egencia travel policy

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The How-To Guide For Building A Business Travel Policy

Free business travel policy guide.

Ensuring you have a comprehensive business travel policy in place is now more crucial than ever. As you prepare to get your travellers back on the road post COVID-19, a business travel policy is necessary to support the needs of both your organisation and your corporate travellers.

Don’t be daunted at the thought of updating, or creating, your policies for travel post COVID-19. We’re here to help. We’ve created a comprehensive business travel policy guide that tells you everything you need to build a travel policy to support the needs of your organisation and your corporate travellers.

The travel policy guide also highlights areas where you can introduce cost-saving measures and support risk management. This guide will help you with:

• Understanding the importance of a travel policy
• Booking travel and expense processes
• Air and rail policies
• Lodging policy
• Car rental policy

“Before at NTTS, there were a lot of policies practiced within the company, so no one could hope to know them by heart. But with  Egencia, you don’t need to memorise anything. The policy is right there  in the platform.”

—  Tricia Lim, executive VP of the corporate planning division, NTT Singapore 

Don’t miss a trick when redesigning your travel policy. Download the business travel guide to check that you’ve covered all angles.

Download the guide

Recommended for you.

A detailed review of Egencia's travel and expense management software with pricing, comparisons to competitors, and FAQs.

Updated on January 6th, 2023

The SMB Guide is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Egencia is travel and expense management software that offers a modern, intuitive solution to efficient expense tracking and reporting. The platform caters to global organizations of varying sizes, budgets, and spending management needs.

Also Consider

Zoho expense.

Free plan for up to 3 users

Expense automation and customization

Robust integrations

At-a-Glance:

Thanks to its intuitive and user-friendly software, Egencia helps companies manage travel policies, track spending, identify potential travel risks, access real-time reporting, and ensure budgetary compliance. Its open API platform also gives users the power to create robust integrations for a seamless and simplified expense management experience.

Egencia's software includes business travel programs, pre-travel checklists and risk management, AI-driven insights, corporate events planning, and 24/7 global customer support. However, the platform's pricing is quote-based, making it difficult to gauge its affordability.

• The platform helps users create custom travel policies and pre-trip approvals for increased efficiency and spending control.
• Users have access to a centralized dashboard from which they can track expenses and analyze employee booking behavior.
• Egencia is used and trusted by several well-established companies, such as Starbucks, NASDAQ, and Kaspersky.
• The risk management tool includes an up-to-date global map for risk mitigation, a travel tracker feature, and custom alerts.
• The software features an AI-powered booking tool and a savings finder tool to track down the best hotel and air travel rates.
• Egencia is available in multiple languages and offers multicurrency support.
• The platform gives users access to expert travel consultants for efficient trip planning and supplier management advice.
• Other tools include corporate event planning, travel compliance, itinerary management, and account reconciliations.
• Egencia's pricing is not readily available on their website.
• The platform does not offer a free trial.
• There is no mention made of corporate cards, invoice processing, or accounts payable solutions.

Reputation:

On G2 , Egencia has a 4.5-star rating based on over 630 reviews. Many cited its responsive customer support and robust savings finder tool. However, several users noted that they've experienced technical issues with the site. On TrustRadius , Egencia has an 8.1-star rating based on over 20 reviews, with many praising its user-friendly interface.

Egencia has a 1.8-star rating from more than 670 reviews on Trustpilot . Over 65% of users rated the platform as "Excellent," but some complained about its subpar travel booking tool. On Google Play , the mobile app has a 4.7-star rating from over 50,700 reviews, with users noting both its ease of use and technical issues with the booking tool.

Egencia's pricing is not readily available on their website. Interested users should visit the platform's pricing page to request a custom quote based on their organization's individual budget and travel needs.

Egencia vs. TripActions:

Like Egencia, TripActions offers easy-to-use travel management tools, including an online booking tool, pre-trip approvals, and spending policies. However, TripActions is more feature-rich in terms of expense management, offering corporate cards, automated workflows, and reimbursements.

Egencia vs. TripActions Comparison:

Egencia vs. travelperk:.

While Egencia and TravelPerk both have extensive travel management solutions on offer, the latter platform is the budget-friendly option, with a basic free plan available. Of the two platforms, TravelPerk's expense management suite is more robust, featuring invoice processing and accounting integrations.

Egencia vs. TravelPerk Comparison:

Egencia vs. zoho expense:.

While Egencia is an attractive option for robust travel management solutions, Zoho Expense is better suited to users in search of a full suite of travel and expense management software. Egencia's pricing is quote-based, whereas Zoho Expense offers free and paid plans, as well as a free trial, which Egencia lacks.

Egencia vs. Zoho Expense Comparison:

Key information:, news & activity:, what is egencia.

Egencia is travel and expense management software built to simplify corporate travel with easy-to-use solutions, including itinerary management, an online booking tool, expense reporting, and discounted hotel, airfare, and car rental rates.

Is Egencia owned by Expedia?

In 2021, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) successfully completed the acquisition of Egencia, with Expedia becoming a shareholder in GBT.

What does Egencia cost?

How do i contact egencia.

Users can reach Egencia's team via email , telephone , or live chat.

Does Egencia have an app?

Yes, Egencia's mobile app is available for Android and iOS users.

What are some Egencia alternatives?

• SAP Concur .
• Webexpenses .
• ExpensePoint .
• Expensify .

Welcome to your Egencia Onboarding Guide

We’re excited to work with you. Soon, your employees will have a booking tool that gives them the choice and ease they need for a seamless booking experience – saving both time and money. In this guide, we'll share information to help guide you in a smooth transition. To learn more about the benefits of Egencia, watch this short video .

Table of Contents

Meet egencia’s teams, egencia onboarding process, what happens after launch, the travel manager: their role and responsibilities, reaching success: key success factors.

Egencia’s teams are based all over the world, supporting smooth change management and setting up your travel programs for success.

The Implementation Manager: The Implementation Manager manages the implementation phase. They’ll be your voice and go-to contact during this phase, working with multiple stakeholders internally to get your program ready for launch.

Client Technical Services : Technical experts who support your company’s technical configuration needs during implementation.

Specialist Client Training team : Takes care of the Travel Manager and employees' training during the onboarding process. They’ll also provide ongoing training for existing clients.

The Account Manager : Your partner who works with you after the launch to accelerate your program success and help you achieve a travel culture that delivers tangible results.

Customer Services : Highly skilled Travel Consultants to help your employees with their business travel, providing support 24/7, in more than 32 languages worldwide.

Pre-onboarding : To prepare for implementation, we provide the Travel Manager online materials to gather key details about the program. This preliminary process allows us to scope the project and identify what resources are needed to kick off the Implementation phase.

Egencia Implementation : Once the pre-onboarding process is complete, we’ll have a kick-off call or meeting to identify the program objectives, introduce the project team, review key milestones, and determine a target launch date for the program. Once we understand the program objectives and technical needs, we can start the setup and configuration. We’ll then test and validate the configurations before launch.

Training and onboarding needs : As we get closer to launch, the Client Training team will begin working with the Travel Manager to understand training and onboarding needs. With a mix of self-service and in person / remote training options, we’ll help lead the change internally.

Digital support : During the onboarding process, the Travel Manager will get regular e-mails from Egencia with important resources and next steps to support them through every stage of the transition.

After the launch : An Account Manager will partner with the Travel Manager to develop and execute strategic plans to help the company achieve its travel objectives. Learn more in the next section.

Expertise and proactive support from your Account Manager : Your travel program is unique, and your Account Manager will work with you to help accelerate its success. Backed with data-driven insights in Egencia Analytics Studio, they will help identify areas of optimization.

Access to the Egencia Connect Community : The go-to place for Travel Managers to find support and stay on top of news, events, alerts and product information. It’s great for centralizing all your resources and networking with peers.

Email recaps with insights on your progress and guidance : These help you to continually improve your site and get the most from your travel program with Egencia.

Your program dashboard : One central space where all your data sits with personalized recommendations to help you use Egencia more effectively. With data visualization, Egencia Analytics Studio brings simplicity to driving an efficient travel program using insights to optimize travel compliance and maximize savings.

Learn more about post-launch benefits in this video

The Travel Manager is the site administrator and key contact who represents the company. They’ll partner closely with Egencia both during the onboarding process and after launch.

What are the typical responsibilities of a Travel Manager?

Preparing for Egencia : Gathering key details about the program to begin implementation.

Attending meetings with the Implementation Manager : Reviewing the program in detail and communicating the requirements for achieving objectives. Also, providing information for configuration and coordinating internal discussions.

To be the connection between the employees and Egencia : Preparing employees before the launch, leading the change on launch day, promoting the program after launch, answering employees’ questions, and reviewing adoption of the travel program on a monthly basis.

To partner with the Account Manager : In order to review progress against the program’s objectives and keeping it on track, with recommendations on improvements.

Regularly monitoring compliance and managing employees profile data : Managing new employees, departures, and changes to the program after launch.

To mitigate risk : Including promoting duty of care resources and communicating to travelers about any pending changes, programs, or emergencies.

Monitoring performance : To monitor and regulate spend, identify sources of savings and areas of improvements, communicate results to internal stakeholders and executives, and implement corrective actions to optimize the program.

To get you on the right track, it’s important to have a solid grasp of the key success factors that make an Egencia launch and travel program successful. This will help get your travel program up and running quickly and help you achieve program adoption and compliance after the launch.

How to set the stage for a successful launch :

Get an accurate picture of the travel program to be implemented : For example, what systems integrations are needed and do you have the resources to support them (ex: SSO | HRIS)? Make sure the program scope supports your company’s capabilities and needs.

Data and details ready to start the project : Such as user’s profiles details, negotiated agreements, payment details etc. For a clear view of the details to collect, review these 3 steps of the pre-onboarding process and complete the Master requirements template .

If you aren’t familiar with the role of a Travel Manager, review their responsibilities .

Define post-launch roles (ex: who will be your internal contact if the SSO is down) and confirm your sign off process (who will have the sign off authority, what are the areas that will require sign off etc.)

Prepare employees : High adoption rates start with providing your travelers with a booking tool they love and will use again and again. You can use these email templates for communicating with your employees if you need help .

Start thinking about the questions your employees might ask : To help answer their questions, you can use communication channels, such as Slack.

We recommend attending a training session for Travel Managers to get familiar with the tools and resources at your disposal and help you simplify your travel program management.

Use the Boarding Zone : A central hub with all the essential resources you need to kick off and get your employees up and running. Your Implementation lead will share login details with you.

How to keep up the momentum after the launch :

Lean into your Account Manager : Your Account Manager can provide you valuable insights for strategically optimizing your travel program.

Use the Egencia Connect Community : This is the resource where Travel Managers can find support and access training, events, best practices, and more.

Promote and communicate about your program: Especially in the weeks following the launch to help your users start on Egencia and review adoption to determine if you need more promotion and communication around your program.

Seek Traveler feedback : Satisfied travelers drive program adoption and cost savings. It's essential to listen to traveler feedback to know how to optimize your program.

Inform your employees about the resources at their disposal : We’ve got helpful resources to empower your employees with Egencia, so they don’t need additional assistance and can save time.

Know what the escalation paths and SLAs are: Our travel platform is built to make self-service simple, but certain tasks might need more support. Make sure to know what the recourses are and to inform your employees.

Don’t be afraid of change: The travel industry is a fast-moving environment and your program will evolve over time as it adapts. When you need help, use your Account Manager and their recommendations to adjust your program.

Monitor based on objectives: Are your KPIs being met? In Egencia Analytics Studio , you can look at specific details to focus on the metrics that matter most to your program.

Have documentation available : Keeping documentation of your travel program and configuration will make for a smoother transition in the event of a change of Travel Manager.

We hope you’ve found this guide useful, and we look forward to working with you and making travel management easier for your business. And remember, you aren’t alone, we’re here to help. If you have any questions during the onboarding process, contact your primary Egencia contact.

• Get in touch with the Egencia Consulting team to leverage their expertise on building a strong, resilient travel management program as we head into the future. Direct inquiries to [email protected] Contact Consulting
• Navigate the community
• Connect Champions Program
• Earn points
• Redeem points
• Rules of Engagement
• egencia.com

• Egencia promise
• Terms of use

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See how Egencia works

• Customer centre Toggle submenu Travellers Help centre Business traveller centre Download the app Travel arrangers Help centre Travel arranger centre Training resources Travel managers Connect community Product updates Customer training
• Watch a demo
• Request a demo

About Egencia

Egencia data: businesses adjust travel policies to boost traveller confidence, egencia data: businesses adjust travel policies to boost traveller confidence.

• Cabin class and advanced purchase restrictions were loosened in the six months leading to March 2021
• Travel managers were actively adding ‘out of policy locations’ to prevent employees traveling to potential COVID-19 hotspots

Seattle, Wash., July 13, 2021 – Today Egencia ®  shares the most popular policy changes made by organisations globally over the last six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 2020 to February 2021.

The policy change data provides a powerful insight into how thousands of businesses are adapting their approach to travel in light of the pandemic. It shows that travel managers across the world have made significant changes to travel policy restrictions previously in place for employees, to minimise the risk of travel and put their employee’s welfare first.

“Our data clearly shows that organisations are proactively changing their air, hotel and rail policies to adapt to a highly fluid travel environment,” says Francisca Zanoguera, Vice President of Data and Analytics, Egencia. “It’s more evidence that duty of care is a top priority for companies as business travel ramps up and travel managers plan their organisations business travel strategy.”

Air and rail restrictions loosened

The majority (60%) of policy changes over the period were in air travel. The most popular policy change was to cabin class policies and restrictions. Egencia’s data shows that travel managers allowed their business travellers to upgrade from economy to premium economy or from premium economy to business class, to enhance comfort and reduce risk.

Advance purchase, a policy that controls the number of days a traveller can book before their trip starts, was also frequently updated. Travel managers generally reduced the number of advance purchase days required by their employees to help them navigate the rapidly evolving travel landscape and the need to change plans last minute because of COVID-19. Companies also provided travellers with the flexibility to cancel flights at the last minute.

Trends from air travel were also reflected in rail travel with cabin class and advance purchase policies topping the list of the most frequently adjusted policies. This meant that employees could book seats in more spacious business class carriages to help with social distancing and also buy tickets later, giving them more time to adapt to changes in government restrictions at the destination country.

Travel managers actively adding ‘out of policy locations’

The hotel segment was a fifth (20%) of all policy changes created by travel managers over the period. The most popular changes made were to ‘hotel rate caps’ worldwide which accounted for nearly two thirds (60%) of hotel policy changes. This indicates organisations were prepared to provide a degree of flexibility on hotel room rates in light of the pandemic.

A further 40% of changes within hotel policy focused on ‘out of policy locations’ which control the cities an employee can stay in during their trip. The data suggests that during the time period, travel managers were actively adding out of policy locations to prevent employees staying in potential COVID-19 hotspots.

For more information and advice on business travel policy guidelines, please visit the Egencia’s travel policy page .

Survey Methodology

All insights are based on the aggregate Egencia customer data captured between 7 Oct 2020 – 19 Feb 2021, in which almost 5,000 policies were created and over 19,000 were updated.

Egencia is the world’s corporate travel solution. We help businesses optimise their travel programs for today’s fast-changing landscape – controlling risk, supporting traveller wellbeing and maximizing ROI. Companies of all sizes in more than 60 countries trust Egencia to modernise their corporate travel programs with consistent, innovative experiences and fast, expert support. We bring the power of Egencia to deliver simple, consumer-like business travel that users love.

Connect with us on egencia.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Media contact

Siarah Khan | Senior Comms Manager | [email protected]

Looking for better business travel solutions? Get in touch with us.

Recommended for you.

• Travel management Toggle submenu Egencia Overview Travel management solutions Amex GBT Neo1 Amex GBT Select Amex GBT Ovation Amex GBT Lawyers Travel Manage your corporate travel programme Corporate travel policy Travel risk management Travel expense management Reporting Travel management consulting Industry Solutions Transportation & Logistics

Egencia reviews

See how Egencia works

• Customer centre Toggle submenu Travellers Help centre Business traveller centre Download the app Travel arrangers Help centre Travel arranger centre Training resources Travel managers Connect community Product updates Customer training
• Watch a demo
• Request a demo
• About Egencia

Business Travel Policy and Travel Compliance Made Easy

Play nice with your travel policy

Smart decision making and savings driven by intuitive travel policy management tools

Easy, fast and empowering to use

Egencia makes it easy for your business travellers to make in-policy bookings, with an intuitive platform that consistently applies your business travel policy and approval process.

When your business travel policy is built into your travel management solution, business travellers are guided to options that match their profile, no matter how they choose to book.

• Guide travellers to in-policy booking every time, wherever they are, across every device.
• Visual, customisable cues including urgency messaging, red flags and preferred and negotiated rates.
• Easily adapt travel policy and approval for high-risk travel destinations. Optimise quickly by rolling out changes and revisions that are immediately reflected across your travellers’ booking experience to keep your travellers and your travel programme’s performance top-notch.

Watch how Umpqua Bank manages their costs and policy with Egencia

Real-time, dynamic savings

Average savings of $20 per hotel booking. Save time and money with dynamic hotel rate caps.

Adaptability and flexibility

Each business is unique. That’s why Egencia makes it easy for customers to configure as many, or as few, policy and approval workflows to suit your business needs.

The first step to travel compliance is making sure that your travel policy can account for all traveller needs—and yours—by using a flexible, adaptable platform.

• Create unlimited travel policy groups. Define separate policy requirements for road warriors, occasional travellers, guests, executives and everyone in between.
• Comprehensive trip approval features — from line manager, all the way through to multi-level approval workflows.
• Give approvers the information they need upfront to make informed decisions.

Read how Nasdaq saved $500K in six months

Latest travel policy insights

Strike the right balance in your travel policy to drive savings, manage risk and achieve compliance.

Drive travel savings and monitor trends with total visibility

While your travellers will be happy with the ease of booking, you’ll benefit from savings through increased travel compliance.

Egencia provides companies with the tools they need to control leakage, gain visibility into employee booking behaviour and tweak policies with evolving trends.

With one centralised platform for travel bookings and policy management, you can see the full impact of your travel management programme and create a business travel policy that makes a positive difference.

• Track and analyse employee booking behaviour and identify opportunities to improve compliance. When it’s easy for travellers to book through a travel management company (TMC) that also comes with a powerful reporting system, you get the full picture of your travel spend and can easily identify areas for optimisation.
• Get instant access to reports that show you the full picture of your travel compliance across every travel type, regardless of how the trip was booked. At-a-glance dashboards and detailed drill-downs in Egencia Analytics Studio track compliance, savings and travel policy trends.
• Account for unique circumstances with the ability to customise travel policy and approval criteria on an individual traveller level. Adjust policy and approval workflows immediately, across all booking channels.

Read how Coca-Cola Consolidated modernised its business travel programme

Recommended for you

Request a demo to find out what Egencia travel management solutions can do for you.

Already a customer? Contact Egencia customer service .

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format_list_bulleted Topic Overview

Stanford travel program.

Stanford Travel booking channels automatically register itineraries and any booking updates to the Travel Registry , streamline the reimbursement process, and offer discounts, benefits, and perks to travelers. In addition, the Stanford Travel team can provide specialized assistance as needed to travelers who book through Stanford Travel. It is highly encouraged that Stanford travelers use Stanford Travel booking channels when booking flights, hotels, and rental cars for university-sponsored travel.

For travel that cannot be booked through Stanford Travel, such as regional air travel offered by local carriers, visit the  Airfare and  Lodging pages for more information. For information on the booking processes for various types of travelers, see Topic Overview: Planning and Booking Travel .

For more information about business and travel policies see the Topic Overview: Business and Travel Expense Policies .

For important updates about infectious diseases, travel warnings, and other public health issues, please visit Travel Health Alerts before booking travel.

Book Through Stanford Travel

Stanford Travel consists of booking channels that, within them, feature over 50 travel partners, who provide airline, lodging and ground transportation booking services under negotiated rates and terms. Stanford travelers are free to choose any channel to book university-sponsored travel based on each channel's unique offerings described below.

Click the booking channel button below to book travel. Note that an initial profile setup is required for United Corporate Direct.

Note that the Anthony Travel booking channel, not listed here, is used exclusively by Athletics.

Benefits of Stanford Travel

The following benefits are available for travel booked through the Stanford Travel booking channels:

• Automatically send reservations to the travel registry to enable the university to provide assistance to travelers in the event of an emergency
• Access to priority boarding, name changes, and other advantages negotiated with Stanford's travel suppliers and partners
• Stanford-negotiated discounts with all major airlines and Enterprise/National and Hertz car rental companies, and low rates at thousands of hotels around the world
• Convenience of booking the majority of university travel in one place
• Simplified expense reimbursement process
• Eligibility for applicable supplier loyalty points and benefits
• Pay with the Stanford Travel Card or a personal card
• Booking channel support provided by industry experts to assist at every step of the journey

Booking Channel Contacts

See the table below to make a reservation through a Stanford Travel booking channel or to get help with a reservation. Service fees may apply .

Optional Travel Services

Travelers also have a choice of the optional travel services listed below. For guidance on booking home shares (such as Airbnb or Vrbo), visit the Lodging Policy page.

Booking Groups, Visitors or Personal Travel

Through Stanford Travel, Stanford travelers and travel arrangers can book university-sponsored travel for travelers employed by Stanford, for domestic and international Stanford visitors, and for groups and multiple travelers. Stanford travelers and travel arrangers may also use a Stanford Travel booking channel to add a personal travel component to a university-sponsored trip, as long as they reimburse Stanford for the personal component, as needed.

All university-sponsored travel booked through Stanford Travel may be paid with a Travel Card or paid with a personal card and reimbursed by Stanford. Visit the Planning and Booking Travel page for guidance on planning, booking and reimbursing travel for Stanford employees or visitors, travel for groups and multiple travelers, and personal travel.

Announcement Apr 15, 2024 Business Expense Updates and Hot Topics

Announcement Apr 09, 2024 Stanford Travel Updates and Hot Topics

Newsletter Apr 04, 2024 Stanford Travel Newsletter: Spring 2024

Stanford Travel Program Submit a Support Request 1-650-497-1214

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .

• Travel management Toggle submenu Egencia Overview Travel management solutions Amex GBT Neo1 Amex GBT Select Amex GBT Ovation Amex GBT Lawyers Travel Manage your corporate travel programme Corporate travel policy Travel risk management Travel expense management Reporting Travel management consulting Industry Solutions Transportation & Logistics

Egencia reviews

See how Egencia works

• Customer centre Toggle submenu Travellers Help centre Business traveller centre Download the app Travel arrangers Help centre Travel arranger centre Training resources Travel managers Connect community Product updates Customer training
• Watch a demo
• Request a demo

About Egencia

Egencia data: businesses adjust travel policies to boost traveller confidence, egencia data: businesses adjust travel policies to boost traveller confidence.

• Cabin class and advanced purchase restrictions were loosened in the six months leading to March 2021
• Travel managers were actively adding ‘out of policy locations’ to prevent employees traveling to potential COVID-19 hotspots

Seattle, Wash., July 13, 2021 – Today Egencia ®  shares the most popular policy changes made by organisations globally over the last six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 2020 to February 2021.

The policy change data provides a powerful insight into how thousands of businesses are adapting their approach to travel in light of the pandemic. It shows that travel managers across the world have made significant changes to travel policy restrictions previously in place for employees, to minimise the risk of travel and put their employee’s welfare first.

“Our data clearly shows that organisations are proactively changing their air, hotel and rail policies to adapt to a highly fluid travel environment,” says Francisca Zanoguera, Vice President of Data and Analytics, Egencia. “It’s more evidence that duty of care is a top priority for companies as business travel ramps up and travel managers plan their organisations business travel strategy.”

Air and rail restrictions loosened

The majority (60%) of policy changes over the period were in air travel. The most popular policy change was to cabin class policies and restrictions. Egencia’s data shows that travel managers allowed their business travellers to upgrade from economy to premium economy or from premium economy to business class, to enhance comfort and reduce risk.

Advance purchase, a policy that controls the number of days a traveller can book before their trip starts, was also frequently updated. Travel managers generally reduced the number of advance purchase days required by their employees to help them navigate the rapidly evolving travel landscape and the need to change plans last minute because of COVID-19. Companies also provided travellers with the flexibility to cancel flights at the last minute.

Trends from air travel were also reflected in rail travel with cabin class and advance purchase policies topping the list of the most frequently adjusted policies. This meant that employees could book seats in more spacious business class carriages to help with social distancing and also buy tickets later, giving them more time to adapt to changes in government restrictions at the destination country.

Travel managers actively adding ‘out of policy locations’

The hotel segment was a fifth (20%) of all policy changes created by travel managers over the period. The most popular changes made were to ‘hotel rate caps’ worldwide which accounted for nearly two thirds (60%) of hotel policy changes. This indicates organisations were prepared to provide a degree of flexibility on hotel room rates in light of the pandemic.

A further 40% of changes within hotel policy focused on ‘out of policy locations’ which control the cities an employee can stay in during their trip. The data suggests that during the time period, travel managers were actively adding out of policy locations to prevent employees staying in potential COVID-19 hotspots.

For more information and advice on business travel policy guidelines, please visit the Egencia’s travel policy page .

Survey Methodology

All insights are based on the aggregate Egencia customer data captured between 7 Oct 2020 – 19 Feb 2021, in which almost 5,000 policies were created and over 19,000 were updated.

Egencia is the world’s corporate travel solution. We help businesses optimise their travel programs for today’s fast-changing landscape – controlling risk, supporting traveller wellbeing and maximizing ROI. Companies of all sizes in more than 60 countries trust Egencia to modernise their corporate travel programs with consistent, innovative experiences and fast, expert support. We bring the power of Egencia to deliver simple, consumer-like business travel that users love.

Connect with us on egencia.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Media contact

Siarah Khan | Senior Comms Manager | [email protected]

Looking for better business travel solutions? Get in touch with us.

Recommended for you.

Indiana University Indiana University IU

• Trip Authorization

Travel Management Services Purchasing | Supplier Diversity

Welcome to IU Travel

We provide an efficient, cost-effective travel management program to assist faculty and staff with IU-sponsored travel and expense reimbursement. Find information on booking IU-paid travel, discounts, policy and procedures, and tips for faster reimbursement.

New/infrequent travelers and arrangers will find training support at the Financial Training & Communications team’s website .

Travel Advisories and New Resources

New duplicate a trip authorization.

Chrome River rolled out a helpful new feature that allows users to duplicate a submitted Trip Authorization (TA) report. This new feature can help Delegates and Travelers alike to reduce the amount of time you spend creating TA reports. Learn about the use cases for this feature and how to use it on the Training team’s website .

Update to Non-employee Guest Travel in Egencia

Travel Arrangers with Egencia Guest profiles prior to March 31, 2023, will find their legacy guest traveler profile deactivated. Effective April 3, the new guest process involves creating a temporary profile unique to each individual guest traveler. Review the new process here .

New! Interactive Video Resources

Are you brand new to IU Travel, or could you use a quick reference? This new, interactive video covers expense reporting for both reimbursements and IU-paid expenses on in-state trips.

• Click here to view the new Travel Expense Report Quickstart Guide

Traveling out of state? Before booking your trip, ensure you’re up to speed on Trip Authorization by enrolling in this self-guided, interactive TA course.

• Click here to enroll in the course

Trip Authorization is Live in Chrome River

On Monday, November 7, Pre-Approval reports in Chrome River transitioned into Trip Authorization: a more intuitive report containing expense tiles for per diem, mileage, and conference registration. Trip Authorization is no longer required for In-State Trips. Click here to learn more about TA.

Southwest Airline Business Booking

IU Travel Management has partnered with Southwest Airlines to provide access to SWABIZ: Southwest's business travel booking tool that comes pre-loaded with negotiated rates and links directly to your rapid rewards account. Click here to learn more!

Upload receipts in a SNAP

Uploading receipts is a snap with Chrome River SNAP app! This free app available on iOS/Apple and Android devices allows users to upload photos of physical receipts directly to Chrome River while on the go. Uploaded receipt images are housed in the Receipt Gallery within Chrome River and are accessible to anyone with access to the expense owner’s account. Learn more about CR SNAP .

Stay in the Know with Egencia Travel Alerts

Travelers nationwide are experiencing flight delays and cancellations. For trips booked in Egencia, please make sure you have enabled notifications in your Egencia profile settings. Travelers can opt in to receive alerts for check in reminders, gate changes, baggage claim reminders, flight cancellation alerts, and flight delay alerts via text message or email. This can be toggled in either the Egencia desktop or mobile app. Learn how to opt in .

Applying for a Passport

When applying for a passport, there are two routes you can take.

• Apply for a passport directly at the US Post Office or
• Use the CIBT contract for expedited service. IU has negotiated discounted fees for expediting services for passports and visas via CIBTvisas. Click here to access the CIBTvisas portal .

Please visit https://overseas.iu.edu/planning/passports.html for more information.

Will your license fly on May 7, 2025?

Beginning May 7, 2025 a Real ID-compliant driver's license, permit or identification card will be required to board commercial flights. Visit the Indiana BMV Real ID resource page to learn how to meet this requirement before the deadline.

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