 Assuming you are not already using a Travel Management Company such as The Travel Company Edinburgh so I’m going to let you in on the some of the secrets to save some money and make your trip easier, safer and ensure you get best value for this business expense.
Firstly do your research. A little work early on can save a lot of time later. Think about the trip and what it entails. For example, certain countries require visas and/or immunisations. Make sure you get advice on the steps needed to be taken and be wary of timescales. Think about the itinerary. It’s easy to make the experience more efficient if you can save the traveller’s time. Create traveller profiles. This is something we do automatically for our clients but you can also do this. It saves so much time when making bookings so you don’t have to constantly email or call the traveller to find out about essential personal preferences, loyalty scheme numbers, seating or room preferences. Before you actually book, make sure you are clear on what is required. The cheapest train tickets and hotel rooms are usually those which have the least flexibility. They may save money initially but if plans change and you are unable to transfer, this will have to be written off. If cost is the main consideration, consider the following: Consider avoiding flexible tickets to save money (e.g. it's often cheaper to book three advance rail tickets, giving you flexibility, than it is to buy a fully-flex rail ticket). Sometimes the best solution is to book a fixed outbound ticket and a flexible ticket on the return. Consider the full cost of a trip, not just the component parts, e.g. it's worth paying £100 per night for a hotel that is on site, rather than £80 per night for one a few miles out but incurs a £15 taxi each way Consider starting internal meetings later to allow non-peak train travel for all attendees – this can save 60% per attendee Pay attention to what you are being charged, it’s easy to go through a whole booking process and not notice all the extras. Once the travel bookings are completed, it’s time to ensure the traveller is up to speed with what they need to provide and do. Important considerations include: Travel Documentation: Make sure you prepare and organise any necessary documentation that your boss may need. These can include train and plane tickets/reference numbers, accommodation loyalty cards, passport, visas and immunisation certificates. Travel Insurance: Make sure they have sufficient travel insurance, there are countless options these days and by shopping around you may be able to select a better package. If this all sounds a little complicated as well as time consuming why not let us do all the work for you and here are some added advantages of using us: Dedicated travel consultant or consultants along with a dedicated account manager. Payment terms we offer one consolidated invoice per month 24 hour support – Airlines don't all operate 24 hours a day, if your boss is on the other side of the world and needs to call at 3am in the morning to change their return flight this becomes an issue Impartial, expert advice. We have no preference for any supplier only years of experience dealing with a wide range of clients. Having all bookings in one place makes it easier to manage your business travel, track business travellers and analyse data. Find out how we can transform your business travel. Contact us at edinburgh@ttce.com
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Changes to international travel rules From 4am Monday 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England will change from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The rules for travel from countries and territories not on the red list will depend on your vaccination status. For more information on travel from rest of world for vaccinated and nonvaccinated travellers, click here US to relax travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign air travellers in November The United States will reopen in November to air travellers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travellers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented US restrictions have barred non-US citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days. Further information is expected about the exact date that the US will open their borders as well as details of vaccination status’ allowed. Changes to passport rules for entry to the UK from 1 Oct 2021 From 1 October 2021 EU, EEA or Swiss national ID cards will no longer be valid for travel to the UK unless travellers live in the UK and have settled or pre-settled status. Passports will be mandatory for all other passengers including children. Passengers with settled or pre-settled status can continue to use national ID cards until 31 December 2025. For more information, click here TSA increases fines for violations of face mask rules The Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration has increased the penalties which can be imposed on travellers if they fail to wear face masks when required. The TSA has increased the range of civil penalties that may be imposed on individuals who violate the federal mask mandate at airports, on commercial aircraft, and in various modes of surface transportation, including passenger railroads, intercity bus services, and other public transportation”. The rules – which are currently set to remain in effect until January 18, 2022 – mean travellers can be fined between $500 and $1,000 for a first offence, and between $1,000 and $3,000 for a second offence. The new penalties are double the previous levels  The very first thing to think of is 'What is this meeting for and what do we want to achieve?'
Is it: A brainstorming session, simple meeting, training, inspirational staff meeting, fun day out, an awards event, a serious meeting to discuss strategy or anything else you can think of. Once you know what you are looking to do in the meeting, that’s when you can decide what you need and you can then source the perfect venue. This can take a long time to get right, especially if you are not familiar with the town or city you want to hold it in. This is where we can help you by doing all the leg work and negotiating the best rates for your meeting. What are you looking for?
My idea of the perfect meeting is something like this:
If you want some help in finding the best venue for your meeting or event anywhere in the world then get intouch: The Travel Company Edinburgh 0131 467 7000 edinburgh@ttce.com  By consolidating your travel spend with your preferred Travel Management Company, The Travel Company Edinburgh, we are able to work closely with your procurement/purchasing department to ensure that best value is provided for all your travel requirements. By travel policy adherence, proactive account management and the extensive knowledge and expertise of our travel consultants we can drive down your company spend and make recommendations for best practice – improving the way you book travel.
Here are some of the key benefits that we provide:
0131 467 7000 or email edinburgh@ttce.com  Why Is Travel Insurance important?
Travel insurance or 'holiday insurance' and now 'Staycation Insurance' is a precaution and gives you peace of mind. When going on holiday you invest money in your trip in so many ways: from transport, parking, accommodation and luggage. Not to mention your health too. Whether it is for a single trip or annual travel insurance policy, or you are setting sail and need cruise insurance. When you talk to our team we have a full selection of comparable cover level options for you to choose from. Alongside our trusted, reliable and comprehensive cover, we can also provide specialist medical cover though our specialist team. If you have a serious medical condition (or multiple conditions), our compassionate and understanding team will work with you to find you a policy that meets your requirements. With over 99% of common conditions covered, we are proud to say that our specialist medical cover meets the requirements for inclusion on the Money Advice Service (MAS) travel insurance directory. Travel Insurance and the FCDO Our travel insurance coverage continues to be based on the latest FCDO advice, and is not impacted by the new traffic light system. Please always refer to the latest FCDO advice to ensure there are no advisories against travel which may affect your travel insurance policy. Get Intouch for peace of mind so we can get you covered ediburgh@ttce.com, call us on 0131 467 7000 or get an online quote here  Smart Travel Makes Better Use of Funds
We don’t need to remind you that controlling spend is as important as ever especially in the not-for-profit sector. As doing more with less becomes ever more urgent, travel is one area of a charity's cost base that cannot be overlooked. For charities working overseas, travel is an integral part of their work. Many would struggle to provide their core services if they were not able to send volunteers, staff and supporters to manage essential operations abroad. Charities face a dilemma as their travel costs rise and their incomes fall. We've worked with charities working overseas which spend up to 20% of their income on travel. Keeping travel costs under control can therefore be the difference between survival and extinction. Charities large or small operating internationally need to be able to move fast and respond to natural disasters, conflicts and humanitarian crises as well as negotiate hazards such as delays, ash clouds and industrial strikes. To manage scenarios such as this, it is vital that charities make travel arrangements that are flexible and adaptable. Top tips: 1 Initiate a travel policy. A logical first step for any charity working abroad. Set out clearly which airlines and classes employees can book so that all travel spending can be monitored and evaluated. It also helps to be flexible. A travel policy is also a good place to start when managing the safety and wellbeing of travelling staff, an essential duty for employers. We help to put a travel policy in place that is robust and fit for purpose. 2 Make your staff aware of your travel policy. Make the policy easily accessible and send out periodic reminders and share stories of best practice. If staff don't know about it, they can't abide by it. 3 Don't DIY. It is needlessly expensive to have employees, especially in large organisations, sorting out their own travel. Although individuals may think they are getting the best deal, online fares often have restrictive conditions and no agent support should things go wrong – and they often do. When travel purchasing is centralised, it is far easier to keep an eye on costs and trends and identify where savings can be made. 4 Book early. We've found that a client ends up spending an extra £4 per ticket for each day that they wait before booking a flight. If you consistently book at the earliest possible moment you will, on average, save 30% compared to someone who always books last minute. 5 Know what you're getting. We all hear about airlines charging separate fees for things such as checked baggage, food, drink and even things like pillows – a process known as unbundling. Be conscious of this when looking for flights online as what seems on the surface like a great fare may increase considerably as non-inclusive items are added. Want to know more? Please contact us edinburgh@ttce.com or call 0131 467 7000 and we can arrange a free consultation to get a better understanding of your requirements.  The role of procurement departments has certainly changed over the years, with value, levels of service and duty of care all becoming significant considerations when taking on a new supplier. However, there is one aspect of the procurement process that has stood the test of time and underpins everything that procurement department’s work towards and that’s cost.
I’m often asked to benchmark against existing practices but what is the best way to do this? Understanding transaction fees and how they relate to your overall spend is a crucial element in selecting a TMC. Equipping yourself with as much industry knowledge as possible is the best way to get the procurement process off to a good start. If you’re keen to drive online bookings then, by doing research, you should be able to find a realistic online adoption rate expectation. The volume of online bookings your organisation makes will have a direct impact on the fees you pay, as online bookings are usually charged at a lower rate than offline bookings. Don’t focus exclusively on offline fees. In recent years there has been a real drive within the business travel industry to increase the amount of bookings made online. With transaction fees for online bookings being typically lower, this has been a great result for travel buyers. However, the same kind of fees should not apply to offline bookings. When it comes to offline assistance, it really is a case of you get what you pay for. It is imperative you work with your TMC to work out how realistic your online adoption rate really is, if you have a lot of multi-sector long haul travel I’d suggest you will be doing more offline than online but if it is simple point to point low cost travel a higher online adoption is probably realistic. TMCs do not all have access to the same fares and so will not deliver the same online/offline booking ratios. If you really want to know what it would cost to work with each TMC you need to tailor your analysis based on your research and their figures. Once you’ve done your calculations, based on a tailored online adoption per TMC, you can then work out what percentage of your total travel spend the transaction fees would equate to. The industry average sits at around 5%, so if you’re preferred TMC comes in less than this, with excellent customer service and a great all-encompassing solution as well, then from a cost perspective they are very much worth considering. Get in in touch and we can show you how much we can help you and make life easier for you. Give us a call on 0131 467 7000 or email us on edinburgh@ttce.com The Travel Company Edinburgh 
Many people believe that because they are regular travellers this makes them best equipped to make their own travel arrangements and whilst they may have best intentions, by acting in this way it may in actual fact not only be false economy but it could be leaving the company wide open in terms of risk management. Organisations have legal and moral obligations to provide safety and security to their people, as much as possible, as they travel on business; that comes in the form of duty of care and a travel management company (TMC) should offer you access to tools and services that support you in looking after your travellers and help you in holding up your end of the duty of care bargain. So next time you are booking your business trip and you think you can save a couple of pounds by booking your hotel room through some 3rd party website or going on a price comparison site for your flight just think about the following: If you don't book through your TMC, they won't know where you are, which means they can't help you in a crisis. Let's say you book a hotel on your own, and when you arrive, you are not happy with the condition of your room or worse still, the hotel doesn't have a record of your reservation. Who do you call for help? No one. That's who. You are probably NOT even saving your company money by finding the deal of the century even if you think you are. Want to know why? Your company negotiates deals with specific suppliers on an annual basis. These deals frequently include behind-the-scenes incentives based on quantity of bookings. The TMC may well be offering your company a rebate on commissions earned and you also have to factor in time, your time to make the booking and your finance department who then have to spend time cross referencing your expense claim. So you may be an experienced traveller and you may feel that a TMC restricts what you can or can’t book. This is very rarely the case, we work with all of our clients to give the end user a pleasurable experience, give them choices and a high level of personal service all whilst controlling the companies spend, making sure the staff are as safe as possible and streamlining the back office processing. Get in touch so we can help you. edinburgh@ttce.com +44 (0)131 467 7000  How to write a company travel policy?
It is surprisingly common to come across organisations that despite having significant expense in terms of travel, they do not have a travel policy to adhere to and whilst it is possible for a company to get by without ever formally documenting rules on employee travel and expenses it is inadvisable. Each company has to find a program that matches its size, travel pattern, and culture. Yet for all these unique considerations, the importance of getting it right is universal, as are the basic principles that go into designing the right policy. So why do you need a travel policy? Cost Control - Smart policies don’t just protect against overspending, they actively encourage saving. Employee Satisfaction - Business travellers want the right amount of guidance from their company policy. Not having defined rules can leave employees confused, but having too many rules can be counterproductive. By creating more work for an employee during booking, and giving them too few comfortable and convenient options on the road, overly-strict policies encourage travellers to go rogue. Reporting - T&E is one of the largest expense categories at a typical organization, often ranking behind only salary and rent. Because a company’s travel policy determines how employees book and submit expenses, it has a huge effect on whether spending remains visible. By identifying specific priorities, you’ll know where to focus your attention. Here are some possible objectives: Reduce average trip cost Replace some travel with virtual meetings Promote use of approved suppliers Secure negotiated hotel rates Increase advance booking Improve employee satisfaction with flight and hotel options Speed up expense reimbursement process Once you have established the objectives, we work with clients and potential clients in order to write a travel policy that is comprehensive, covering every stage of trip from booking through to reimbursement, and at the same time comprehensible. Below are a list of examples that could be included in a travel policy: Where should employees book their travel? How should they pay? How are trips approved or rejected? What class of flight? Flight selection criteria Hotel star class Allowable expenses whilst in a hotel Rail v plane Economy v Business Class Are you struggling with your travel policy? Why not get in touch today and see how we can help. Get in touch edinburgh@ttce.com +44 (0)131 467 7000  Travellers now have more of a say in how they travel for business than ever before and an increasing number of travel managers are balancing the needs of their employees with the needs of the organisation as a whole, as a way of boosting employee satisfaction and engagement.
Although increasing the comfort, convenience and simplicity of business travel as way of thanking your travellers for their time ‘on the road’ might seem like a nice idea in theory, realising and implementing these changes in a way that doesn’t undermine efforts to reduce travel spend or compromise your organisation’s duty of care is a much greater challenge. So how do you go about improving your travellers experience? Make it easier to book travel There are still many business travellers hopping from travel website to travel website, booking flights then rail and then their hotel stay. This wasted time can lead to travellers feeling frustrated at the mere thought of having to book even the simplest of trips and so as a travel or procurement manager it’s worth looking into single solution booking options. If you’re currently using a travel management company (TMC) and are finding that travellers aren’t content with the process of booking their business travel then have an honest discussion with both your TMC and your travellers. For example, travellers may be avoiding using your TMC’s booking system because they don’t feel confident that they know how to use it properly - something that is easily fixed with a little extra training. They may also prefer an offline solution simply sending their requests to a dedicated travel consultant who can do all the work for them. Introduce a dynamic travel policy Strict and limited travel options are a very common source of frustration for travellers and can often lead to travellers going rogue and booking out of policy - something that then becomes a source of frustration for travel managers. However, introducing a dynamic travel policy enables organisations to increase the amount of choice that travellers have when booking, whilst also remaining in control of their travel spend. Unlike a traditional business travel policy that is a static set of business travel guidelines, a dynamic business travel policy’s controls will adapt depending on the options available at the time of booking. To discuss your travel with us get in touch on edinburgh@ttce.com or call us on +44 (0)131 467 7000 |
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Click here for: Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice.
Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate Book with confidence. We are a Member of ABTA which means you have the benefit of ABTA's assistance and Code of Conduct. All the package and Flight-Plus holidays we sell are covered by a scheme protecting your money if the supplier fails. Other services such as business travel, hotels or flights on their own may not be protected and you should ask us what protection is available. To find out more please go to www.abta.com Our numbers are W9294, C7292, J2696. The air holiday packages advertised on this website are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, as we act as an agent for licensed tour operators and we can ATOL protect our own tailor-made itineraries for you. The names and ATOL numbers of each tour operators are displayed with each holiday offer shown and when enquiring with us about your holiday we will advise who is ATOL protecting your booking and confirm their ATOL number. Our ATOL number is 9150. You can check an ATOL number here |