%) and consumer cards (22%) is nowhere near as prevalent. When asked about data quality, corporate cards are ranked first, followed by central billed accounts, invoices and virtual cards. Interestingly, travel buyers who are using virtual cards think differently and rank virtual cards second.

Travel buyers say the biggest pain points experienced around payment setup and administration are:

• Managing payment needs of non-employees
• Managing payment methods in multiple countries and emerging markets
• Suppliers not accepting certain payment methods or charging extra fees

“BCD Pay provides customers the flexibility to use the right form of payment to each booking, whether for different categories, suppliers, travelers (non-employees, infrequent travelers, remote workers) or markets,” said Singh. “For example, clients can use corporate cards for air bookings or virtual cards for hotel and car bookings in one or more markets. BCD Pay removes the complexity associated with disparate manual processes and multi-channel and supplier payment orchestration through automation and a single, cloud-based payment hub.”

Respondents also shared their views on what trends they think will be shaping payment and expense:

• Popular today are contactless payment (55%), paperless expense solutions (52%) and higher transparency and control over expenses (47%)
• Expected to gain traction in one to three years are mobile payment (41%), wide adoption of expense management apps (35%) and biometric authentication (35%)
• In five years from now, 52% expect to be using virtual cards more frequently, while the use of cash and invoices will go down.

“Virtual, digital and mobile payments are the future of B2B T&E payments and spend management,” said Singh. “Virtual payment is becoming more important for our clients, as it makes it easier to centrally pay for hotel or car booking for employees, recruits, interns and consultants. By automatically generating a new virtual card number for each transaction, the risk of fraud is greatly reduced. When it’s time to reconcile, all charges on the virtual card account are automatically matched to bookings, saving time and resources.”

BCD Pay will be available in select markets starting in 2022. For the full survey results, see this infographic .

About BCD Travel

BCD Travel helps companies travel smart and achieve more. We drive program adoption, cost savings and talent retention through digital experiences that simplify business travel. Our 13,000 dedicated team members service clients in 170+ countries as we shape a sustainable future for business travel. For more information, visit www.bcdtravel.com .

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Safe, smart, simple

Achieve more with business travel in a safe, smart and simple way.

You take care of business We take care of travel

We see business travel as a driver of company or individual success. To make the most of what you spend on business travel, you need the right solutions. Our complete service plans let you achieve more with business travel, in a safe, smart and simple way.

Book travel

Manage travel, report and save, traveler safety, sustainable travel, support and advice, business travel rewards for everyone in the company, bookers and travelers.

With our self-service platform, booking business trips is just as easy as booking your holiday. Reliable expert service, access to millions of travel options, and an award-winning travel app make business travel easier and more productive.

Finance and procurement

Control costs with travel policy integration and an automated trip approval process via our self-service platform. Pay for travel in an easy and safe way. Find new savings with reports and advice from our customer success managers.

Human resources

Keep travelers productive with powerful technology, expert service and access to the largest travel inventory. Ensure their safety with effective tools. Boost sustainability with CO 2 displays for flights and emission reports.

How to avoid typical business travel pitfalls

Many business travelers aren’t aware of their company’s guidelines for business travel. Without any guidance and control, there are potential risks for your company:

• Employees can book in different places, which means that you don’t know where they are if disaster strikes.
• When employees book on their own, you can’t capture your full travel costs on your budget overview.
• And it keeps you from achieving your company’s sustainability goals.

Give them what they’re looking for: easy booking without losing precious time. In return, you’ll get what you need.

Why companies choose us

Powerful technology and expert service.

Easy-to-use tools make booking and managing business travel a lot easier. Support and advice from true business travel experts help you achieve more.

Millions of travel options in one place

Get the best deals for your business trips with our buying power, our direct connections and partnerships as a global, leading travel company.

A reliable partner in business travel

Partner with a travel management company that has years of experience and a proven track record of helping companies to be successful in travel.

We're BCD Travel Direct

A successful business trip has a high return on investment. But to make most of what you spend on business travel, you’ll need the right products, service and guidance. That’s why we’re here. We’re passionate people with a clear mission: to help you travel smart and achieve more.

IATA certified agency

Global leader, local expert, 97% client retention, pci compliant, iso 9001/14001 certified, ecovadis platinum level.

Duty of care for all

The risks associated with a global pandemic have dominated people’s minds for almost the last two years. But as travel returns, it’s important to recognize that other risks – like cyberterrorism, climate change, extreme weather events, and economic threats – haven’t gone away.

Travel programs must incorporate or adjust their strategies for managing an expanded definition of duty of care.

Keep traveling employees safe

The focus of risk management has pivoted towards employees, making it less about travel only. In recent years, employees have been given greater freedom over the location of their daily work, and many have made good use of this liberty. According to our early 2022 survey of 875 English-speaking business travelers worldwide, 57% would like to work from anywhere (as digital nomads), if employer policies allowed.* With remote workers increasingly coming on the radar of travel managers, it's time to rethink travel risk management strategies and practices.

People risk management, employee profiles and employee mobility are all parts of the puzzle that need to be pieced together by employers. The new approach should embrace:

• Hybrid workforces
• New sets of locations
• Work-from-anywhere policies
• Political unrest
• Changing values
• Traveler wellness
• Risk mitigation

Who's responsible?

Risk management crosses multiple roles and departments – from Risk Management and Human Resources (HR) to Procurement, Communication and the C-Suite. Collaboration is crucial to providing the oversight stakeholders need to prevent risks or mitigate the consequences.

Meets rising demands for 24/7 traveler security

Developed specifically for travel and security managers to manage their traveler security program, the mobile app provides 24/7 coverage of active travelers against destination risk and incidents, allowing managers to monitor and respond remotely.

• Tracks caution, warning and emergency level alerts against traveler bookings
• Delivers emergency level alerts via push notification to the home screen of the mobile device, prompting a list of impacted travelers
• Travel and security managers can contact affected travelers directly from the app via SMS, email or click-to-call
• Clients who have enabled emergency response capabilities in the TripSource® traveler app have the added value of seeing who has checked-in as safe so they can focus on the remaining travelers

The steps to managing risk

Determine who is at risk..

When determining risk, understand who is at risk and the potential factors affecting their travel. People risk management, employee profiles and employee mobility are all pieces of the puzzle. Knowing the traveler profile will determine how governmental, health advice and guidelines apply to your business and travelers.

Identify travel threats and hazards.

Examine each stage of the journey, including (but not limited to): travel to the airport, air travel, ground transportation, accommodation, food safety, meeting venue and country/city requirements.

Devise a matrix to score risk as Minor, Moderate, High or Extreme.

Decide which control measures to use and what actions to take. Control measures can be defined as the 4 Ts – Treat, Transfer, Terminate, Tolerate.

Every business, in collaboration with safety and security teams, should define levels and appropriate actions in response to risk events.

Develop risk standards and guidelines.

In conjunction with security and risk teams, help your employees understand what is expected of them, what they should do and when, and how to make the best decisions for themselves and the business. Collect traveler feedback and use it to determine whether the measures put in place are adequate and being applied.

Guidelines should include:

• Awareness and education
• Safety guidelines and procedures
• Preferred partners and approved processes
• Assessment of international travel requirements (health passports, quarantine restrictions, etc.)

Educate and communicate.

Make sure employees are aware of the dangers they may face any time and anywhere. A best practice and regular action should be to make sure travelers know exactly where to find essential information about COVID, civil unrest, extreme weather events, terrorism, economic risks, cybersecurity breaches and other disruptions.

Traveler safety.

Risk and disruptions can occur at any time. Share these helpful guides with your travelers to help them manager their safety at every stage of the journey.

COVID-19 Information Hub

Get ready to go.

A resource to help keep travelers safe in today’s heightened risk environments. With real-time information on constantly changing rules, laws and procedures for traveling during the pandemic.

• Country risk levels and requirements
• Hotel and airline information, including cleaning protocols, testing requirements, necessary health certifications, quarantine rules and more
• Information detailing vaccination percentage complete by population by country
• Information included for airlines participating in digital health document trials
• Multi-language functionality

People wellbeing

Duty of care and traveler wellbeing have consistently ranked as the top program priorities for travel buyers over the past two years.* Though wellbeing is an acknowledged concern, programs don’t often reflect it. While 90% of business travelers say employee wellbeing is a priority at their company, only 50% feel that their company provides traveler wellbeing support.* Employee wellbeing must move higher up the agenda. Otherwise, employers risk damage to employee physical and mental health and decreasing job satisfaction. Managing employee risks accordingly could translate into competitive advantage for any organization.

*Source: BCD Travel online survey of 875 business travelers, Feb 2022.

RESEARCH SNAPSHOT

How travel program priorities are changing.

We’ve surveyed our buyers multiple times since the pandemic to understand how their travel program priorities are shifting to meet company and traveler needs. Duty of care has remained consistently important, as has sustainability. Buyers are indicating that savings and cost control are less important.

*Source: BCD Travel buyer surveys conducted in Jan. 2020 (79 responses), Apr. 2020 (125 responses), Sept. 2020 (88 responses), April 2021 (101 responses) and Oct. 2021 (106 responses).

Make wellbeing part of the program

• Tailor messaging to advise travelers of convenient health and wellness options: hotel gyms, nearby parks with jogging paths, juice bars, walking tours and more.
• Add health-oriented hotels to your supplier mix and promote their offerings with travelers.
• Ask travelers for feedback. Does your program help them stay healthy on the road? What increases their stress level before a trip?

Is employee wellbeing a priority at your company?

Top 5 challenges to introducing wellbeing policies

Source: BCD Travel online survey of 118 travel buyers, March 2022.

A broader set of risks

Learn more about people risk management, cybersecurity and other trends that can affect your business travel program.

Help at your fingertips

Duty of care technology innovations have solved for some of the challenges of the past. Smart, automated systems and solutions that work seamlessly across the program have replaced manual, one-dimensional processes and fragmented content sources. Smart technologies include:

• BCD Alert and COVID-19 Hub
• ‘I’m Safe’ mobile check in capabilities
• Automated trip authorization
• Interactive security maps
• Location-based risk notifications

Cybersecurity essentials

Cyber threats and their potential impact continue to grow. Many travel managers already recognize the importance of cybersecurity, placing it at the front of their TMC relationship. But they also need to protect their company and travelers from active cyberthreats. The first step is to recognize cybersecurity as a daily risk to travel and take responsibility for tackling it. Prevention, or minimizing the impact, will pay dividends over simply responding to cyber incidents after the damage has been done. Second, as employees are often the weakest point in a company’s defense, it’s highly recommended that travelers receive proper security training and follow the right precautions when taking a business trip.

TRAVELERS BEWARE: BUSINESS TRIPS ARE COMING BACK – AND SO ARE FRAUDSTERS

Digital health passes.

Digital health passes (DHPs) emerged in the pandemic as a tool to help validate the authenticity of travelers’ COVID test results and vaccination records. Though not mandatory, DHPs have an important role to play in restoring mobility and confidence in travel for governments and travelers alike.

Multi-national organizations, airlines, independent agencies and governments have been busy developing DHPs but none have been fully deployed. Airlines have developed interim short-term solutions aimed at easing the burden for passengers and airport staff, but many continue to trial (often multiple) digital health passes on select routes.

TIP: Travelers can use the Airport & Travel Supplier Policies section of our COVID-19 Information Hub to find out what DHP an airline or country requests for travel.

What you can do

Duty of care checklist, what bcd travel is doing.

Fueling informed travel decisions through data insights

Offering tailored trip authorization solutions

Arming travel managers with the latest policies and travel requirements

Sharing expertise through program risk management assessments

Communicating risks, requirements and policy to travelers at relevant times in the trip cycle

When you put a good duty of care strategy into place, grounded in data and sound advice, you can operate daily with the assurance that you'll have the tools you need to communicate and act when anything – from a minor trip disruption to a major crisis – affects your travelers.

—Jorge Mesa

Director, Global Crisis Management, BCD Travel

Traveler communication

How to prepare, inform and communicate to your travelers, log in to connect to chat with bcd travel experts, collaborate with peers, access support resources and stay informed of industry news..

City guide: Moscow

City guide , Destinations

1 July 2018

What traces did the World Cup leave in the city?

Wider footpaths, more cycle paths, benches, green strips, new metro stations, the transformation of the old Gorkipark into a hip metropolitan park – the 2018 FIFA World Cup has ensured that the cityscape changes.

Moscow is an opulent, cosmopolitan city where the rush of people is relentless. Whether you’re in search of a glitzy nightclub, Michelin-starred restaurant or modest drinking hole, you won’t have to look far. Moscow’s storied history is on full display—from extravagant subways emblematic of the Soviet era to the famed Red Square that dominates the city center.

As the capital of Russia, Moscow is the political, economic and cultural hub of the country. It’s home to the country’s largest banks and company headquarters. Primary industries include energy production, software development and textile manufacturing. Tourism is big, too, and visitors have packed the city during the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ tournament.

Getting around

Three major airports serve Moscow. Sheremetyevo International is 18 miles northwest of the city center, while Domodedovo is 26 miles and Vnukovo International is 17 miles southwest. Taxis from each airport take about 45 minutes to the city center, but that time can double in heavy traffic. Aeroexpress trains connect the airports to centrally located metro stations. Travel time is 35-45 minutes. A one-way fare is 500 rubles (US$8.87 using the exchange rate US$1 = 56.35 RUB).

Most of the metro station signs are in Russian, so plan your route beforehand with a map in your language. Many of the stations are works of art, so it’s worth taking the metro just to have a look. It’s open from 5:20 a.m. to 1 a.m. A single fare is 28 RUB (US$0.50).

You can hail cabs on the street or have your hotel call one for you. There are no meters, so you’ll have to negotiate the price of a fare. If you’re traveling within central Moscow, you shouldn’t pay more than 200 RUB (US$3.55).

Where to stay

If you’re looking for luxury and upscale hotel options, try the St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya (Street Nikolskaya 12; Ph: +7-495-967-7776), Radisson Blu Belorusskaya Hotel Moscow (26a 3rd St. of Jamskogo Polja; Ph: +7-495-660-4900) or Marriott Moscow Grand (26/1 Tverskaya St.; Ph: +7-495-937-0000).

Midscale and economy options include Hampton by Hilton Moscow Strogino (20 Kulakova St.; Ph: +7-499-745-0600) and Ibis Moscow Dynamo (Leningradsky Prospect 37; Ph: +7-495-139-0304).

Things to see and do

Visitors must experience the weight of history in Red Square , one of Russia’s most famous landmarks. Cobblestones pave the way to the Kremlin, Lenin’s Tomb, St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Russian State Historical Museum. Plus, the official residence of the Russian president sits on Red Square.

You can enter the square free of charge, but to get a sense of the historical significance, consider joining a walking tour. Some private tour operators offer pickup and drop-off services at hotels. Be sure to experience the square in the evening when it’s lit up against the night sky. It’s a spectacular scene.

The Tretyakov Gallery holds a vast collection of Russian art that spans thousands of years. It was founded by Russian merchant Paval Tretyakov, who donated his art collection to the city of Moscow in 1892. The gallery now houses more than 130,000 works. It’s closed on Mondays and stays open late on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission is 500 RUB (US$8.87).

Luzhniki Stadium is at the center of Moscow’s 145-hectare Olympic complex, one of the largest sports complexes in the world. Luzhniki Stadium is the main venue and the heart of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament—used for the opening match on June 14, a semi-final and the final on July 15.

The Luzhniki complex stretches along the Moscow River and lies opposite the beautiful Vorob’evy Hills Natural Park. The majestic Moscow State University observation area overlooks the stadium.

An evening at the Bolshoi Theatre is captivating. It’s the second-biggest opera house in

Europe and a grand example of Russian classical architecture. The six-tier auditorium is awe-inspiring. A range of Russian and foreign ballets and operas grace the stage each year.

Where to eat

Julia Jon Joli is an authentic Georgian restaurant with a cozy interior. The menu is fairly priced and includes kebabs, khinkali and khachapuri , as well as fine Georgian wine. There are several locations within Moscow, but try the one near Paveletaskya metro station at 36 Bakhrushina St.

For cheap eats and a lively atmosphere, head to Kamchata . It’s a typical Russian-style establishment with loud ‛90s music playing in the background and a bar that’s well stocked with, you guessed it, vodka. Be prepared for a night of dancing! Find it at Ulitsa Kuznetskiy Most, 7; Ph: +7-495-624-8825.

Voronezh is a new addition to the culinary scene in Moscow. The restaurant is in the heart of the city, directly in front of Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and it has something for everyone. It offers three floors of dining, each with a distinct décor, concept and price point. But they all put a focus on serving quality cuts of beef. It’s at Ulitsa Prechistenka, 4; Ph: +7-495-695-0641.

At Syrovarnya , the chef puts a priority on locally sourced, organic ingredients. Sirovarnya translates to “a place where cheese is made,” so expect to find a long list of fine cheeses on the menu. The outdoor terrace is packed on summer evenings, but quality dishes keep patrons coming back no matter the time of year. The address is Kutuzovsky Prospekt 12, Building 1; Ph: +7-495-803-2401.

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