company international travel policy

The complete guide to corporate travel policies 

The business travel policy guide you’ve been waiting for .

Creating a business travel policy for employees can feel really daunting. You don’t want to just throw something together and hope for the best, but it feels impossible to anticipate every possible scenario. The truth is your policy serves as more than a rule book; it's a guide to better decision-making about your corporate travel program and can save you a world of headaches down the road. 

Introduction

What is a travel policy .

• Why do you need a travel policy?
• How to create a travel policy

What to include in a travel policy 

• Travel policy best practices
• How to promote travel policy compliance
• When to review and update your travel policy
• Final thoughts

When it comes to company travel, a travel policy brings it all to one place. It acts as an influencer for travelers to make the most cost-effective choices, an important visibility tool for your managers and HR department, and it protects your people if it’s done right. 

If you’re new to business travel or haven’t looked at your travel policy in a while, we’ll start with the basics and then move into the nitty gritty of corporate travel policies. We’ll touch on a few best practices for writing a travel policy, what to include, and offer plenty of resources along the way. 

Ready to get cracking? Let’s go! 

A travel policy is a guide for business travelers to follow that outlines: 

• How, where, and when to book 
• Approved technology for travel management 
• Preferred suppliers for air travel, land travel, and accommodations 
• Approvals process for out-of-policy bookings 
• Trip extensions and personal travel 
• Expenses and what is covered or not covered 
• Reimbursement processes 
• Business travel insurance information 
• Emergency procedures and contacts 

Your company’s travel policy should reflect your company culture and values, be supportive of your travelers and their needs, and protect your company from unforeseen circumstances. It acts as a central document that guides your team to the processes of embarking on company business travel, from start to finish! 

While you might hear a few grumbles and groans around the words “policy” or “process,” don’t worry! A travel policy does not need to be rigid and inflexible. 

Do your travelers prefer to book on their own? Don’t take away their autonomy. They can still self-book, you’ll just provide them with a better tool and way to do it more efficiently. 

Do your people feel prepared for any event that can cause a travel hiccup? With a travel policy, you can give them clarity and help them feel more prepared when traveling for business purposes. 

Why do you need a travel policy? 

Your travel policy is an extension of your travel program and company culture. It’s the glue that holds your travel program together – from approvals, expenses, booking processes, and emergency contacts. 

Having a travel policy helps you: 

• Control travel costs 
• Determine how reimbursement works 
• Compile a list of trusted and approved travel vendors 
• Manage an employee’s travel experience and safety 
• Cut rogue bookings – and simplify approvals 
• Budget, report on travel expenses and activity and reconcile bookings 

It’s a roadmap or guidebook that your travelers can reference when they’re booking their own travel if they run into a tricky situation abroad, and it helps provide clarity around processes. 

As a company though, your travel policy helps centralize your travel program, makes data and tracking more accurate and easier to navigate, and it saves time and money (including on expense management). Plus, if you take the time to craft your policy in an intentional and inclusive way, you’ll have a policy your travelers are happier to follow. 

How to create a travel policy for employees 

• Determine business travel guidelines 
• Create a travel policy that puts your people first 
• Set reasonable budget limits 
• Simplify the process of expense claims 
• Adopt a user-friendly all-in-one travel platform 

Once you’ve read through our tips, be sure to download our free  travel policy template  so you can get started on creating a travel policy of your own! 

1) Determine corporate travel guidelines 

When you take the time to create a policy that meets the needs of your business, you are making sure that your travelers are safe, costs are controlled, and you’ve made every business trip count. 

Start by looking at what types of travel are allowed and the reason for each trip. 

If you have team members traveling all over the globe, you might want to set some extra safety measures. You should also decide if there will be restrictions on the type of ground transportation used or where employees can stay. 

Create a process for booking flights, hotels, and other ground transportation needs. How far in advance should they be booking? Do different rules apply based on the traveler’s position? Who is the point of contact for bookings and other travel questions? 

Making sure to include your company’s travel insurance info is also important. Make sure to note if your policy covers medical expenses and/or any losses due to cancellations or delays in transportation services due to factors outside an employee’s control. 

Do you have a policy for reporting and documenting expenses? This includes having a system in place for claims (like meal expenses) and a reimbursement process, so your team can easily get their money! 

2) Create a travel policy that puts your people first

You’ve heard the term “duty of care” before, so it’s important to create a corporate travel policy that puts traveler safety and accessibility needs first. You’ll need to define and assign the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, including a travel manager, if you have one. 

Set up an emergency plan and provide access to traveler safety information. Determine who is the emergency contact (your TMC?) and how to get in touch. Do they have 24/7 emergency support available by phone or chat? What about email support? 

Invite your HR department, the travelers themselves, and your DE&I manager into a discussion to find out what needs your team has as individuals, what hiccups they face when traveling, and what holes exist in your travel program that make it difficult to navigate. 

Working with a TMC is a great way to ensure travelers are kept safe before and during their trip.  

3) Set reasonable budget limits for business travel

You have a budget you need to adhere to, but is it realistic? Setting reasonable budget limits is key to an effective policy. 

Your budget should account for all travel-related expenses, including airfare, accommodation, meals, and ground transportation. And once you’ve set your budget, you can determine reasonable costs for hotels and accommodation, ground transport, flights, and more. Build these caps into your  travel booking software  to help travelers stay within the set parameters, which will later help with accountability. 

It's important to set clear rules on what the company can pay back and what types of expenses are out-of-pocket. 

If you’ve set a maximum daily rate for meals on work trips, it's crucial that travelers understand the limit before racking up additional charges. Requiring receipts can also help keep track of employee spending and make sure they're not going over budget. 

By working with a  travel management company  like Corporate Traveler, you can review your previous year’s expenses and find where you can optimize or make changes based on market changes. 

4) Simplify the process of expense claims 

If you're unfamiliar with how to write a travel expense policy, creating a simple process for claiming expenses is key to getting your team on the same page. Do you have access to a payment system that pays for the majority of expenses at the time of booking? This could be a good way to save time and stress down the road.  

The more you can pay for before your travelers get to their destination, the easier everything is to reconcile after they get home.  

If you have a person in charge of reviewing expense reports and watching pre-trip approvals, make sure to set criteria for claim approvals and look at automating processes to make approvals simple! 

5) Adopt a user-friendly all-in-one travel platform  

Finding the right  corporate travel platform  is essential. The right booking platform can provide travelers with an easy-to-use experience, giving them access to the best fares and availability. 

For example, at Corporate Traveler, we use Melon . It’s a booking tool, reporting suite, travel policy pusher, traveler profile manager, and so much more. Melon features a “recommended spend” function, which helps keep travelers booking in policy. Hello, visual guilt! 

Melon’s simple user interface, combined with dedicated travel consultants and expert 24/7 support, makes it simple to book, manage, and keep track of your business travel. You’ll be able to access Melon-exclusive deals and perks (alongside many negotiated contracts and online deals) and take care of all your travel needs from one place. 

From the get-go, you’ll be able to work closely with our team to ensure that all of your needs are met. We'll help you customize your travel program to meet specific business needs, build your travel policy into the platform, and offer training to staff to help them along the way.   

Putting it all together  

Wow! You’ve reached the end and should have a better idea of how to write a corporate travel policy. High five! Now it’s time to put it all together and get it on paper.  

Maybe you already have something in place that needs some work or an entire overhaul. Check out our easy-to-use template and start checking those boxes! 

Grab our corporate travel policy template builder

Not sure where to start? No worries! We’ve got you. Here’s how to streamline your process with a travel policy template! 

While there’s no one-size-fits-all travel policy for every company, following the set guidelines helps you nail a perfect-for-you policy that can see you through an ever-changing travel climate. 

Travel policy template  

When you’re crafting your business travel policy, there are so many considerations to be made. Things might come up that you never even thought of, but not to worry. We have loads of resources to help you see this through. 

Starting out, it might be looking a little drab and wordy, but depending on your travel program size, a visual travel policy might be just what you need. You can search for examples online or take a look at an example of a visual travel policy we’ve created.  

When building your policy, it’s important to include: 

1. International or foreign travel policies  

When you’ve got travelers all over the globe, you need to build out a policy for international or foreign travel. This is a protects them (and you) on anything from travel safety, to expenses, and everywhere in between. 

Whether your travelers are individuals or entire teams, your international travel policy needs to cover: 

• How and where to book – is that with a travel manager, online booking tool, a travel management company (TMC) ? 
• Travel insurance coverages and contact info – international numbers and policy information 
• Emergency contacts – how to reach them and the process of in-destination emergencies 
• Travel expenses – limits and how to file for reimbursement 
• Travel documentation – who to contact with questions 
• Advance booking timelines – when should they be booking for international travel? 
• Travel extensions – are these allowed and what are travelers expected to cover if they choose to extend their trip for leisure? 

By outlining all of this information in your policy, you’ll streamline the process for your finance teams, travel managers, and your travelers. And really, who doesn’t want to make travel a smoother experience? 

2. Corporate travel policy for business class travel 

Does your corporate travel program have different rules, limits, or allowances for different levels of seniority? Are some junior members expected to travel in economy class, while some executives are allowed to book in business class? 

If some certain exceptions and situations might allow for an employee to book business class, regardless of their position, you should include that in your policy as well. 

Making this as clear as possible will avoid an approvals nightmare down the road. 

3. Corporate meal allowance policy 

It’s great if you’ve already centralized most of your business travel expenses like flights, accommodation, transportation, and car rentals, but your people gotta eat! It’s super important to include a meal allowance policy that clearly outlines which meals (and how much) you’ll cover. 

Some of your team might be traveling with corporate credit cards, while others might need to be reimbursed. The guidelines and procedures for submitting expenses or asking for reimbursement need to be crystal clear! 

Make sure to outline if you have a corporate travel policy for alcohol, too! You don’t want murky policies when it comes to footing the bill for drinks. 

Some things to consider for your meal allowance and alcohol travel policy: 

• Which meals are covered and for how much? 
• Who is footing the bill for an alcoholic beverage with dinner? 
• If entertaining clients, what is the budget, and how flexible is it? 
• What is the process of submitting company card expenses? 
• What is the process for requesting reimbursement? 

Your team will always have questions about the policy on food and drinks, so make sure they can find the info easily and have a point of contact for whoever can offer more clarity. 

4. Executive travel policy 

We briefly touched on executive travel when we talked about traveling in business class, but there is certainly more to the top dogs traveling. 

Executive travel can be a touchy subject if there are more lenient policies in place than there is for less senior team members. Your executives also may need to know the guidelines in place for their own travel, so they don’t accidently go overboard, which could be an accounting nightmare! 

You’ll need to make sure you deliver a guide for approvals, procedures, booking deadlines, meals, accommodation, basically everything. 

Lay it all out. Make your policy as digestible as possible, and for a busy exec, consider bullet points and titles in bold so they can easily skim to the areas they need to know. 

5. Natural disaster or COVID-19 business travel policy  

We can all agree that COVID-19 caused business travel to come to a screeching halt. Across most industries, the pandemic impacted client relationships, the ability to gain new clients and caused budgets to get slashed pretty dramatically.  

While this was only one event, many businesses have begun to consider the “what-ifs” of their travel programs should another outbreak of COVID or something else happen. Crossing our fingers and toes doesn’t cut it, unfortunately. 

There is also the chance of their travel being impacted by a natural disaster. We’ve seen it before – earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, hurricanes. Do you have a plan or policy to aid your team and guide them through the unthinkable? 

In 2022, we surveyed 120 employees across various industries and businesses. More than half, 51% of respondents said their companies didn’t provide resources or tips for safety on their trips. Duty of care isn’t something to put on the back burner, it’s your legal obligation to make sure your team is informed. 

So, what’s the solution, you ask? 

Working with a TMC gives you the backup you need if anything ever happens and you have people traveling abroad. At Corporate Traveler, our travel management software, Melon, is a central place to house your policy for quick and easy access. Plus, our travel experts can help you paint the big picture of what to do, who to call, and how to get your team home safely as quickly as possible. 

Is there anything missing from your travel policy? 

Let’s break it down. If you think of your policy like a sandwich, it should include: 

The bread and butter  

• Where and why: Are there any restrictions on who travels domestically or internationally? Or guidelines around reasons for travel? 
• When: Are there any restrictions on when business travel is a no-no, like during an auditing period or financial downturn? 
• How? How should travel arrangements be booked? Through your corporate travel booking software or with a preferred Travel Management Company (TMC)? How far in advance should domestic and international trips be booked? 
• Preferred suppliers: Do you have preferred partners for air travel, accommodation, ground transport or travel insurance? 
• Approvals: Who’s responsible for giving the green light on trips? 
• Show me the money: What’s the process for managing/submitting expenses, paying for travel and reimbursements? 
• Uh-oh: How will you prevent or deal with non-compliance to the travel policy? 
• Noise level: Getting loads of ‘noise’ and questions about things in your policy? This means it’s not clear and it’s time to review why and where the stumbling block is for travelers (or your finance team!) 

 The filling  

• Classy, baby: Who gets to fly business class, book 5-star properties or order UberLUX? And how does your business handle upgrades or airport lounge access for long-haul flights? 
• All work, some play: What are the conditions if someone wants to extend their business trip to take personal leave? Are you happy for them to enjoy a bleisure trip, and if so, who foots the bill and for what? 
• Loyalty: Are there any travel rewards or business loyalty programs that can be used during booking? 
• Spending money: Do your business travelers have a daily allowance for meals, snacks, and drinks? How much is it, what does it include – and what’s not covered? Can they order room service, drink from the mini-bar, or use the in-house laundry service? 

The not-so-secret sauce  

• Safety first: your policy should support air, accommodation and ground transport suppliers that have been safety and security vetted. Guidelines or information on travel insurance for work trips is also helpful. 
• Now what: What’s the plan of action in the case of Acts of God or Force Majeure events? Does your team know who to call for help? 
• What’s next: Who is responsible for updating and reviewing your travel policy, and how often? 

Corporate travel policy best practices

• Write for skim readers
• Guide travelers to the right resources
• Automate your policies
• Stipulate a timeframe for expense claims
• Be prepared for the unexpected

1. Write for skim readers  

One of the first steps towards writing a people-first travel policy is understanding how your travelers will read it. And the truth is…  

They probably won’t.   

Research has shown that  adults get distracted every 47 seconds . So if a business traveler is looking at your policy, they’re most likely just searching for a specific answer – and they want it fast. So what can you do?  

First, make sure the document is easy to navigate. That means including things like:   

• A table of contents  
• Visual elements to help guide the eye toward crucial information, like flow charts and tables  
• Clear headings and important details in bold  
• Bulleted lists (see what we did here?) 

And even though it’s a technical document, don’t make it sound like one. An effective travel policy should be clear, concise, and easily comprehended. So skip the long, complex sentence structures and technical jargon, and write in plain, simple English. It helps to pretend like you’re writing it so an eighth-grader can understand it.   

2. Guide travelers to the right resources  

Remember when we said travelers will only read your policy to find a solution for a specific need? Whether it’s a link, a phone number, or a step-by-step tutorial – a well-managed travel policy should provide them with the right resources.  

Instead of treating a travel policy as a list of rules, treat it like a resource sheet. Here are some key pieces of information travelers might need to pull up easily:  

Your approved online booking tool (and steps on how to use it)  

• QR codes to download your  mobile travel app   
• Preferred airlines, including class, budgets, and other limits  
• Permissible hotels, including guidelines on star-class and incidental expenses  
• Guidelines on ground transportation (trains, ride-sharing services, rental cars, and personal car usage)  
• How to get travel support  
• Travel insurance carrier  
• Clarification on the reimbursement process (more on this later)  

You can also include other factors specific to your company, but this should at least be the necessary groundwork to help employees make the right choices on their own.  

3. Automate your policies  

Let’s face it: even with the best communication efforts, there’s always a chance that an employee may violate policy, even unintentionally. So, what can you do?  

Build policy into booking.  

By building your travel policy into your travel management software, it becomes unavoidably embedded in the booking process, so even the most easily confused employees end up following by default.   

Automation tools can sound the alarm on out-of-policy bookings and even provide an audit trail. This can be especially helpful for employees who may struggle to remember procedures and policies, especially after big changes to your travel program.  

4. Stipulate a timeframe for expense claims  

No one wants to get stuck waiting on the money they’re owed – or worse – find out they’re not getting reimbursed for an expenditure they thought would be covered.  

Having a clear and well-defined expense claim process is critical in any travel policy. Employees need to know how to claim their travel expenses, how soon they need to submit an expense report, and when to expect reimbursement.   

The policy should also be clear about what expenses are and are not reimbursable, including any limits or exceptions. For example, if an employee needs to book a different seat class to  accommodate a disability , the policy should include the process for requesting and approving this expense.   

Plus, a submission deadline reduces cash flow issues and provides more accurate and complete expense data for that period (your finance team will thank you later).  

5. Be prepared for the unexpected  

As a company, you have a duty-of-care responsibility. When it comes to business trips, you need to be prepared for the unexpected. No matter how much effort you put into planning, there will always be a few hiccups along the way.   

For instance, lost luggage, canceled or delayed flights, and sudden weather or political emergencies in unfamiliar destinations could all leave your employee stranded.   

“Companies need to be prepared to plan for the particular, not just the universal. Every aspect of the travel program needs to be able to fit each of your travelers like a glove, from adaptable plans and experts on call, to technology that makes the journey seamless.” - Emese Graham, DE&I Manager @ FCTG  

Don’t let unexpected situations blindside you. Have processes in place to ensure travel safety and security. Make sure they know what to do, where to go, and who to get a hold of if something goes wrong. Taking a proactive and prepared approach to your policy can minimize the impact of emergencies and take care of your team’s well-being while they’re on the road.  

BONUS TIP: Update your policy regularly  

Here’s a free business travel policy best practice just for you! It isn’t just a “one and done” deal – it’s a living document.  

What’s that mean? As your company grows and travel conditions change, so should your travel policy. Revisit your expense policy at least once a year to keep it relevant and effective – and lead you towards new cost-saving solutions.    

Data is going to be your best friend here. Here are a few key factors you should look into when updating your travel policy:  

• Analyze travel spend patterns – are you throwing a lot of company money at certain suppliers? You might want to see if you can negotiate a new deal or find better rates elsewhere.  
• Identify areas of overspending or inefficiency – are employees accruing high parking or travel costs? See if you can get season tickets or other accommodations.  
• Evaluate the overall performance of your policy – are you still compliant with any new regulations that have come into play since the policy was established? How can traveler experience be improved?  

You may even want to consider enlisting the help of professionals, such as a travel management company with experience in expense management, to give advice on how to optimize your travel policy to better meet the needs of your employees and your business as a whole.   

Building a travel policy that's good for business and travelers and meets their needs is no small feat. But whether you're looking to retain your team, attract new talent, or make life a little easier for your travelers, investing in a well-designed travel policy is definitely worth the effort and great for company culture.  

By following these travel policy best practices and ensuring your policy meets all travelers' needs, you’ll be on your way to smoother, safer, and more enjoyable travel experiences for all.  

How to promote travel policy compliance  

Whether compliance is a big or small issue in your company, it takes a little bit of investigating to figure out why it’s an issue at all. 

Maybe your policy meets the needs of only a few of your team members. Maybe it’s too difficult to navigate your policy. Or maybe, your policy is written in legalese and makes your travelers vision blur before they go rogue and book how they want. 

It could be that your travelers prefer a bit of freedom in booking and would rather do it on their own. Or, maybe they have specific needs that aren’t being met by the options provided. 

Whatever their reasons, it’s your job to figure out why they aren’t following and what you can do to build better compliance. 

Here are a few tips to improve travel policy compliance: 

• Make your policy easy to navigate, understand, and find 
• Use an online booking tool (OBT) for travelers who prefer to self-book 
• Allow a bit of flexibility so travelers feel they have some autonomy 
•  Include a category for last-minute bookings so it doesn’t mess up your data 
• Understand your traveler needs and build an inclusive policy 

Read the full guide:

You've researched, gathered the necessary resources, and communicated your travel and expense (T&E) policy to your employees. But now, you're not so sure they're actually following it.  

Read the full guide:  How to Improve Corporate Travel Policy Compliance

When to review and update your travel policy 

If the last time you reviewed or upgraded your travel policy was more than a year ago, it’s outdated and needs a refresher. If your company is small and has low turnover, you could probably get away with making small tweaks and optimizations. 

But if you have a larger company with multiple departments and higher turnover, you probably need to do an overhaul and review it more regularly. We’re not saying you have to change it every time someone is hired or leaves the company, but making sure it’s relevant to the people who are there and are traveling matters! 

Corporate Traveler conducted a survey in 2022, which showed that 48% of respondents didn’t know if their company had resources for specific traveler profiles, while 41% said their company didn’t provide resources for specific traveler profiles. This really goes to show that there’s room for improvement in how policies are built to support their people and their businesses. 

A people-first travel program and policy have become necessary as the world grows and begins to understand neurodiversity, disabilities, and cultural differences. When we learn about our team members’ diverse needs, we can better understand how to support them when they venture abroad for our businesses. 

GUIDE: Download the How to design a people-first travel program guide 

We recommend policy reviews every 3-6 months, but at the minimum, once per year. 

Final thoughts 

Business travel is so unpredictable, as we’ve seen in recent years. There will always be circumstances you can’t avoid as a company, but making sure that you have the necessary checks and balances in place can help to make things just a little easier. If you have groups traveling, VIPS, or people heading to high-risk destinations, it’s important that your policy is relevant. 

Don’t forget that travel policies shouldn’t be written and forgotten about – these are living documents that must be regularly updated to make sure they best protect your people. 

Remember these best practices when writing your travel policy: 

• Keep it simple and make it pop with visuals, bullet points, and bold headings. 
• Answer any and every question possible – think of all the eventualities 
• Always put your people first 
• Implement a quick and simple approval process 
• Automate as much as you can 
• Use technology that’s supports your policy 
• Be flexible with due reason 
• Be clear about what’s not allowed 
• Update your travel policy at least once a year 
• Keep it somewhere easy to find  

And finally, it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of different formats. Consider a visual version and an extended version so the message is delivered best depending on the person reading. For some, it might be easier to digest one over the other. 

Looking for a policy review? We’d be happy to work with you. 

Let’s chat .

• Human Resources
• Tools and Samples

Company Travel Policy

A company travel policy is designed to outline a business's travel arrangement procedures and guidelines, stipulating which travel expenses are paid for by the company and how to manage the reimbursement process. A company travel policy should include a purpose statement, scope, authorization and reimbursement section, and travel arrangement processes.

Creating a detailed company travel policy will help ensure all business trips run smoothly, are secured ahead of time, and adhere to all company requirements.

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Company Travel Policy - Free Template

Download this company travel policy template in Microsoft Word format.

Company Travel Policy Template:

Introduction..

When employees travel for company-related purposes, it is [ company name's ] responsibility to provide safe and reliable travel arrangements. This company travel policy serves to clarify the conditions and parameters of a company-paid trip.

The purpose of this company travel policy is to (a) outline the authorization and reimbursement process for travel arrangements and expenses; (b) list the company-paid travel expenses; and (c) establish protocols that oversee the travel arrangement process.

This company travel policy is applicable to all employees under contract at [ company name ], including paid interns, contractors, as well as seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. [ Company name ] sees traveling out of the city, state, and/or country as a fully-paid business trip, as well as one-day trips that are [ number of hours ] hours away from the office.

Authorization and Reimbursements.

All company travel arrangements must be authorized by senior employees at least [ number of weeks/months ] before the expected travel date, depending on the circumstances and the required travel arrangement time period. Employees are not permitted to authorize their own travel arrangements.

Employees are expected to submit a Travel Expense Report at least [ number of days/weeks ] after the first business day back at work. On the Travel Expense Report, employees must include all company-paid expenses and personal expenses. The finance department is responsible for examining the Travel Expense Report and finalizing reimbursement payments.

Travel Arrangement:

All travel arrangements must be reserved at least [ number of weeks ] weeks before the travel date. The finance department is responsible for the booking and payment of all transportation, accommodation, and travel-related expenses.

Travel Expenses.

[ Company name ] employees are entitled to a company-paid travel ticket for any means of transportation the employee(s) require, including a [ type of class ] return plane, boat, train, and/or coach ticket, [ number of meals ] meals, and [ number of luggage ] luggage. While traveling, employees will be able to use a company-paid taxi service from and to the airport, hotel, and business location. If an employee wishes to travel for personal reasons, they will be financially responsible for the travel fare.

Accommodation.

[ Company name ] employees are permitted to stay in a [ number of stars ][ type of accommodation ] while traveling for company purposes. The finance manager is responsible for securing the [ type of accommodation ] room and paying for an employee's stay.

Other Expenses.

[ Company employees ] will be reimbursed for [ number of meals ] lunch(s) and [ number of meals ] dinner(s) for a maximum of [ $/meal amount ] per meal. If an employee is hosting a client of [ company name ], the entire meal will be reimbursed. In addition, if an employee requires a meeting, boardroom, or conference room while traveling, [ company name ] will book the room and make payment.

Personal Travel.

[ Company name ] will not be financially responsible for any personal expenses and travel arrangements. If an employee chooses to travel with a partner, [ company name ] is not responsible for their partner's accommodation, leisure, and/or travel expenses. An employee is required to submit this information on the Travel Expense Report and produce payslips for their expenses only.

International Travel.

If employees are required to travel out of the country for business, [ company name ] is financially responsible for all travel arrangements, including accommodation, transportation, visas, travel insurance, and medical expenses. International business trips must be authorized at least [ number of months ] months before the expected travel date. The finance department is required to submit a Travel Expense Report before and after the trip. Both reports must be signed off by at least two senior officials before and after the trip.

More Policies:

• Bereavement Leave Policy.
• Cell Phone Policy.
• Company Credit Card Policy.
• Company Travel Policy.
• Company Vehicle Policy.
• Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Cyber Security Policy.
• Dress Code Policy.
• Paid Time Off Policy.
• Social Media Policy.
• Telecommuting Policy.
• Overtime Policy.
• Attendance Policy.
• Expense Reimbursement Policy.
• Sexual Harassment Policy.
• Remote Work Policy.

Company Credit Card Policy

What should be included in a travel policy?

• Introduction .
• Purpose statement .
• Authorization and reimbursements .
• Travel arrangement (both business-related and personal) .

What is corporate travel policy?

A corporate travel policy is a formal document that details the procedures and rules of business-related trips. The policy mainly focuses on the arrangements, expenses, and authorization processes.

How do you write a travel expense policy?

Use our free, customizable company travel policy template in Word format.

What is a travel and expense policy?

A travel and expense policy is an alternative name for a company travel policy, which outlines the travel arrangements and expenses required on a company-paid business trip.

Related Articles:

Employee handbook, expense reimbursement form, conflict of interest policy, code of ethics, professional code of conduct.

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How to write an effective corporate travel policy

Everything you need to do business travel right.

Writing an effective corporate travel policy

There’s a lot to consider when arranging business travel, so it makes sense to have a robust corporate travel policy in place. Setting out all the relevant procedures will help keep your employees safe while working to reduce your business’s travel spend. Some of the key steps to creating your ideal company travel policy include:

• Defining your objectives. These could include keeping costs down, ensuring employees are safe and comfortable and helping them make decisions on their travel.
• Ensuring your travel policy reflects travelers’ needs. Consider the most common destinations for your business travelers and the best way to get to them, are there specific needs or considerations related to your company’s activities?
• Giving your employees options. Everyone likes to have a choice, so try to give your employees a selection of hotels or airlines. You can keep costs down by capping the hotel star rating or class of airline ticket.
• Setting clear guidelines for all aspects of travel and more. Your travel policy needs to be all-encompassing so it leaves no room for doubt – that includes everything from airline booking rules to the policy on areas such as additional expenses and the acceptance of gifts.
• Making sure everyone knows what the travel policy is. All relevant documents need to be readily available to everyone within your company whether via the intranet or a travel platform. The policy needs to be clearly communicated to all, including line managers so they can enforce it.

Corporate travel policy best practices

When writing a corporate travel policy document, one size doesn’t fit all. You should start by thinking about the nature of your organization – is it pretty strict or relaxed? Make sure your travel policy follows the same tone.

Highlight how important it is that your employees read the document, not least for their own safety, and clarify what they need to do in an emergency situation, as well as who they’d need to contact.

Other information you should include is how business travelers should get to and from airports, and to what extent they’re permitted to combine their business travel with their own leisure.

Empower your employees by giving them a choice of hotels while capping the star rating or cost per room. Impress upon them the fact that complying with your travel policy will ensure the smooth and easy reimbursement of additional expenses. Finally, keep reviewing your corporate travel policy. Flexibility is key, and your travel policy and procedures should be open to the changing requirements of your employees and your business.

Remind your senior leaders that this is for them as well as business travelers –if everyone follows the policy it will help your company offer more effective support to its strategic partners, as well as allow better management of its expenses budget.

What to include in your corporate travel policy

There are many aspects of business travel to consider before writing your corporate travel policy. While your policy should reflect the unique needs of your business and employees, you’ll need to establish policies for these fundamental areas:

• Airline, rail, hotel and rental car reservations.
• The use of other transportation, such as taxi cabs.
• Rules for on-site spending, including meals, entertainment and phone calls.
• Security relating to travel – both in terms of personal safety and work materials.
• The rules around gifts and favors that may be bought or received during business travel.
• The approval process that employees and managers need to follow.
• The system for the payment of any expenses incurred during travel.

Laying out your travel expense policy

Establishing a clear and fair expenses policy is vital to the health of your business – poor management of travel expenses costs your business money. Here’s how we’d recommend your policy approaches a range of key expenses:

Additional travel State that travel costs will cover the purposes of business travel only – whether to events, meetings or training – and that non-business or leisure travel comes out of the employee’s pocket. You should also encourage business travelers to use the most cost-effective mode of transport, taking expected journey time into account. Accommodation Empower your business travelers by giving them control over their own spending – capping their budgets by hotel star rating or amount per room. You could provide average room rates in each location, and ask them to stay within that range. Specify that standard rooms should be the required room type, and clearly outline whether your business will cover minibar charges, Wi-Fi costs, etc. Meals Depending on your company culture, you can be as explicit as you like with your meal policy. Many companies find it easier to offer a daily allowance that covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, but your policy should include a statement about alcoholic beverages – usually to clarify that they will be at the employee’s cost, unless they’re with a client. Tips Many corporate travel policies cover tips to 20 percent, but only when it’s already been included in the bill as a service charge. If a business traveler decides to add a tip for anything else it should be out of their own pocket, or at a manager’s discretion. Entertainment Entertainment can cover eating, drinking or any other hospitality. The most effective way to manage entertainment expenses is by setting a limit or range, and advising that managerial approval will be required for any reimbursement above and beyond this amount.

How to forecast your budget

Using data on traveler behavior and previous expenses is key to setting intelligent forecasts for your annual expenses budget. Different employees will travel in different ways, to different locations, and at different frequencies. However, having data on the average flight cost per mile, as well as the nightly hotel, average meal and ground transportation costs, will mean you can accurately predict and anticipate your expenses budget for the year ahead.

Setting expense limits

For the most part, business travelers want to do what’s right for their company – and many companies find that giving employees control over their own spend can actually reduce overspending. Find a happy middle ground by giving employees control while setting key limits.

For example, meal expenses can be set as an overall allowance per day, giving the employee the choice of how much to spend individually on breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When it comes to booking accommodation, give employees the choice of a standard room in any hotel of a certain star rating or a maximum price per night.

For ground transportation, a corporate travel policy should clearly advise employees to choose the most cost-effective method considering the journey time. Most business travelers will accept being restricted to flying economy on short-haul trips.

Handling expense claims

It’s important that business travelers have a clearly defined method of claiming back their expenses. Ask them to fill out an expense report for the date, amount, category, location and business purpose of their claim – and decide whether you’d like them to file receipts for all their expenses, or just ones that exceed a certain amount.

Give your employees a time frame for submitting expenses – this will help your business maintain a stable and accurate cash flow. Similarly, let them know when they can expect money to be credited back into their accounts. Depending on the amount spent, it might be a good idea to clarify who will approve their expenses in each case.

Setting up your guidelines and procedures

There is no one, uniform corporate travel policy. If your policy doesn’t fit with the nature of your organization, it’s unlikely to ever meet the expectations of your stakeholders. Fundamentally, your travel policy and procedures must be adapted to your business’s culture, and be flexible around the needs of your employees, industry and economy. They also need to be widely circulated and understood.

Your guidelines and procedures will help your business travelers make decisions within the framework of your corporate travel policy. They should include procedures for all bookings – after all, it’s important that employees are clear on what is expected of them at every point of their business trip.

It might also be necessary to include a section about the consequences of not following the set guidelines and procedures.

Considering safety and security procedures

The safety, security and well-being of employees must be at the heart of every corporate travel policy. While they’re engaged in business travel, your employees are your responsibility, so it’s crucial your policy has procedures in place that can ably respond to personal risk, severe weather or political unrest in a foreign country.

Highlight how important it is that your employees read your corporate travel policy document for their own safety, and clarify what they need to do in an emergency situation and who to contact. If your employees are regularly flying out to high-risk countries, organize additional travel safety and security training. We work closely with International SOS to offer enhanced medical and security assistance, and keep your employees safe on the road.

Take a look at how else we’ll support your employees at every stage of their journey.

Delivering the travel policy to employees

Once you’ve written your corporate travel policy, you need to make sure your employees read and understand it. Whether you choose to deliver the policy in a printed document, via intranet or in an email, there are some general ways to make sure it’s communicated as effectively as possible.

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The complete guide to writing a corporate travel policy.

Posted Jan 04, 2022

It's well documented that COVID-19 has had a lasting, if not permanent, impact on the way we live and work. The pandemic has reshaped the business travel industry and, to ensure staff safety and wellbeing, companies are required to adapt to an ever-changing situation. If your staff travel for business purposes of any kind, it is essential that you have a robust travel policy in place. This will help to keep your employees safe, protect your organisation and keep your costs in check.

Travel managers across the world have adapted their corporate policies to ensure that their colleagues can return safely to business meetings, conferences and events across the globe.

Are you looking to write or update your corporate travel policy? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Follow our top tips to ensure your company travel policy is clear for your employees and beneficial to your business.

What is a corporate travel policy?

A company travel policy is, in simple terms, a guide that details all the necessary parameters, information and procedures for both domestic and international travel.

A well-crafted travel policy will not only keep your employees safe, but also help to save your company money and safeguard your business against legal ramifications caused by negligence.

Your travel policy should be unique to your organisation, with your purpose of business and the size of your organisation being key factors that shape the document.

Why is a good travel policy important?

Writing a robust travel policy is about far more than just rules and restrictions. Having a policy that fits your company’s culture and supports your employee’s personal preferences can have a notable impact on the success of your business and the happiness of your employees.

Your travel policy needs to cover every part of your traveller's itinerary, as this reduces the likelihood of running into safety hazards, significant costs, and legal issues. Employee safety should be your travel policy’s primary goal. A well put together policy will put your employee’s safety at heart, providing all-important peace of mind to travellers that you care about their welfare.

A clear travel policy will positively impact your business by minimising any confusion and hassle with bookings, whilst providing your employees with the flexibility and autonomy to book their own travel.

How your travel policy can benefit your business

By managing business travel effectively through a successful travel policy, you can eliminate corporate travel confusion and bring a mass of benefits to you, your employees, and your organisation.

Here are just some of the benefits your workplace travel policy can bring:

Champion traveller confidence and safety

Streamline the process

Achieve firm control over your corporate travel spend

Boost employee satisfaction and support staff retention

Help with the recruiting of staff by positioning yourself as a responsible employer

Support employee work-life balance

Improve your image with clients, customers and suppliers

Combat risk of encountering legal issues

Improve time management and visibility

Enhance communication and engagement

Improve your corporate social responsibility

Discover what's working and what isn’t

Stay current with travel trends and technology

Top tips for creating a great corporate travel policy

There’s a lot to consider when creating an all-encompassing travel policy, so we’ve compiled our top tips to help you write a robust document for you and your employees:

1. Define your objectives

Before creating or updating your travel policy, it’s a good idea to set your policy priorities.

Some areas to consider include:

Is your goal to improve traveller safety?

Do you want to reduce travel costs?

Are you wanting to simplify the booking process?

How will it boost internal efficiencies?

Can your organisation reduce its environmental impact?

Are you seeking to increase compliance?

Would you like to boost employee freedom and flexibility?

Establishing your priorities will guide your policy. Compile and analyse your company’s business travel data before starting to identify any trends, areas that work well or issues from the past. A good analysis will lead to better decision making.

2. Think like a traveller

The key to writing an effective travel policy is to balance your business goals with your employee’s needs. Your employees should be at the heart of your travel policy; therefore, it’s a good idea to get their feedback on which areas they think work well or may need improvement. Outline what problems have arisen in the past and how these can be prevented in the future.

Consider the amount of freedom you wish to give your employees. Empowering your employees through offering flexible choices will increase employee satisfaction. Many employers now factor in ‘bleisure’ options, blending business and leisure travel into one trip by allowing them to add annual leave onto their stay for a better work-life balance.

After all, happy employees that feel safe, comfortable and valued will work more effectively.

3. Set clear guidelines

It’s a good idea to make your travel policy as detailed as possible, whilst still being clear and concise. Your employees are unlikely to read a document that is too text-heavy, so make sure it is easy to understand and locate information.

Incorporating the following will ensure an effective corporate travel policy:

Introduction

Your booking processes and approved travel booking tool/s

Expense reporting, allowances, and limits

Travel and mileage reimbursement processes

Duty of care policy

Preferred suppliers (hotels, managed taxi organisation, airline, etc)

Travel insurance details

Any special exception of rules (e.g. more expensive cities or routes)

The approval process for trips that exceed the allowable costs

Out of hours contacts

Travel debriefing process

Crisis management and emergency procedures — ensure your travellers know what to do and where to go if an incident occurs, no matter the time or their location

4. Make sure your travel policy is easily accessible and updated and communicated regularly

After laying the foundations, it's time to decide how to communicate and monitor your travel policy. Your policy should adapt and grow alongside your business. Therefore, it's important to keep an eye on the effectiveness and performance of your travel policy, revisiting it regularly so you can track your targets and improve accordingly.

It’s best practice to make your corporate travel policy available for your staff to access at any time. We recommend storing it on your organisation’s intranet or online booking tool. It’s also a good idea for travel managers to remind employees of the travel policy regularly via email, at minimum once every 6-12 months.

Don’t be afraid of over-communicating your policy as this is better than under communicating.

The impact of covid-19 on corporate travel

Covid-19 brought travel to a standstill. The new normal has meant that employers are having to factor in how the pandemic could still impact their day-to-day operations.

Here are some key considerations you might want to include in your post-pandemic corporate travel policy:

Follow the right advice — Your travel policy must be based on recommendations from official authorities such as WHO, OSHA and CDC. Make sure to include these websites in your policy for information on how, where and when to travel.

An analysis of which countries are lower or higher risk areas — Remember to communicate which locations require COVID-19 tests, vaccination certificates or mandatory quarantine upon arrival with your employees.

List the travel precautions needed — Stress the importance of your business travellers taking certain measures to protect themselves and others. This includes wearing a face covering, frequent washing of hands, using sanitiser and practicing social distancing.

Procedure in the event of COVID-19 infection — Be sure to include details on the steps your business travellers should take if they were to test positive whilst on a trip.

Restoring traveller confidence — The pandemic has catapulted employee safety to the forefront of every business’ operations. It’s important to understand your employee’s individual views on how safe they feel when on the road and ensure your policy takes everybody’s preferences into consideration.

Factor in changes and cancellations — With restrictions continually changing, ensuring any plans can be changed or cancelled is essential to avoid incurring significant costs.

Alternative transport options — Whether your corporate travel plans have switched from international to domestic, or your travellers used to favour car share over rail, you might need to revisit your policy’s transport options post pandemic.

Why it’s important for taxis to be included in your corporate travel policy

It is highly important to not overlook taxi travel when writing your travel policy. As one of the least regulated modes of transport, taxi travel is often left to be arranged by the employee, which means the employer has no way of locating their traveller should an incident occur.

Employers have a duty to know where their employees are at all times when travelling for business, therefore it is essential that someone in your organisation is aware of each employees chosen taxi provider and can track the employee and can obtain driver and vehicle details should you need.

We therefore recommend incorporating a managed taxi programme into your travel policy, to take back the control and ensure any risk or liability is mitigated.

A managed taxi programme , such as CMACs, can deliver a multitude of benefits to both your company and your travellers, including:

Ensures full visibility of when and where employees are travelling to

Allocates trusted and reliable taxi providers that have been vetted prior to onboarding

Driver and vehicle information is shared with the traveller before their trip

Simpler booking options mean you can take back control from your employees

Optimises expenditure - streamlines administration and allows complete control over travel costs

Enhances the safety of your employees

Travellers have peace of mind that each journey is recorded and supported through a 24/7/365 contact centre

CMACs managed taxi service takes the hassle of booking travel arrangements and provides total, end-to-end duty of care, making business travel much safer for all.

Final checks

Remember to keep your employee's needs, safety, and long-term job satisfaction at the forefront of your policy, whilst aligning your objectives with the culture of the company.

It is a good idea to get somebody outside of the business to have a read through and get their feedback on any areas of uncertainty before you communicate your policy with your employees.

Before you put it into action, considering the following will help you to address any loopholes:

Are you able to always pinpoint your employee’s exact whereabouts?

Does your travel policy tell your employees what to do if an issue / crisis arises when travelling for business?

Have you factored in your organisation’s emergency contact details?

Are you able to track and monitor spend? Have you included spend or travel limits?

Do you have any preferred suppliers?

Is your booking process clear?

Is your document easy to navigate, can your employees easily find what they’re looking for from the contents?

Are you able to cancel or amend your trips if you need to?

Have you included taxi travel in your corporate travel policy?

We hope this guide has provided you with a detailed understanding of what your travel policy should include. An equal balance of guidelines, mandatory policies and flexibility should build a winning travel policy for your organisation.

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Company Travel Policy: The Complete Guide + A Free Template

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Traveling on business has become the norm in our busy, work-oriented society, and so is a company travel policy with this trend.

Despite all the technological advancements, getting a chance to talk to clients face to face or pitch a business project in person still beats sometimes messy communications apps. 

Since travel is neither cheap nor easy, it's best to set clear expectations and rules ahead of time. A company travel policy will outline the procedures for employees on company-paid trips to avoid any issues that might arise in the process.

Our comprehensive guide to company travel policies will give you an idea about the kind of information and provisions the Policy should include. 

We'll also provide you with a free template that you can use to quickly deploy a company travel policy of your own.

What Is Travel Policy?

A company travel policy, also known as a corporate travel policy, is an  internal document that outlines how business-related expenses are handled within the company . 

It covers everything from defining what a business-related expense is and isn't to how to remain safe if traveling alone and everything in between. Most importantly, it makes it clear who's in charge of approving expenses and reimbursements and who takes care of the actual booking.

Among other things, a travel policy can include:

• Booking responsibilities and the choice of company-approved travel agencies
• Total budget (lodging, travel, daily meals, etc.)
• Company-paid and out-of-pocket expenses
• The approval process and the person in charge of it
• The approval of reimbursements
• Preferred company vendors and partners
• Travel debriefing process
• Travel insurance carrier
• Exceptions to rules for any reason

As you can see, a travel policy is about much more than just saying whether an employee can fly business or not.  Instead, a corporate travel policy is about foreseeing all the situations that can arise from business trips and staying on top of them .

Why Do Companies Need a Travel Policy?

Streamlining processes saves companies a lot of time and money in the long run. Be it onboarding new employees, paying out bonuses, or organizing business trips,  having a system in place will make the process more efficient and reliable .

More importantly, rules and  policies protect both parties from unexpected events and expenses  that could arise from misunderstandings.

A travel policy will help employees manage both business and personal expenses more reliably while also giving them the freedom to book and organize trips how they please.

When employees have strict guidelines, they'll always know what's coming out of their pocket and what expenses the company will incur. 

On the other hand, companies will reduce unnecessary overheads by making it clear what is reimbursable and what isn't. An employee on a business trip with a business card in their wallet can quickly lose sight of the purchases they're making. Your Policy should clearly say what the limit to such expenditures is and draw a line.

A company travel policy will also contribute to fairness and positive company culture as there will be the same set of rules that applies to everyone.

Approving and reimbursing expenses won't be left to the whims of individuals — instead, everyone will abide by the same guidelines.

Another important point needs to be clarified when we're talking about company travel policy. What exactly falls under the category of business travel? We'll address that issue in the section below.

What Counts as Traveling on Business?

Any international or domestic journey that the employee undertakes for the company constitutes traveling on business .

In some cases, companies might try and define what a business trip is depending on the distance that the employee has to travel, but in essence, it should all fall under traveling on business.

It shouldn't matter whether a company is reimbursing its employee for just a bit of gas or a transoceanic flight — if the employee was traveling at the company's behest, all their expenses should be covered.

Of course, this goes only for the expenses mentioned in a company travel policy, which is yet another reason to have such a document in the first place.

How Do You Write a Business Travel Policy?

Now that we've gotten the "what" and "why" out of the way, it's time to address a frequent question:  how do you write a business travel policy?

Writing any Policy can feel daunting since there is a lot to cover and keep in mind. We'll help you write an effective travel policy, step by step. First and most importantly - let's see what you need to include in this document.

What Should Be Included in a Travel Policy?

When you want to create a company travel policy for employees, it's important to include information they really need. For example,  reimbursement is vital for your team , so it should be properly addressed. 

Your employees need to understand what they can get reimbursed for and how to claim those expenses. The reimbursement procedure must be a part of a comprehensive corporate travel policy.

And, of course,  safety is a crucial component  of travel policy for companies. You want this document to have value for your team and to add a layer of protection, so it needs to include travel insurance and emergency procedures too. This is especially important nowadays, given the fact that both Coronavirus and Monkeypox are circulating the globe. 

The list below will give you an idea of the basics that are usually included in the company travel policy for employees:

• The introductory part  that explains what will the travel policy cover and why it is important for the employees
• The travel booking procedure  and business travel booking tool - are both approved by you. This section should also contain exact timeframes for booking and approvals
• Expense categories  include details on what's reimbursable in each one. Your Policy should clearly state whether items like meal expenses are included. 
• Non-reimbursable purchases . This part of the travel policy is important, as it cites what isn't covered and therefore must be paid by the employee if they want it.
• Expense reports and reimbursement requests  - how to submit them
• Travel support and emergency procedures , including travel insurance and duty of care vendors 

These are the essential elements that are usually listed in a corporate travel policy. Still, you are free to expand it or tailor it in any other way, so it suits your business needs.

Pro tip:  Before you make your corporate travel policy official, reach out to one or more frequent travelers for feedback. They'll be able to fill any gaps and assess whether it's clear and to the point.

Avoid Common Company Travel Policy Mistakes

The most frequent mistake companies make when creating their travel policies is making the document  too challenging to understand . This means that the Policy is either too loosely and unprofessionally written or that it's too strict and bureaucratic.

Both of these extremes make understanding travel policies unlikely.

Give your policy structure and decide on a tone of voice you'd like to use throughout the document. Then, try to be as consistent as you possibly can. The tone can be serious and official, but it doesn't have to be robotic. If your employees need a lawyer to make heads or tails of your Policy, you haven't done a good job.

Another common mistake is  not using technology to your full advantage .  Tracking mileage , employee expenses, and  their location  and then aggregating that data can help you manage travel budgets accordingly. Without tech-based solutions, you'll have to record every receipt and every tiny detail of the employee's trip. It's time-consuming, ineffective, and annoying at best.

Read our article on the best GPS employee tracker apps and find out which solution is right for your business.

Get Your Free Company Travel Policy Template Now

Now that you've learned how to create an effective and comprehensive corporate travel policy, we'll provide you with more guidance on the matter:  a sample company travel policy for employees in a PDF format . You can download and print it or use it as a foundation for your internal document.

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Blog / Business Travel / How to Create a Corporate Travel Policy & Implement it Correctly

Business Travel

How to create a corporate travel policy & implement it correctly.

A strong corporate travel policy is the unsung hero in business travel.

A corporate travel policy is a company’s comprehensive set of guidelines to manage business travel. It covers travel costs, meal expenses, business travel accommodation , and ground transportation. The primary goal is to streamline travel arrangements, control expenses, and ensure employee safety during business trips. A well-defined corporate travel policy benefits both employees and the organization by providing clear guidelines on travel expenses, booking processes, and reimbursement procedures.

Business travel managers play a pivotal role in implementing these travel policies — they ensure compliance with the company’s travel policy, manage costs effectively, and oversee the entire travel program. It is a nuanced role that involves negotiating with preferred suppliers, handling emergencies, and keeping abreast of cultural differences in various locations. But, following a few tips can make a big difference in supporting company culture and ensuring business travelers' safety, productivity, and comfort.

Why Having a Corporate Travel Policy is Essential

A corporate travel policy is essential for all types of business travel for several reasons. Firstly, it sets clear guidelines for employees, detailing what is covered under travel expenses and helping them select air travel, a rental car, and hotel accommodations. This clarity helps manage corporate travel more efficiently and prevents confusion regarding expense claims.

For the organization, a corporate travel policy helps control costs and ensures that employees use company money judiciously. It also facilitates compliance with a finance team and other documentation requirements, like submitting expenses within a set time frame or adhering to daily allowances. Additionally, such policies are crucial for managing risks associated with business travel. The approach keeps employees safe during their travels by defining travel insurance requirements, emergency contacts, and procedures for different situations.

A corporate travel policy is much more than a document — it’s a crucial tool for managing business travel effectively, keeping employees safe, and controlling travel-related expenses. 

Benefits for Your Company

The 2023 Corporate Travel Study from Deloitte Insights found that about half of respondents report that employees’ expectations of luxury services and the need for flexible or last-minute bookings are pushing costs up in 2023. Implementing a corporate travel policy helps manage and control travel costs effectively. It ensures employees follow set guidelines for expenses like air travel, accommodation, and ground transportation, leading to significant savings. Here are more of the benefits that a travel policy provides:

• Risk Management: A well-defined travel policy includes corporate travel risk management software , which minimizes risks associated with business trips and keeps company assets safe.
• Policy Compliance: A corporate travel policy improves compliance with internal and external company rules, reducing the likelihood of legal or financial issues and points travelers to certain suppliers.
• Streamlined Processes: Clear travel policies streamline the booking process, expense reporting, and reimbursement process, making managing corporate travel more efficient.
• Employee Safety: Ensures employee safety during travel through guidelines on travel insurance, emergency contacts, and medical expenses.
• Enhanced Travel Program Management: Allows travel managers to work closely with preferred suppliers, negotiate better rates, and manage the overall travel program more effectively.
• Consistency Across Locations: Ensures consistency in travel arrangements and policies across different locations, fostering a unified company culture.
• Data and Reporting: Facilitates accurate tracking and reporting of travel expenses, helping the finance team budget and forecast.

Benefits for Your Employees

With a well-defined travel policy, employees understand what expenses are covered, such as business class flights, rental cars, and meal expenses, leading to fewer misunderstandings and disputes. Employees can make travel arrangements within the policy framework, offering them a sense of autonomy. Business travel has many benefits, from professional development and entertaining clients to cultural exposure, and a fair and well-managed travel policy opens the door to all of these opportunities, increasing employee loyalty and reflecting the company’s commitment to their well-being.

The travel policy also includes provisions for comfortable travel arrangements, like corporate housing , and accounts for their safety with emergency contacts and travel insurance provisions ensuring their safety and peace of mind while traveling.

Key Elements of a Thorough Corporate Travel Policy

Incorporating these elements into your corporate travel policy will clarify the travel process and business purpose and ensure compliance and efficiency in managing business travel. By addressing these key areas, businesses can create a travel policy that meets their specific needs and objectives while keeping their employees informed and prepared for their business trips.

A Clearly Defined Purpose Statement 

The purpose statement establishes the overall objectives and goals of the corporate travel policy. It communicates the company’s approach towards business travel. This statement is a reference point for all policy decisions, ensuring they align with the company’s values and travel objectives.

• To ensure safe, cost-effective, and efficient travel arrangements for all employees.
• To align travel practices with the company’s ethical standards and sustainability goals.
• To provide clear guidelines on allowable expenses and travel procedures.

Process For Gaining Permissions & Booking Trips

The travel policy outlines employees' steps to approve their business trips, ensuring transparency and consistency in the decision-making process. It provides specific directives on how far in advance employees should book their trips, what booking tools to use, and the preferred suppliers.

• Employees must submit travel requests via the company’s booking tool at least two weeks in advance.
• Approval from direct supervisors and the travel manager is required for all international travel.
• Use of preferred suppliers for booking flights, accommodations, and ground transportation

Accommodation Booking Guidelines 

The travel policy establishes what procedures to follow when booking accommodations for business travel, including the use of preferred suppliers, a booking window that falls at least two weeks in advance to secure the best rates and availability, and adherence within the allocated budget for accommodation, considering factors like location, safety, and amenities.

• Use the company’s booking tool for all hotel reservations.
• Choose corporate housing options that meet the company’s safety and quality standards.
• Prioritize accommodations that offer essential amenities for business travelers.

Use of Alternative Transportation

The Deloitte study found that four in 10 European companies and a third of US companies say they need to reduce travel per employee by more than 20% to meet their 2030 sustainability targets. But it doesn't have to be that way: Corporate travel policies can optimize sustainable decision-making, encourage business travelers to select electric rental cars, and consider carbon emissions when choosing a flight. Of course, they'll need to keep cost and safety in mind.

• Opt for rail travel, which is more economical or efficient than air travel.
• Use ride-sharing services for short distances instead of renting cars.
• Employ eco-friendly transportation options, such as bicycles or electric scooters, for short commutes.

Expense Guidelines 

The corporate travel policy outlines specific per diem costs and allowances for items such as food and lodging. A per diem sets a daily allowance that covers meal expenses, with adjustments based on the cost of living in the travel location, and includes minor, necessary expenses such as tips and public transportation fees. The all-in-one travel and expense management platform Navan highlights how having a modern expense management tool can streamline these processes and make the policy accessible at the time of swipe.

• Allocating a daily meal allowance based on the city or country of travel.
• Capping hotel expenses at a predetermined rate per night.
• Reimbursing for minor, incidental expenses with proper documentation.

Guidelines for Travel Safety 

For travel safety, the policy should include specific guidelines for employees traveling alone, focusing on staying in secure locations and maintaining regular contact with the company, and clear instructions for handling emergencies, including contact details for local embassies and medical facilities.

• Mandatory safety briefings for solo travelers.
• Providing a list of emergency contacts and medical facilities in the travel destination.
• Choosing AltoVita accommodations that meet rigorous safety standards.

Reimbursement Procedures 

To claim and get company money reimbursed for business travel expenses, employees should submit expense reports within a specified time frame after the completion of the trip and provide all necessary receipts and documentation for expenses incurred during the trip. Expense claims must be approved, often involving the direct supervisor and the finance team.

• Using a designated expense reporting tool to file all claims.
• Keeping all meal, lodging, and transportation receipts for submission.
• Adhering to the company’s guidelines on the maximum limits for various expense categories.

How to Implement Your Corporate Travel Policy

Implementing a corporate travel policy effectively involves several key strategies, each designed to ensure that the policy is not only understood and accepted but also adhered to by all employees. 

• Communication Strategy: Keep employees informed of any policy updates or changes. Considering that corporate travel spend is projected to surpass half of 2019 levels in the first half of 2023, it's vital to keep everyone updated on the evolving travel landscape​​. Leverage various communication platforms like emails, intranet, and meetings to reach all employees effectively.
• Policy Documentation and Accessibility: Ensure the travel policy is accessible to all employees. With international trips growing and accounting for a significant share of travel costs, having a readily accessible policy is crucial for informing employees about international travel guidelines​​. Create a user-friendly policy document clearly outlining corporate travel's do's and don'ts.
• Approval Workflows: Develop a transparent and efficient process for travel approvals. This is important as about half of the companies report increasing costs due to the need for flexible or last-minute bookings​​. Implement digital tools for quicker and more transparent approval workflows.
• Employee Support and Assistance: Offer support services, such as a 24/7 helpline, especially for international travel, which is increasing in frequency​​. Conduct training sessions to educate employees about travel policies, focusing on areas like sustainable travel, a growing concern for many businesses​​.
• Monitoring and Enforcement: Continuously monitor travel activities to ensure adherence to the policy. Almost half, or 45%, of companies, limit travel frequency to control costs, indicating the importance of monitoring to manage expenses​​. It shouldn’t be this way! Establish clear consequences for non-compliance to maintain the integrity of the travel policy.
• Feedback Mechanisms: Regularly collect employee feedback to understand their needs and challenges. This is crucial as employees’ expectations of services and flexible bookings influence travel costs​​. Use the feedback to refine and improve the travel policy continually.

Best Practices for Business Travel Managers: A Checklist

Follow this checklist of best practices to enhance your business-class corporate travel policy's effectiveness significantly: 

Regularly Update and Review the Policy

Travel managers must ensure that the company’s corporate travel policy stays current and reflects the ever-changing business travel landscape, which includes adapting to new travel trends, regulatory changes, and company needs. A regular review schedule is crucial.

• Review Frequency: Conduct semi-annual or annual reviews of the travel policy.
• Stay Informed: Keep abreast of industry changes, such as new travel technologies or shifts in travel costs.
• Engage Stakeholders: Involve various departments in the review process, such as finance, HR, and operations, to get diverse perspectives.

Use Clear Communication

Transparent communication is vital when implementing policy changes. Travel managers should use clear, concise language and diverse channels to ensure all employees understand the travel policy.

• Multi-Channel Communication: Use emails, company intranet, meetings, and newsletters to communicate changes.
• Feedback Mechanism: Encourage feedback from employees to gauge understanding and gather suggestions.
• Regular Reminders: Send out periodic reminders about critical aspects of the travel policy.

Create Employee Awareness

Educating employees about the travel policy is as important as the policy itself. Travel managers should develop strategies to ensure employees understand the travel policy best practices well.

• Training Sessions: Organize regular training sessions to walk employees through the travel policy.
• Informational Materials: Develop easy-to-understand guides, FAQs, and policy summaries.
• Accessibility: Ensure the travel policy is accessible to all employees, possibly through the company’s internal portal.

Nurture Supplier Relationships

Building strong relationships with travel suppliers can lead to better deals, enhanced service, and a more personalized travel experience. This aspect ties back to AltoVita’s emphasis on customer support and personalization for business travelers.

• Regular Communication: Keep in constant touch with suppliers to stay updated on new offerings and negotiate better terms.
• Feedback and Improvement: Share input from employees with suppliers to improve the services offered.
• Strategic Partnerships: Look for opportunities to turn suppliers into strategic partners, aligning their services with your company’s travel needs.

Adapting Travel Policies to Industry-Specific Legal Requirements

Corporate travel policies must align with stringent legal and regulatory requirements for industries like finance and healthcare. Many businesses in these sectors face unique compliance challenges, making an effective travel policy their best friend. Here’s a complete guide to navigating these complexities:

• Address Specific Compliance Challenges: Some industries require employees to follow different rules, especially during business trips. A corporate travel policy document should clearly articulate these requirements. For instance, in finance, the policy should address handling sensitive information on a business trip, while healthcare might focus on transporting medical equipment.
• Customized Policy Elements: Travel policies in these sectors should include elements that address these unique requirements. For instance, finance companies might need guidelines for handling confidential client information on the go. In contrast, healthcare organizations might need to consider the transport of medical equipment or samples.
• International and Industry-Specific Requirements: It makes sense to include clear communication of international legal requirements in your company travel policy. Traveling to other locations might involve additional expenses, such as specific insurance or vaccinations. Industry-specific legal requirements should also be a crucial part of your business travel policy, requiring employees to adhere to specific guidelines when they fly business class or use rental cars.
• Documenting and Reporting: To meet audit and regulatory requirements, implement thorough documentation and reporting procedures for travel-related expenses. This might include detailed expense reports and the necessity to use certain approved suppliers.

Key Takeaway

For effective travel policy compliance, it’s essential to consider the unique needs of your business. This includes everything from managing costs of business expenses, like entertainment expenses and alcoholic beverages, to ensuring that all travel expense policy elements are in place. An expense report should be easy to submit, and the booking process for flights and car rentals should align with your expense policy. 

A well-communicated and thoroughly understood corporate travel policy is not just a document — it’s a tool to improve travel policy compliance across many businesses, making company travel a smoother and more enjoyable experience for every business traveler.

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Guidelines to create an effective international travel policy for employees

In this Article

A company’s travel and expense policy work as a guidebook for both the company and the employees. A typical company travel policy will include how expense reimbursement works, limits on expenses, costs covered by companies, etc. In some companies, T&E policies are made mandatory to follow, whereas in others it is more flexible.

However, there’s no denying that effective international travel policies help not only to control employee business expenses but also account for employee well-being. Policies allow employers to have some degree of control over employee experience and safety. 

In this article, we will talk about why companies need an international travel policy for employees and what to include in it. We will also look into how you can enforce your policies effectively. So, let’s get right to it!

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‍ Balancing expense policy compliance and happy employees

Why should your business have an international travel policy for employees

All established companies have an international travel policy for employees, but what about small businesses ? Do they require one? 

If your employees travel at least twice a year, it is advisable to create an international business travel policy for employees. With an effective T&E policy, travel arrangements can be made according to the company's financial standing. Additionally, finance teams can also achieve a certain level of compliance. Expense policy compliance is vital when it comes to cost-saving as well as for your traveler's safety. 

‍ How can expense policy compliance benefit your business?

When you have a well-defined travel policy in place,

• Bookings such as transportation, accommodations, meals, etc. can be organized to meet the company's budget as well as employee satisfaction.
• By setting specific limits on expenses, the business can limit overspending and help the company avoid potential frauds.
• Having a company policy can enhance employee travel experience. Additionally, defined procedures protect employees; in case of any unaccounted incidents.
• Business trips account for expenses in different categories. With a clear policy in place, finance teams can streamline the expense reimbursement process for traveling employees.

What to cover in your international travel policy for employees?

There are multiple aspects to consider while making a corporate travel policy for your employees. Your travel policies should highlight vital points which can be of help to both your finance teams and employees. Some points to incorporate into your company’s policy are:

Listing expense categories and limits

The policy should highlight on what category of business expenses the employees can avail reimbursements. The expense categories would mostly include costs such as — food, hotels, rental car, etc. Also, your expense policies must communicate spending limits on specific expense categories, if any. 

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Mentioning non-reimbursable items

A company can state what items it would not cover through the policy. For example, expenses like alcohol, child-care, hotel or airplane upgrades, etc. may not be covered by a specific company. These expenses should be mentioned clearly in a section of the expense policy.

‍ How to create an IRS compliant expense reimbursement policy

Defining procedures around reporting expenses

Expense reporting is a necessary procedure to make sure expenses are as per the set limit. Additionally, it is crucial to make sure the employees get reimbursed for personal expenses made for the business. Employees should know how to report their business expenses and what documentation is required to ensure they get reimbursed. 

 Here are some important aspects your travel policy must contain:

• How and where can employees report their expenses?
• What’s the timeframe within which they need to report it?
• What do employees have to include with their expense reports? (receipts, form, invoice, etc.)
• What are the expected timelines for employee reimbursements?

Pointers to keep in mind: 

• For international travel, the currency also varies from region to region. The policy should state what is the preferred mode of payment (if any) and how to report it. 
• In case your company would like to reclaim the VAT from a VAT-related country, the required procedure must state it as well. 
• If reclaiming VAT, tax authorities are often very strict with providing proof of expenses. In such cases, your policy should mention the importance of documentation of all business expenses.

Streamlining the expense approval process

The entire process of international travel involves several departments working together to get work done. Starting from request to reimbursement, there are a lot of processes involved. For example, flight and hotel booking should all be taken care of before the official date of travel. 

To ensure smooth functioning the entire process for approval and processing should be described clearly in your expense policy. This also helps employees have a pleasant experience while on business travel. 

Most companies opt for a Travel Management Company (TMC) and some, an internal travel agent to ensure seamless international travel for employees.

Communicating safety policies and insurance details

Work travel has almost become a part of an employee’s work routine. But the risks associated with travel cannot be eliminated. Both the company and the employee have to be ready for unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, riots, car accidents, political violence, etc. Businesses can mitigate these risks through insurance and risk management. 

In case an employee is injured while away from home, several insurances may apply. This can be employee compensation, personal accident coverage, employee benefits program, etc. In such cases, the employee must be made aware of the same. Additionally, before travel, the finance teams should educate employees on how to tackle emergencies, if any. The potential for unexpected events that require remedy while staff are traveling is so varied, that it’s essential that they understand in advance how they are protected and what action to take, especially if they’re using a company car or a larger vehicle like a truck or semi-truck.

According to Shuman Legal , the majority of accidents regarding trucks result from human error, mechanical failure, drunk driving, or where the company has failed to maintain its vehicles to current inspection standards - so it’s imperative you take the necessary steps to protect your employees. Employees should know about the different types of insurances that cover them, emergency contacts and other such information.

How can an expense management software help enforce international travel policy for employees?

According to an Aberdeen Group report,

“Investing in an end-to-end travel expense management software can result in a 44% increase in compliance.”

Nowadays, businesses are actively moving towards expense management softwares to manage their business expenses. Automated solutions not only make the process of expense reporting a breeze but also ensure policy compliance. Hence, they are becoming the go-to solutions for all businesses looking to put a stop to their expense management woes. 

How can Fyle help enforce international travel policy for employees?

Automated travel request workflows

‍ Once the employee has placed a travel request with all the required details (place, date, hotel preference, etc.), the manager reviews it. After review, it can then be sent to an internal travel agent to take care of the bookings. This reduces hassle and miscommunication between all the parties involved. 

Real-time policy enforcement

‍ With effective policies in place, finance folks can monitor and control overspending. Additionally, real-time policy checks take place to ensure no policy violations, expense fraud, or out-of-policy expenses slip through. Any off-limit expenses are flagged immediately, which then can be marked and resolved by the approving managers. Automatic flagging of policy violations increases employee compliance and better policy enforcement.

Seamless expense reporting

Our receipt scanner allows employees to never worry about receipts. On using Fyle, a receipt can be instantly clicked, scanned, and saved to create an expense report. We also support multi-currency transactions. This means your employees can seamlessly report expenses irrespective of the country or city they traveled to. This makes the entire process a matter of just a few clicks. 

The end result

Expense management is a cumbersome process. It requires multiple teams to pull strings to get work done. This translates to overlapping documents, miscommunication, and increased chances of error and fraud. This is why businesses resort to drafting policies. But enforcement of these policies is a whole different ball game. This is where an expense management software comes into play. 

A travel and expense management software eliminates confusion by allowing all stakeholders access to one central dashboard to manage all reimbursements. It also comes with customizable policy engines that check for violations at the source of expense creation. This excludes any human intervention in the verification process. This allows for a seamless and unified process, which results in higher productivity.

We recommend you invest in a modern and intuitive expense management software like Fyle. We help businesses streamline and automate all aspects of expense management. We not only enable seamless expense reporting and policy enforcement but also empower businesses to keep track of all your business expenses .

Need a helping hand to fix your expense management roadblocks? Schedule a demo today to see how Fyle can get things done!

Akhono Seleyi

Akhono turns beautiful data into digestable stories. When she’s not at her desk writing, you can be sure she’s busy pinning designs for her dream house in Pinterest.

How to Create an Effective International Travel Policy for Employees

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How to write a corporate travel policy

In today's fast-paced world, travel has become an essential part of doing business for organizations from startups to enterprises. Without proper guidelines in place, however, travel expenses can quickly become tough to manage. That's where a corporate travel policy comes in. In this post, we’ll give you an overview of what you need to know.

This article explores travel policy topics, including:

What is a corporate travel policy?

Why does your company need a travel policy, how to write your corporate travel policy.

• Key topics to cover in your policy
• 7 Common roadblocks when creating a comprehensive policy

A travel policy is a set of guidelines that covers the rules and regulations regarding employee travel. It may cover topics such as travel and accommodations booking, reimbursement procedures, and travel expenses. A travel policy ensures that travel expenses get managed effectively and that all expenses are within the company's budget.

Having a travel policy offers many benefits for employees and for your company. It helps ensure compliance, improve safety, and enhance the overall travel experience for your employees. For example, a clear travel policy can make employees aware of the company’s guidelines and what the recommendations are for avoiding risks related to security issues and other incidents. A well-crafted policy can also help improve employee morale and satisfaction, as they'll know what to expect when they're on the road.

An in-depth exploration of business traveler and travel manager priorities, in partnership with GBTA.

Writing a travel policy may seem like a daunting task, but when you have guidelines for where to focus your attention, it becomes much easier. Consider these tips the starting line to put travel policies together.

Identify your company’s travel needs

Determine the purpose of the travel policy. What are your primary goals? Example goals might include needing to stay within company budget, complying with safety and security regulations, or streamlining travel processes. Consider the types of travel your team members will participate in, including domestic or international travel, and the frequency of travel. This information will help you develop a clear and concise policy that addresses the specific needs of your company.

Set your guidelines

The next step is to make note of the dos and don’ts for employees booking travel. This includes identifying and approving vendors that employees should use. Specify the reimbursement rates for each type of expense. Make sure that the guidelines are easy to understand and that they align with the goals you set for yourself in the first step.

Establish approval and reporting procedures

After you define the guidelines for booking travel, it’s important to establish the process for obtaining approval for travel and reporting expenses. Define who has the authority to approve travel requests and what criteria to consider before approving them. There should also be a process for reporting expenses and submitting reimbursement requests.

In addition, outline what documentation employees need, like receipts or invoices, to support each expense. Your process should specify how long employees have to submit their expenses for reimbursement and what the timeline is for receiving their funds.

Consider flexible options for your employees

Flexibility is key to creating an effective corporate travel policy. By providing a range of options and accommodating individual preferences, you can encourage adherence and increase employee satisfaction, all while maintaining control over your travel budget.

Here are a few ideas about where to add flexibility to your policy:

Encourage local experiences: Support employees in exploring local businesses, like restaurants and independent retail locations that cater to their preferences.

Include alternative lodging options: Employees who prefer a more home-like environment or require longer stays may appreciate choices like serviced apartments or co-living spaces.

Provide a travel allowance: This approach empowers employees to make their own decisions about some of their travel-related expenses while staying within a predefined budget.

Think through formatting

Employees should be able to quickly understand your travel guidelines. It may be helpful to create a travel policy template with headings, bullet points, and other formatting elements to make it easier to comprehend and navigate. Additionally, it’s important to ensure that the policy is accessible to all employees. You can do this by making the travel guidelines available in print and digital versions.

Key topics to cover in your business travel policy

There’s no one-size-fits-all method for creating a corporate travel policy, but there are best practices. Consider the 3 concepts below as key pillars as you build out your document.

Travel arrangements

It's essential to clearly outline which modes of transportation and accommodations are acceptable, in order to avoid any confusion. For instance, you may want to make sure employees stay in hotels that you’ve preselected or have them fly with preferred airlines. To make the booking process easier, consider using company-approved travel agents or online booking tools that meet your standards.

Expenses and reimbursement

Another critical topic to cover is travel expenses and reimbursement. According to Runzheimer’s Business Travel Expense Trends: Conference Travel Costs report from 2020, the average business trip cost is divided among lodging (34%), airfare (27%), meals (20%), and car rentals (19%). Many companies set per diems for these expenses to simplify the tracking and reporting process. Consider this as you develop your plans and define the expenses that are reimbursable.

Additionally, you may decide to invest in resources that assist employees with expense reporting, like a mobile app or online platform. For example, with Uber for Business , employee ride and meal receipts can flow directly into your expense provider dashboard. This helps employees save time by not needing to track down receipts.

Safety and security

Another topic that you’ll want to cover is travel safety and security. In this section of your policy, establish guidelines including recommendations on what to do if a problem arises and which locations are currently unsafe.

Consider providing employees with resources, such as specific training and emergency contact information. By prioritizing travel safety and security in your policy, you can help employees stay out of harm’s way while traveling and help ensure that the company isn’t taking on unnecessary risks.

7 common roadblocks when creating a comprehensive policy

Landing on the right standards for business travel comes with a specific set of challenges. Let’s take a closer look at the 7 common obstacles businesses face when developing their corporate travel policy and how to overcome them.

Balancing company needs with employee preferences . It can be a challenge to develop a travel policy that meets the needs of the company while also considering the preferences and needs of employees. To make a policy effective, strike a balance between cost efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Keeping up with travel regulations . Travel regulations can change, which makes it difficult to always have the right information. Many countries, for example, frequently assess and revise entry policies. You must stay up to date with changing requirements and adjust your documentation accordingly.

Ensuring consistency . Making sure travel policies are followed consistently across all departments and employees is not easy. Create a system that can monitor and enforce policy compliance.

Addressing unique travel needs . Employees may have travel needs—such as disabilities or medical conditions—that require special attention. Consider these unique needs so that you can provide the necessary accommodations and resources.

Communicating the policy effectively . It’s essential to share the details about this initiative with all employees and make sure they know where to find relevant information. Establish a process for introducing the guidelines, and be sure to have a plan to address questions and concerns.

Auditing expenses . Regular monitoring and reporting can help ensure that you’re on track with the budget. Make time to review travel expenses so that everything lines up as expected.

Keeping the travel policy current . As technologies and employee needs evolve, it’s important to routinely review and update your policy so that it remains relevant and effective. You’ll also want to ask employees regularly for feedback.

Streamlining the overall business travel experience doesn’t have to be complicated. By addressing critical elements like travel arrangements, expenses and reimbursement, and safety, you can create a functional travel policy that caters to the needs of both your company and your employees.

Are you looking for a way to manage corporate travel with ease? Uber for Business offers a range of features to help companies enforce their travel policies. With Uber for Business, companies can set spending limits for employees, track expenses, and receive detailed reports on employee travel.

Frequently asked questions

The purpose of a company travel policy is to provide employees with guidelines for booking travel, managing expenses, and staying safe while traveling. A travel policy helps to ensure that all employees are following the same standards and procedures for travel, and it can help manage expenses and reduce risk for the company. By providing clear guidelines and resources for travel, a company travel policy can improve efficiency and reduce stress for employees who travel frequently.

A comprehensive travel policy should cover topics such as travel booking and arrangements, travel expenses and reimbursement, travel safety and security, and approval and reporting procedures. This includes guidelines for which modes of transportation are acceptable, which accommodations are approved, and the maximum amounts that can be reimbursed for meals, lodging, and transportation. It should also specify the process for obtaining approval for travel and for reporting expenses and submitting reimbursement requests.

Corporate travel policy best practices include investing the time needed to create a clear and comprehensive policy, prioritizing safety, leveraging technology, and continually reviewing and updating the policy. Together, these elements will help ensure that your travel policy remains relevant and effective.

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Company travel policy guidelines and topics to include

If you’re wondering what to include in your company travel policy, don’t worry, we’ve laid it out for you here. There’s a number of travel-related expenses to consider as well as policies and procedures needed to make the travel and expense process seamless for the employer and employee. Read on to learn about employee travel management best practices and how to create a comprehensive travel policy.

Why do you need a company travel policy?

In some industries, business travel accounts for a large portion of business’ expenses and employee time.

Even if you don’t think you’ll need a travel policy because your staff does not travel frequently, consider things like annual industry conferences, company meetings or events, and training or collaboration with other offices or worksites. This policy may only be used once a year for some companies, but if you don’t at least have the procedures clearly recorded it can create a huge amount of hassle and confusion.

Having clear policies in place simplifies the process for both parties. Employees understand how to go about booking travel and submitting for reimbursement of travel expenses. Employers can ensure that travel arrangements are made in a cost-effective manner and that proper expense reporting occurs.

Having set guidelines for travel also makes the travel management process transparent and fair to all staff. Employees should all receive the same travel budget, aside from adjustments made due to differences in location costs or business needs. Without clear guidelines, one employee may be booking first class seats and five star hotels while another books economy and low budget accommodations. It’s best for your company culture to provide equitable travel experiences across the board where possible.

Travel approval

Define your policy and approval process for business travel authorization.

How far in advance should employees request approval for business travel? In some industries and job roles, advance notice may be limited. However, in many cases business travel can be planned out several weeks or a month in advance. Planning ahead will usually allow for the company or employee to book air travel and accommodations at lower rates.

Also be sure to include who travel requests should be submitted to and what needs to be included. Some employers ask for expense estimates prior to authorizing a trip.

Depending on your industry, you may want a separate policy for conference attendance authorization and trip planning. Trips for trade shows, trainings, and conferences can be planned further in advance, but you’ll want to ensure that attendance will be worthwhile. Some businesses have a set budget or allowance for employees to travel to attend industry conferences or training.

Travel booking

Clarify your company’s travel management style and booking process. Are employees allowed to book their own travel or is there an administrator in charge of all travel bookings?

If travel is something that members of your organization will be doing frequently, it’s usually easiest to allow employees to book their own rooms, flights, and rental cars. However, it’s a good idea to put some guidelines in place on costs, upgrades, and expense reimbursement procedures.

Large employers with frequent business travel sometimes use a travel booking tool to help employees book travel in one central place and within the constraints of the company’s travel policy. These tools can be helpful, but if you don’t have one yet it’s not a problem – not every company will need a booking tool. Sites like Expedia or Priceline work just fine for the average travel booker.

Lastly, some employees do prefer to book travel for their employees. Often an administrative staff member will help with booking or department heads can book for their department. This gives the employer more control over managing travel expenses and ensuring that travel policies are followed. However, it is generally preferable to give employees some input as it tends to improve their experience and morale. If an employee has a particular preference on airline, flight times, or hotel it’s a good idea to accommodate those preferences if they don’t add too much to the cost or interfere with planned business activities.

Meal reimbursements or per diems

Employees need to eat while they’re traveling, and it is customary for employers to cover those costs within reason.

You have three solid options to choose from in terms of employee travel meal expenses.

Offer a Per Diem

A per diem is a fixed daily amount that employees are reimbursed for food or incidental expenses during their business trip. Lodging is also sometimes handled with per diems. Sometimes per diems are paid prior to the trip so that staff do not need to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement for expenses. This method is used by the federal government but also some private employers. It can make the expense process simpler as individual receipts don’t need to be saved and submitted and the company can accurately estimate the cost of a proposed business trip. Businesses should still have employees fill out a general expense report with the dates, business purpose of the expense, and amount for tax purposes (per diems are not taxed as long as they are properly accounted for and used for business purposes). It varies by individual company policy whether employees can keep or be reimbursed for per diems that they did not fully spend while on the trip.

Reimburse meal expenses

The classic option is to allow employees to buy their own food while traveling and submit their receipts upon return for reimbursement. Employers often set spending limits and many do not allow alcohol purchased with meals to qualify for reimbursement.

Provide a company credit card

A company credit card allows employees to avoid having to pay up front and wait for reimbursement. This is a good idea for employees that travel frequently and do not wish to constantly have personal funds tied up in hotel room deposits and reimbursable meal expenses. If your staff will be entertaining others on trips such as clientele or prospects, a company card is a must. It’s reasonable to have employees buy their own meals, but asking them to regularly buy clients dinner on their personal cards is a bit excessive. However, you should definitely have a company credit card policy in place prior to providing a card.

Employees should sign an agreement taking responsibility for reporting a lost or stolen card or suspicious charges immediately. They should also agree that the card is for business use only and to reimburse the company for any personal expenses placed on the card in error.

Many of us do not enjoy flying, but it is a large component of most business trips. Be sure to lay out any policies or restrictions on airfare or flight options.

Can employees book seats in business class? Most companies steer their staff towards economy class plane tickets, but be sure to list any applicable exceptions. For instance, at off-peak travel times, business class may occasionally be cheaper or the same price as economy class once things like in-flight wi-fi and baggage fees are factored in. Some companies also allow employees to book premium seats for unusually long flights such as international travel.

You can also include whether employees can use things like frequent flyer miles or other rewards accumulated through business travel for personal use. Ultimately it is the employee doing the travel even if the employer is footing the bill, and air travel can be grueling, so it’s generally worth providing this small benefit to employees rather than accumulating rewards for the business.

Hotels and accomodations

If business trips are a frequent occurrence at your organization, you may want to partner with a specific hotel chain or vendor. Often you can negotiate a discounted room rate if you book with the hotel for enough nights per year. This can cut down on accommodation costs and makes the hotel booking process simpler. Inform employees to check for rooms at the partnered hotel chain for each of their business travel destinations. This also adds consistency, as all employees receive approximately the same room quality and experience.

Generally employees are directed to book a standard room, meaning no suites or upgrades. This cuts down costs and makes it fairer for everyone. Of course, accessible rooms (sometimes marked as ADA rooms) may be selected for disabled employees needing them. These are offered by most hotels and shouldn’t cost extra to book.

You may also specify whether extra charges will be reimbursed or considered personal expenses. Are employees allowed to raid the mini-bar or order a pay per view movie on the hotel television? If there is an entertainment budget or meal/incidental per diem offered these charges may fall under those categories. Wi-fi and hotel parking are generally considered reimbursable expenses.

Transportation expenses

Most business travelers will require a rental car. Employees should choose an economy option unless they need an upgraded rental card to transport large materials or drive clients. In some circumstances, other transportation methods may be used and expenses should be tracked by the employee. For example, it may be more cost effective for an employee visiting New York City to use taxis, rideshare, or the subway to get around as parking in the city may be excessively expensive and impractical.

Many businesses also reimburse public transportation or ride share costs to and from the airport.

Travel insurance

Specify whether or not employees should buy travel insurance. Some companies outright prohibit staff from opting in to extra insurance on flights and travel costs. However, if there is a possibility of trip cancellation, the insurance could come in handy. If the trip is to meet a client or prospective client, consider the client’s industry and prior track record to determine the likelihood that they need to reschedule.

Also check whether staff should pay extra to participate in rental car insurance programs. Your company’s auto insurance policy may cover employees traveling on business. Their personal coverage may also cover them while using a rental car.

Entertainment and other expenses

If employees will be entertaining clients on these trips, specify the budget and what is allowed to be expensed. This may be a scenario where expensing alcohol is allowed, even if it is not generally expensable under your meal policy.

Personal entertainment expenses such as site-seeing or going to bars/events alone after work are generally not reimbursable. Sometimes dry cleaning and personal expenses necessary for professional appearance at important meetings or conferences are reimbursable. Your company can decide what personal expenses, if any, will be eligible for reimbursement.

Also be clear on how personal travel will be handled. Occasionally, employees may request to stay in a business trip location over the weekend to explore the city. This is generally reasonable as long as additional hotel nights or rental car days are paid for by the employee and the change in return dates does not lead to a large increase in airfare costs. Set clear expectations and understandings with the employee prior to approving a trip extension for personal travel.

Expense reimbursement procedure

We’ve talked about the expenses covered for business travel, now it’s time to craft your most important travel policy and let employees know how to submit their expense reports from their business trips.

Give employees a deadline. If expenses are not submitted promptly, the likelihood of a receipt being lost or an expense being forgotten increases. A one week deadline is reasonable. Use your expense reimbursement cycle to guide this policy. Some businesses process expenses monthly and only request monthly reports while others process them weekly or biweekly.

If employees will be traveling and expensing frequently, consider using an expense management app such as Expensify to allow them to upload receipts and expenses as they go from their mobile devices. This can help everyone stay organized and streamline the reimbursement process. A mobile app system is especially useful if you are providing a company card, as employees may be less motivated to submit expenses or save receipts when they are not seeking personal reimbursement.

Let them know the procedures for submitting and receiving reimbursement. Do expense reports go to their department head, human resources, or accounting? What is the submission and payout schedule? Some employers provide reimbursement on employee’s regularly scheduled paychecks while others use a separate system for expenses. Employees want to know when they can expect to receive these funds, so be detailed in order to avoid any questions or confusion. If there’s no set schedule, or you are giving employees a deadline from the date of their return, let employees know what the turn around time will be for processing reimbursements.

Employee conduct

It should go without saying that professional conduct is expected on business trips, but it never hurts to reiterate your company’s policies and expectations.

Remind employees to follow your company’s Code of Conduct and applicable policies while traveling, including vehicle safety policies if driving on the trip. Alcohol consumption policies may be relaxed for business dinners or networking events, but most company policies should still apply while traveling. Employees are representing the company on these trips and should take that responsibility seriously.

Additional resource: Updating your handbooks and company policies? Check our guide to employee handbooks .

WHAT TO READ NEXT

Corporate Travel and Entertainment Policy Best Practices

Traveling employees often incur significant expenses on company-funded trips. But how much is too much? According to recent statistics, businesses spend approximately $799 per person per day on a business trip. Expenses can quickly add up if not carefully watched over.  A travel and entertainment policy outlines what expenses are eligible, how much employees (and sometimes senior management) can spend on business-related travel and the specific terms for reimbursement.

In this article, we’ll explore what a travel and entertainment policy entails and how to make the most out of your business travel resources.

Travel and Entertainment Policy Definition

A travel and entertainment (T&E) policy is a set of regulations that govern business-related travel and entertainment expenses. It sets clear parameters regarding what is acceptable in an employee’s spending of company resources and reimbursement procedures. The policy also highlights acceptable activities for employees while traveling on company business; for instance, meetings and conferences.

Why Do You Need a Company Travel and Entertainment Policy ?

For starters, the primary goal of establishing a clearly defined T&E policy is to ensure that employees clearly understand what is expected of them when it comes to spending company funds on work-related trips. It also sets out the guidelines for hosting or entertaining clients for business purposes. 

The travel and entertainment policy also enables management to mitigate risks associated with misuse of funds and identify potential incidents of fraud, alongside non-compliance with legal requirements. 

With that said, here’s a more detailed breakdown of the main objectives of a travel and entertainment policy :

Fraud Prevention

Unfortunately, deliberate and unintentional fraudulent activity in corporate travel still plagues businesses, leading to significant losses in the long run. In fact, it is estimated that companies lose $125,000 to fraud on average. Although the causes and impact of fraud in business vary by department, traveling employees may contribute to fraudulent activity knowingly or unknowingly.  

This arises from the fact that employee and business goals for travel don’t always align. Occasionally, some employees will seek to benefit themselves at the expense of the company. A comprehensive policy prevents fraud by imposing strict procedures for the use of company resources and submission of the expense reports.

>> Related: 5 Ways FinTech Reduces Fraud <<

Better Resource Management

A well-thought-out travel and entertainment policy ensures that employees only adhere to activities that are acceptable and beneficial for the company’s objectives. For instance, paying for a client lunch meeting may be considered acceptable if it helps in solidifying mutually beneficial working relationships.

With a clear policy in place, businesses can ensure that their employees make the most of their allocated travel and entertainment expenses while avoiding overspending and poor management of company resources.

Cost Savings

As mentioned earlier, corporate travel expenses can pile up as a direct result of poor expense management and fraudulent activity. A corporate travel and entertainment policy shields businesses from such issues. This can be achieved by ensuring that spending on business trips, events, and other related activities is done in accordance with the expenses limited by the policy.

The policy also helps companies save money by ensuring that all expenses are properly accounted for and that the company is getting the best value for its money.

Elements of a Company Travel and Entertainment Policy

Different companies set out different policies that reflect their values and culture. Such elements should be tailored to the specific needs of the organization after taking into consideration its size, budget, regulations, and culture. 

Key elements of a T&E policy include:

The Scope of the Policy

First of all, how a company decides on its travel and entertainment policies does not just revolve around booking flights and hotels. There are regulations and guidelines that govern the spending of the company.

The scope of corporate travel and entertainment policies covers vital details such as: 

• The person/people responsible for authorizing travel.
• Who the policy applies to (junior or senior employees?).
• Possible risks.
• Expense reporting procedures.
• Reimbursement procedures.

The list goes on. In essence, the scope of the policy covers all the expectations for employees when traveling on behalf of the company or attending events.

>> Related: The Importance of Well-Defined Travel and Expense Policies for Businesses <<

Travel Approval/Authorization

All travel expenses, routes, and destinations should be authorized by appropriate managers and supervisors before they are incurred. Authorized expenses ensure that the trip is necessary for business, and will be covered by the company’s travel budget. Additionally, an authorization requirement will further help to prevent fraudulent expenses from being submitted for reimbursement.

Travel Budgeting Limits

While each company will have different budget limits, it is important for employees to stay within the budgeted amount so that expenses are kept under control.

Some key considerations for effective budget limits include:

• The number of days an employee will be expected to be away from work.
• The total cost of the trip.
• The number of people allowed to accompany an employee on a business trip.
• The types of travel that are approved (airfare, car rental, public transport, etc.).
• Spending on meals or entertainment during a business trip.

Once the total cost of the trip is determined, an appropriate limit can be set for how much money an employee can spend. This limit may be based on the number of people traveling with the employee, among other factors.

Travel Risk Management

Travel risk management involves assessing, monitoring, and controlling any risks associated with employee travel. The goal is to protect employees and the organization’s assets from risk by carefully anticipating these risks and adequately planning to mitigate them. 

A risk management plan may include:

• Establishing safety protocols for the use of local transport.
• Using approved agencies, suppliers, and companies to ensure quality services and avoid potential scams when booking flights or hotels.
• Creating a checklist for employees to complete prior to their departure. This checklist can include items such as passport and visa requirements, medical insurance, emergency contacts, etc.
• Employing tracking technology, such as GPS-enabled devices and applications to monitor an employee’s location during travel.
• Developing a communication plan for traveling employees so they can keep in touch with the company.
• Offering security training and advice to employees prior to their departure.
• Establishing an emergency contact list for traveling employees, in case of any incidents or emergencies.
• Ensuring that employees are familiar with local laws and customs before they leave.

By taking proactive steps to manage risks, businesses can ensure the safety of their employees while traveling.

Travel Expense Reporting & Auditing

While T&E policies aim to provide clear travel guidelines for employees, it is important to point out that properly documenting and tracking employee expenses is essential for a company to manage its resources effectively.

Regular auditing further keeps the business compliant with tax regulation policies, and within budget.

When it comes to reporting and auditing travel expenses, there are several measures you can take to ensure accuracy and transparency. 

For starters, clear policies regarding acceptable expenses should be established and communicated to all employees. It should be clearly stated when these expenses must be reported, and more importantly, who is responsible for verifying them. If you’re in charge of a sizeable team, you may also want to consider using automated software systems to monitor and track employee spending in real-time. 

>> Related: Mapping the Travel Expense Accounting Process <<

Action Measures for Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with a company’s corporate travel and entertainment policy can lead to significant financial losses as well as potential legal issues. To ensure that all employees adhere to the rules, a clear action plan must be established for employees who do not comply.

First and foremost, any employee found guilty of violating the policy should receive a formal warning. The warning should be sent via email or letter and should include a detailed explanation of the violation.

If the violation persists, further action may be taken. This depends on company policy around fraud and could include disciplinary measures such as suspension, termination, or even legal action depending on the severity of the situation. 

Regardless, it is important to clearly define these consequences in the travel and entertainment policy so that employees are aware of the potential repercussions.

How to Create an Effective Corporate Travel and Entertainment Policy

Having a clear and effective corporate travel and entertainment (T&E) policy in place can help companies manage their expenses and set expectations for their employees. However, creating a policy that balances employee satisfaction and corporate cost control is no walk in the park.

A well-crafted T&E policy can help organizations save money on their travel and entertainment expenses while also ensuring that employees have a smooth and stress-free experience. 

Here are the key steps taken in developing an effective T&E policy:

Identify the Purpose of the Travel and Entertainment Policy

The purpose of a corporate travel and entertainment policy is to provide guidelines and regulations for traveling employees in their duty to the company. It ensures that company resources are used responsibly and ethically when traveling or entertaining on behalf of the company.

Establish Criteria for Travel

When creating a corporate travel policy, it is important to set clear criteria that determine who is eligible for business travel. Details such as the necessary qualifications, job title, and/or seniority level needed to be eligible for business travel can be outlined in the criteria. Additionally, the criteria for travel define the roles or responsibilities of each person traveling on behalf of the company.

Forecasting Your Budget

Forecasting the budget for business trips helps the company estimate how much money should be allocated for travel expenses and provides insight into which areas are likely to incur the most costs. Forecasting also allows you to set clear expense limits so that employees don’t overspend while on business trips. Some travel management platforms may even help you by calculating dynamic budgets based on real-time rates.

Setting Expense Limits

The policy should also specify which types of expenses are allowable and which are not. This will help employees understand what they can and cannot spend company funds on while traveling, as well as any limits that may apply.

Outlining Acceptable Expenses

It is important to list down what types of expenses are acceptable, as well as the limits on these expenses. 

When it comes to outlining acceptable expenses, there are several categories that should be addressed. Common examples of acceptable expenses in travel and entertainment policies may include transportation, accommodation, meals, and entertainment. It is equally important to specify what types of expenses are not allowed, for instance, personal purchases or services that are unrelated to business travel.

>> Related:  Highlights from the 2023 State of Business T&E Report <<

Handling Expense Claims

Another important aspect of a corporate travel and entertainment policy is to ensure that employees are submitting their expenses properly. To do this, employers should provide clear instructions on how to submit expense claims, as well as any documentation or receipts necessary to support the claim.

Establish a Timeline for Submitting Expense Claims

The company should set clear deadlines for submitting claims and require all claims to be approved before reimbursement is issued. By setting these expectations in advance, you can ensure that all employees are abiding by the same rules when it comes to filing travel and entertainment expenses.

Review All Receipts and Documentation

All receipts and documentation should be properly reviewed. This review should include an in-depth examination of both the original receipts and any accompanying documents. These may include itineraries, expense reports, or other forms of proof.

The purpose of this review is to ensure that any expenses incurred fall in line with the company’s budget. Additionally, the review provides an opportunity to check for any discrepancies or fraudulent activity. If a discrepancy is found, it should be reported to the appropriate supervisor/manager so that any necessary action can be taken.

Compare Expenses to Policy

It is important for businesses to compare employees’ actual expenses to the policy on a regular basis to ensure that all spending is compliant with company regulations.

A good way to compare expenses to policy is by using dedicated expense tracking software . These tools allow companies to track and review employee spending easily, as well as compare it against the policy.

Verify the Accuracy of Expenses

All expenses, no matter how minor, must be reported to the finance department. The responsible supervisor should then assess the accuracy of all expense reports before submitting them for reimbursement. In this process, you should provide a detailed review of individual expense items and overall accuracy of the report as a whole.

>> Related: Sample T&E Dashboards for Proactively Monitoring Compliance, Budget, and Anomalies <<

Follow-Up With Employees

Having a corporate travel and entertainment policy is essential for any business, but it’s just as important to ensure that the policy is being followed. To ensure compliance with company policies and regulations, managers should follow up with their employees regularly.

You should check in with your employees both before and after business trips to ensure that all expenses are properly documented and appropriate. Additionally, you should regularly review employee receipts and other expense documentation to ensure accuracy and compliance with the company’s travel policy.

Pay Approved Claims Promptly

As a business, it is important to pay any approved claims promptly. Doing so helps maintain a positive working relationship with employees and vendors.

When approving claims, ensure the total amount stated in the claim is accurate and all supporting documents are included. Supporting documents may include credit card statements, receipts, and other forms of proof. Additionally, it is important to confirm that the expenses are in line with corporate policy.

Creating a corporate travel and entertainment policy is an important part of a business expense management strategy. By establishing clear criteria for who is eligible for business travel, forecasting the budget, setting expense limits, specifying acceptable expenses, and monitoring spending, companies can ensure that their employee travel activities stay within budget.

What is a travel policy?

A travel policy can be defined as the rules and guidelines established by an organization for business travel matters. Such rules dictate who is eligible to travel, where, and how much they can spend on meals and accommodations. Other essential matters discussed in the policy include reimbursements for expenses.

Why create a business travel policy?

A well-constructed policy helps keep business travel safe, cost-effective, and compliant. The main reason for creating a business travel policy is to protect the organization from financial risks and potential legal issues associated with employee travel.

What should be included in a corporate travel policy?

A comprehensive corporate travel policy contains guidelines for employees and contractors to follow when handling both domestic and international travel expenses. Important matters to be included in the policy should cover reimbursement rates, allowable expenses, booking procedures and restrictions, and safety considerations.

What should you consider when creating a business travel policy?

Key considerations to keep in mind include the destinations and objectives of trips to be taken by employees. The size of the business should also be taken into consideration since startups often don’t have the same resources as established companies.

What’s included in a T&E expense report?

A T&E expense report typically includes details about the dates of travel, expenses incurred, the purpose of travel, and any other relevant information such as airline tickets purchased or hotel accommodation. The names of those attending can also be included along with the cost per person for all meals and entertainment activities.

What travel expenses are deductible?

Generally speaking, several business-related travel and entertainment expenses are deductible. Examples of deductible travel expenses may include transportation (airfare, car rentals, taxis, etc.), lodging (hotel stays), meals, and entertainment.

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Travel Policies: Who Needs One and What to Include

Travel policies, the bibles of a company’s travel program, are more important than you think for saving time, money, and ensuring traveller safety. We take a look at travel policies and why you absolutely need to have one.

What is a travel policy?

Travel policies are documents that outline the different variables of travel and guide the booker or traveller to make decisions for bookings and expense reporting. They must be aligned to the culture and objectives of the business as well as the different people involved in the process: traveller, travel booker, management.

“Simply put, a travel policy is a set of guidelines for business travel. The purpose is to ensure all bookings are made with the business interests in mind. I.e. Making sure one does not book the penthouse or presidential suite for a domestic trip to Sydney for one night. It’s about making cost-effective decisions for the business while considering the health and wellbeing of the traveller.” Jaclyn Reynolds, General Manager NSW/ACT at Corporate Traveller

What are the benefits of a travel policy?

A travel policy is necessary for any company with travelling employees. There are a range of benefits to having a travel policy, not just for the business but also the traveller.

1. Keeps travellers safe

A travel policy is not just about the company. It also serves the purpose of keeping the traveller safe. Companies have a Duty of Care to their travelling employees to ensure their health and safety. It outlines essential details like travel insurance, different flight classes for long-haul flights for the traveller's wellbeing, and even stipulations like travellers must take taxis late at night and avoid public transport.

2. Saves the company money

You’re heading off on a work trip, and although it might be tempting to travel like a star, your company will have a bottom-line to consider. Travel policies outline key items like expected costs for accommodation (you don’t need the presidential suite – unless you’re Oprah), flight costs, and preferred methods of transport. It sets limits so that travellers don’t send the company broke.

3. Streamlines the process

Imagine if you had to check with your manager at every stage of booking your business trip. Can I book this flight? Is this too expensive? Can I pick the closer hotel that’s more expensive? Am I allowed to Uber to the office? Can I expense claim my parking at the airport?

Although it might seem like a day-trip to Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane can’t be that complicated, it’s not just about booking a flight and heading off. There are a number of questions that need to be answered about what the traveller can and can’t do, what they can and can’t book. A travel policy aims to answer all of those questions before anyone asks, to ensure there’s a guide to refer to when making travel decisions. It will save time during the booking process, and you won’t have to ask your manager so many questions.

What to include in a travel policy

A travel policy should consist of everything that you want employees to know AND be accountable for. Remember your travel policy will be enforceable, in case someone decides to go on a spending-spree and you need to address it with them. Travel policies look different from company to company, as travel can vary between different industries. Here is a core list of items that Corporate Traveller recommends each company consider for its travel policy.

1. Your Travel Management Company

Your travel policy should stipulate who you use as a Travel Management Company to ensure the consolidation of the travel program.

Jaclyn Reynolds advises “your TMC will guide you when setting up the travel policy, it’s their job to provide advice and templates to help. At Corporate Traveller we’re also fortunate enough to have great technology and Online Booking Tools that can be incorporated into the travel policy to ensure compliance from bookers and travellers.”

2. Preferred suppliers

Does your company have an agreement with an airline or accommodation supplier? This could impact the way travel is booked and when/where travellers depart from.

“Some companies have agreements with a set airline to access negotiated deals or benefits. If a traveller decides against using the preferred supplier, they will usually need to strongly justify why that was. So, expect questions if you go outside of the policy,” says Jaclyn Reynolds.

4. Travel Insurance

“For international trips, travel insurance is paramount as health care can be more expensive and scarcer in some parts of the world. It’s important to check if your company has a corporate travel insurance policy to cover anyone travelling, or whether you need to purchase individual cover for the trip,” Jaclyn Reynolds advises. To find out more about what travel insurance might suit your business read our Guide to Travel Insurance for Business Travellers .

5. Flight bookings (Class and Price)

While it might be tempting to book business class (who wouldn’t want to), domestic business class flights are usually three-times the cost of economy class. If you’re on a plane for 1-2 hours, is that really worth it? Travel policies outline which class of flight you can purchase and what prices you need to stay under. Jaclyn Reynolds suggests “a lot of our Corporate Traveller customers opt for the ‘best price of the day’ as the preferred fare. We find that for long-haul flights some clients do allow their staff to select Premium Economy or Business class for flights over 10 hours. It ranges from customer to customer though and according to their travel budgets.”

6. Reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses

“This is a really key one, you’d be surprised how many first-time business travellers don’t know they can get certain things reimbursed. Things like reasonable costs for meals (leave the Sydney Opera House dinner for one of your leisure trips) to laundry if you’re on a longer trip. On the flip side, we also find some travellers try to over-claim expenses but things like clothing or toiletry purchases, a haircut or massage, or minibar costs are usually excluded, and you’ll have to pay for them yourself,” says Jaclyn Reynolds. The travel policy will outline clearly what you can and can’t claim as an expense.

Steps to creating a travel policy

There are nine simple steps to creating a travel policy for your business. At Corporate Traveller our expert staff are here to guide you through the process. Contact us today to discuss your options.

• Select a Travel Management Company to assist with your travel policy.
• Define what’s important to your business and involve Finance, Procurement, and HR.
• Identify any existing partnerships or preferred supplier agreements.
• Identify any travel budgets or limits for trips.
• Define the expense and receipts management process.
• Write it all down.
• Distribute to staff.
• Hold staff accountable.
• Review the policy every 6-12 months.

Communicating the travel policy to staff

The travel policy should be distributed to all staff and stored somewhere easily accessible, like the intranet or your Online Booking Tool. Change management is a significant element of implementing or changing a travel policy, and your dedicated Account Manager or Business Leader can guide you through this process to help make the change as pain free as possible. Your dedicated Travel Manager will then support the mandating of the policy on a day-to-day basis when booking travel, to ensure travellers don’t try to push the boundaries.

“The most successful travel programs and policies are where senior management lead by example. So, it must be cascaded from senior management down,” Jaclyn Reynolds.

Companies have the option to have a formal, written travel policy and/or a one-page visual style travel policy. Download an example of Corporate Traveller’s one-page travel policy document.

“We’ve found great success for our customers when they use the one-page document. It’s still important to have the full document accessible by employees, but the one-pager answers the quick questions they’ll need to know,” Jaclyn Reynolds.

Get started today

Looking to create a travel policy? Having the support of a Corporate Traveller Expert is key for this process. Corporate Traveller is here to guide you, drive the policy, and help to educate your travellers on what the policy is and ensure it is mandated. Corporate Traveller helps each of our customers with creating a travel policy as part of our onboarding process. Contact us today to get started .

Keep travel within budget: the complete travel policy guide

Apr 8, 2024

A travel policy is a set of guidelines that govern how employees can travel for work, including everything from booking travel arrangements to reimbursing expenses.

The main goal of a travel policy is to ensure that employees travel safely and efficiently while keeping costs under control — for both international and domestic travel.

In this article, you’ll find out the importance of implementing a travel policy and get practical tips for implementing a travel policy that works for your business.

What is a travel policy?

A travel policy is a set of rules that outlines how your business travellers can book and expense work-related travel. 

For the organisation, having a single company-wide travel policy helps to regulate and standardise employee travel expenses and arrangements. Meanwhile, employees have a clear understanding of the expense claims they can make following a business trip. 

A good business travel policy will outline the necessary steps employees should take when arranging business travel, including: 

• The approved modes of transport.
• The types of expenses that are reimbursable.
• How to submit expenses.
• The maximum allowable amounts for all possible expenses incurred.

Why you need a business travel policy

Giving your employees a clear understanding of how they can arrange business travel brings benefits to each of your employees and the company as a whole.

Benefits for employees

• Outlines which costs incurred to the employees they can expense.
• Let employees know which tools they can use to make travel bookings.
• Looks out for each employee’s personal safety.
• Allows employees to make travel arrangements that are in line with your company’s travel policy.

Benefits for the company

• Ensures that all business travel is for business purposes.
• Ensures that all travel is in line with your company’s aims and goals.
• Makes sure that every trip is cost-effective, with employees only claiming actual expenses.
• Ensures fair and equitable travel for all employees.

Everything you need to include in your business travel policy

Your travel policy needs to be comprehensive. So don’t forget to include the essentials:

• Stress the importance of the trip bringing value to your organisation. It must be clear that you’ll only cover travel-related expenses for essential business trips.
• Suggest that employees book travel in advance, especially when booking an airline ticket, as this can keep travel costs to a minimum. Your employees can book a car up to 3 days in advance in the Bolt app. And charge the order straight to the company, removing the need for expense reporting.
• Include a process for getting visas and work permits
• Highlight whether employees can fly business class or bo
• Highlight the importance of travel insurance and include contact details for your company’s preferred service — AVIVA , for example.
• Recommend that your employees make reimbursement requests within a set timeframe from the first day of their business trip (within 60 days, for example).
• Whether you’ll provide employees with a daily travel allowance (per diem) to spend on meals, drinks, and essential daily supplies.
• The inclusion of your stance on entertainment expenses is also essential — such as purchasing refreshments for a client. 

Including all of the above will ensure that your travel policy isn’t failing your employees .

How to implement a corporate travel policy

Assess your business needs.

Before drafting your travel policy, it’s important to understand your company’s travel needs. To do this, you need to:

• Consider the frequency of travel.
• List common destinations.
• Find out the travel preferences of your business travellers. 

This assessment will help tailor a policy that meets your organisation’s specific needs.

Define the business goals

Before you start drafting and implementing a travel policy, you must come up with clear goals and objectives that you aim to achieve. You may need to:

• Reduce costs
• Increase employee safety
• Make booking more seamless

Only when you clearly understand your goals will you be able to implement a business travel policy that works for everyone.

Involve stakeholders

All relevant individuals and teams should be involved in the process of creating and implementing your company’s travel policy. This means gathering feedback from business travellers (who will need to follow the guidelines) and the teams who need to handle the admin side of travel, such as Finance, Human Resources, and Payroll.

Make it easy to understand and follow

A simple and clear travel policy is easier for your business travellers to follow. The word ‘policy’ gives the impression that the final document needs to be overly complicated, but the simpler it is, the fewer misunderstandings there will be.

Incorporate duty of care 

Employee safety needs to be your biggest priority. To ensure safety, your travel policy must include guidelines for supporting travellers in case of emergency, such as how they can get assistance and protocols for checking on welfare during business-related travel.

💡 The Bolt app includes a range of safety features , including 24/7 support, an Emergency Assist button, and the option to share trip details with colleagues, family, or friends.

6. Make the most of technology

Travel management software will help you to streamline booking processes, track expenses, and ensure policy compliance. These tools can also offer insights into spending patterns and help identify opportunities for savings.

7. Implement a sustainable travel policy

Any travel policy guidelines that you follow will stress the importance of sustainability.

Sustainability in business is more important than ever. Any business travel policies you implement must reflect your organisation’s sustainability efforts.

Find out how to build a sustainable travel policy .

8. Share the travel policy with your employees

Making your company’s travel policy known to your employees comes down to clear communication. Make sure the travel policy stands alone as it’s own document — not hidden away within a larger policy.

You should make your company’s corporate travel policy document accessible to all employees via your company’s internal intranet or employee portal. You should share it with all new hires when they join the company.

It’s also helpful to run training sessions with your employees and inform new hires about the travel policy.

Common challenges with travel policies

Implementing a travel policy in a corporate setting isn’t without its challenges. From ensuring compliance to accommodating the diverse needs of employees, these are some hurdles that you’ll need to overcome:

• Ensuring compliance.
• Balancing cost with comfort.
• Communicating your policy
• Managing exceptions.
• An ever-changing travel landscape.
• Global considerations (for international business travel).

Find out why you need to give each of these areas lengthy consideration below.

1. Ensuring compliance

When you implement a travel policy, the main outcome you want is for your employees to comply. But it’s not always that simple. 

Unless your travel policy is clear, your employees may book travel options that are more convenient or luxurious than those outlined in the policy — leading to increased costs and administrative headaches.

2. Balancing cost with comfort

Finding the right balance between costs, comfort, and employee safety is challenging 

Travel policies that are too restrictive may lead to employee dissatisfaction and non-compliance. Meanwhile, policies that are too lenient can result in unnecessary expenses.

Remember that while cost savings are important, you don’t want to put an employee in a situation where they’re unable to travel. 

3. Communicating your policy

Your business travellers can’t follow the rules outlined in the travel policy unless they’ve read it. 

You need to ensure that everyone understands the travel policy and has an opportunity to raise questions or concerns before they travel for work.

4. Managing exceptions

Some business trips will likely fall outside the scope of your standard travel policy, especially as your business grows. 

Deciding when to make exceptions and how to manage these cases without setting precedents that could undermine the policy is a delicate balancing act.

5. An ever-changing travel landscape

Your company must constantly reassess travel policies to address potential security and health risks your business travellers may face.

6. Global considerations

Creating a travel policy that accommodates various legal, cultural, and logistical considerations across different countries can be complex for multinational companies.

Consider employees who prefer to self-book travel

There’s a growing trend, especially amongst millennials and Gen Z, to self-book travel and accommodation for business-related travel. 

You can put this preference down to a combination of factors:

• Familiarity with technology.
• A desire for flexibility. 
• Work-life balance.
• Speed and efficiency.

It’s especially important to consider this approach for ground transportation. With Bolt Business , your employees can use a company payment method in the Bolt app to order a car when needed (as long as the order meets the company’s usage guidelines).

Bolt Business gives your team the convenience, flexibility, and reliability they need when travelling for work—all without the need to manually submit travel expense reports.

Now let’s find out why your team will appreciate the ability to self-book their travel.

1. Familiarity with technology

Your younger employees are accustomed to using apps and websites for personal travel. 

Their comfort with technology makes self-booking a natural choice for them — as they can easily navigate travel platforms, compare options, and book what they need without intermediaries. 

You can make this familiarity with technology a benefit to your business. By creating a Bolt Business account, your employees can use Bolt Business for work-related travel. And if they use Bolt for personal travel, they’ll already know how to use it.

2. Desire for flexibility

Self-booking allows your employees to tailor business travel to their preferences and schedules. 

Having this freedom is valuable allowing them to travel when it best suits their schedule. And when you support the use of familiar technology (apps or websites) for business related travel, it enhances their comfort and satisfaction. And can also lead to more productive business trips. 

3. Work-life balance

There’s a growing trend to merge business trips with some personal vacation time. Having the flexibility to self-book gives your employees the option to extend their trips for leisure purposes 

Taking this into consideration will help to build a strong work culture and increase job satisfaction.

4. Speed and efficiency

The ability to quickly book travel without waiting for approval or going through a third party is a significant advantage for employees. 

They value efficiency and can make swift decisions when there are time-sensitive business opportunities or adjust plans without lengthy approval processes causing a delay.

Automate the booking process for ordering cars

Submitting expenses is a time-consuming process that follows business trips. But with Bolt Business, you can create a travel and expense policy that removes the need for manual expense reports.

Your employees can order a car in the Bolt app and use a company payment method, allowing them to do so without having to submit expense reports.

If your organisation’s business travellers go abroad for work, they can use the same Bolt app to order a car in 45+ countries and 500+ cities.

Managing travel with Bolt Business allows you to implement unique corporate travel policies for different teams in your organisation. And there’s no need for a lengthy approval process — your employees will only be able to make an order if it complies with your travel policy.

• Airport transfers.
• Last-mile commutes to a meeting, hotel, or event.
• Safe travel during the night.

And because your employees can only make orders that are in line with your company travel policy, you don’t need a real-time travel approval process.

Rental car reservations

Bolt Drive * gives your company all the benefits of a fleet without having to buy or sign a long-term lease.

Company cars are parked 95% of the time , yet they’re still your responsibility during this time — draining your financial resources. With Bolt Drive , your employees can hire a rental vehicle day or night for as long as they need it — minutes, hours, or days.

Fuel, parking, and insurance are all included in the rental fee, which is based on the distance travelled and rental time. There’s no down payment.

With Bolt Business, you can let your employees use a company payment method to pay for the car, allowing them to charge their expenses related to car rentals straight to the employer.

• Find a Bolt Drive vehicle in the Bolt app;
• Reserve it;
• Unlock the car;
• Drive to your destination.

At the end of your journey, park the car in an approved area, leave the keys inside, and end the ride in the Bolt app.

*Currently available in certain markets.

Include meals as part of your travel policy

Meal allowances for business travel are an essential part of a comprehensive travel policy. They ensure that employees have a clear understanding of what is covered during their business trips, promoting fairness and transparency. 

A daily meal allowance, or a per diem, allows employees to budget their meals without the need to save receipts or submit expense reports for every meal. 

Benefits of providing a meal allowance

By setting clear, fair, and flexible guidelines, companies can support their employees during travel, maintain control over expenses, and ensure that the policy aligns with the overall business goals and employee needs.

1. Simplifies Expense Reporting 

Employees and the finance department benefit from the simplified process, which reduces the administrative burden of tracking and approving individual meal expenses. 

2. Empowers employees

Providing a meal allowance gives employees the flexibility to choose where and what they eat, catering to their dietary preferences and needs. 

3. Cost Control

With predetermined limits, companies can better predict and control travel expenses, ensuring that meal spending does not exceed budgetary constraints.

Bolt Food for Business — without requesting reimbursement. You know exactly how much each person will spend — keeping travel within budget.

How to implement a travel policy with Bolt Business

After signing up for a Bolt Business account, you’ll get access to a Company Dashboard .

From this dashboard, you can:

• Add employees who need to travel for work.
• Set spending limits for individuals or groups of people.
• View details of every order.

When your employees travel, they can charge Bolt orders to your company in the Bolt app (but only if the order aligns with your travel policy).

A Bolt Business travel policy example 

One company reduced their travel expenses by 25% with Bolt Business , and you can use their strategy as a travel policy template for your own.

To give their employees convenient travel, they set up their travel policy in the following way:

• When booking a ride, employees must provide an expense code in the Bolt app.
• There’s a single spending limit for the group of employees (rather than individual limits).
• All employees have the option to use electric scooters and e-bikes.

Here’s how the travel policy looks in their dashboard. 👇

With Bolt Business, you can implement as many travel policies as needed and assign them to relevant team members. You can also restrict travel to specific days, times, and locations.

Sign up with Bolt Business to create an employee travel policy

Bolt Business makes managing car travel easier for Travel Managers, business travellers, and your organisation as a whole.

You get complete control and visibility from a single dashboard while your employees get the convenience, reliability, and flexibility they need when travelling for work.

Create an account for your company online today.

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Travel Expense Policy

It is the policy of [Company Name] to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during approved work-related travel.

Employees seeking reimbursement should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses and exercise care to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety. Reimbursement is allowed only when reimbursement has not been, and will not be, received from other sources. If a circumstance arises that is not specifically covered in this travel policy, then the most conservative course of action should be taken.

Business travel policies are aligned with company reimbursement rules. All business-related travel paid with [Company Name] funds must comply with company expenditure policies.

Authorization and responsibility

Staff travel must be authorized. Travelers should verify that planned travel is eligible for reimbursement before making travel arrangements. Within 30 days of completion of a trip, the traveler must submit a travel reimbursement form and supporting documentation to obtain reimbursement of expenses.

An individual may not approve his or her own travel or reimbursement. The travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance (for travel over $[amount]) or by the business manager (for travel under $[amount]).

Travel and reimbursement for members of the management team must be approved by the executive director or the director of finance and will be reviewed annually by the internal auditor.

Designated approval authorities are required to review expenditures and withhold reimbursement if there is reason to believe that the expenditures are inappropriate or extravagant.

Personal funds

Travelers should review reimbursement guidelines before spending personal funds for business travel to determine if such expenses are reimbursable. See Section II: Travel Expenses/Procedures for details. [Company Name] reserves the right to deny reimbursement of travel-related expenses for failure to comply with policies and procedures.

Travelers who use personal funds to facilitate travel arrangements will not be reimbursed until after the trip occurs and proper documentation is submitted.

Vacation in conjunction with business travel

In cases in which vacation time is added to a business trip, any cost variance in airfare, car rental or lodging must be clearly identified on the travel request form. [Company Name] will not prepay any personal expenses with the intention of being "repaid" at a later time, nor will any personal expenses be reimbursed.

Occasionally it may be necessary for travelers to request exceptions to this travel policy. Requests for exceptions to the policy must be made in writing and approved by the executive director or by the director of finance. Exceptions related to the director's or the director of finance's expenses must be submitted to the opposite person or to the treasurer of the board of trustees for approval. In most instances, the expected turnaround time for review and approval is five business days.

Travel Expenses/Procedures

General information Authorized business travel for staff that includes prepayments must be pre-approved.

Reimbursement of parking, mileage, gasoline in lieu of mileage and ferry or bus passes do not require requests if they are under $[amount]. Requests for reimbursement of expenses over $[amount] are to be submitted on a travel reimbursement form.

Permissible prepaid travel expenses Before the travel, [Company Name] may issue prepayments for airfare, rail transportation, rental vehicles, conference registration fees and cash advances. Applicable policies and methods of payments for these prepayments follow.

Airfare. Travelers are expected to obtain the lowest available airfare that reasonably meets business travel needs. Airfare may be prepaid by the business office.

Travelers are encouraged to book flights at least [amount of time] in advance to avoid premium airfare pricing.

Coach class or economy tickets must be purchased for domestic or international flights with flight time totaling less than five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

A less-than-first-class ticket (i.e., business class) may be purchased at [Company Name]'s discretion for domestic or international flights with flight time exceeding five consecutive hours excluding layovers.

Airfare may be purchased with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form.

Rail transportation. [Company Name] will prepay rail transportation provided that the cost does not exceed the cost of the least expensive airfare.

Rental vehicles. [Company Name] will pay for approved use of a rental vehicle. See the section on reimbursements below in this section.

Conference registration fees. Conference registration fees can be prepaid with a credit card or check through the business office with a request for payment form. Business-related banquets or meals that are considered part of the conference can be paid with the registration fees; however, such meals must be deducted from the traveler's per diem allowance.

Travel advances. Cash advances are authorized for specific situations that might cause undue financial hardship for business travelers. These situations are limited to staff traveling on behalf of [Company Name]. A maximum of 80 percent of the total estimated cost can be advanced.

Expenses associated with the travel must be reconciled and substantiated within two weeks of the return date. The traveler must repay [Company Name] for any advances in excess of the approved reimbursable expenses. The department initiating the travel is responsible for notifying the business office to deposit any excess funds into the appropriate departmental account.

Travel advances are processed by submitting a completed request for payment form and travel request form to the business office. Reimbursement for any remaining expenses is processed on a travel reimbursement form approved by the designated approval authority.

Reimbursements Requests for reimbursements of travel-related expenses are submitted on a travel reimbursement form. This form must be accompanied by supporting documentation. If the requested reimbursement exceeds 20 percent of the total pre-trip estimate, the travel reimbursement form must be signed by the executive director or the director of finance.

These forms must be submitted to the business office within two weeks after the trip is completed. Travel reimbursement forms not submitted within this time frame require exception approval from the executive director or from the director of finance.

Reimbursement of travel expenses is based on documentation of reasonable and actual expenses supported by the original, itemized receipts where required. Reimbursements that may be paid by [Company Name] are shown below.

Airfare. If the airfare was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized airline receipt, an e-ticket receipt/statement or an Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Rail transportation. If rail transportation was not prepaid by the business office, an original itemized receipt, original e-ticket receipt/statement or Internet receipt/statement is required. The receipt must show the method of payment and indicate that payment was made.

Automobile (personally owned—domestic travel). A valid driver's license issued within the United States and personal automobile insurance are required for expenses to be reimbursed. Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Reimbursement for use of a personal automobile is based on the [Company Name] mileage rate.

A staff travel reimbursement form is required for reimbursement of all vehicle-related expenses, including gasoline, wear and tear, and personal auto insurance. As of [date], the rate is [$] per mile. Travelers may opt to request reimbursement for actual gasoline expenses in lieu of the [Company Name] mileage rate. In these instances original, itemized receipts are required.

Automobile (rental—domestic travel). Reimbursement for a commercial rental vehicle as a primary mode of transportation is authorized only if the rental vehicle is more economical than any other type of public transportation, or if the destination is not otherwise accessible. Vehicle rental at a destination city is reimbursable. Original receipts are required.

[Company Name] authorizes reimbursement for the most economic vehicle available. In certain circumstances larger vehicles may be rented, with supervisory approval. The rental agreement must clearly show the date and the points of departure/arrival, as well as the total cost. Drivers must adhere to the rental requirements, and restrictions must be followed. Original receipts are required.

When vehicle rentals are necessary, [Company Name] encourages travelers to purchase collision damage waiver (CDW) and loss damage waiver (LDW) coverage. [Company Name] will reimburse the cost of CDW and LDW coverage; all other insurance reimbursements will be denied.

Drivers should be aware of the extent of coverage (if any) provided by his or her automobile insurance company for travel that is business or not personal in nature.

Parking fees, tolls and other incidental costs associated with the vehicle use are not covered by the rental agreement.

Travelers are strongly encouraged to fill the gas tank before returning the vehicle to the rental agency to avoid service fees and more expensive fuel rates.

Conference registration fees. If the conference fee was not prepaid, [Company Name] will reimburse these fees, including business-related banquets or meals that are part of the conference registration. Original receipts to support the payment are required. If the conference does not provide a receipt, then a cancelled check, credit card slip/statement or documentation that the amount was paid is required for reimbursement.

A prorated amount for the meals provided must be deducted from the traveler's per diem. See Meals (per diem) for more detail. Entertainment activities such as golf outings and sightseeing tours will not be reimbursed.

Registration fees paid directly by an individual will not be reimbursed until the conference is completed.

Lodging (commercial). The cost of overnight lodging (room rate and tax only) will be reimbursed to the traveler if the authorized travel is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Exceptions to this restriction may be approved in writing by the executive director or by the director of finance.

[Company Name] will reimburse lodging expenses at reasonable, single occupancy or standard business room rates. When the hotel or motel is the conference or convention site, reimbursement will be limited to the conference rate.

Only single room rates are authorized for payment or reimbursement unless the second party is representing the agency in an authorized capacity. If the lodging receipt shows more than a single occupancy, the single room rate must be noted. If reimbursement for more than the single room rate is requested, the name of the second person must be included.

Meals (per diem). Per diem allowances are reimbursable for in-state overnight travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

Per diem allowances are applicable for all out-of-state travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite.

[Company Name] per diem rates are based on the U.S. General Services Administration Guidelines, which vary by city location. In addition to meals these rates include incidental expenses such as laundry, dry cleaning and service tips (e.g., housekeeping or porter tips). Incidental expenses, unless specifically cited in this policy, will not be reimbursed.

Per diem reimbursements are based on departure and return times over the entire 24-hour day and are prorated accordingly.

If a free meal is served on the plane, included in a conference registration fee, built in to the standard, single hotel room rate or replaced by a legitimate business meal, the per diem allowance for that meal may not be claimed.

Receipts are not required for per diem allowances. Per diem allowances are reimbursed after the trip is completed.

Business meals. Travelers are required to follow [Company Name] expenditure policies when requesting reimbursement for business meals. Original itemized receipts are required.

Business expenses. Business expenses, including faxes, photocopies, Internet charges, data ports and business telephone calls incurred while on travel status, can be reimbursed. Original itemized receipts are required.

Parking. Original receipts are required for parking fees (including airport parking) totaling $[amount] or more. The lodging bill can be used as a receipt when charges are included as part of the overnight stay.

Telephone calls. The costs of personal telephone calls are the responsibility of the individual.

Tolls. Original receipts are required for tolls totaling $[amount] or more.

Miscellaneous transportation. Original receipts are required for taxi, bus, subway, metro, ferry and other modes of transportation if costs are $[amount] or more for each occurrence.

Visa, passport fees and immunizations. If these items are required for international travel, their reimbursement is left to the discretion of your supervisor. If approved by the designated authority, original itemized receipts are required.

Nonreimbursable Travel Expenses The following items that may be associated with business travel will not be reimbursed by [Company Name]:

• Airline club memberships.
• Airline upgrades.
• Business class for domestic flights or first class for all flights.
• Child care, babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting/kennel charges.
• Commuting between home and the primary work location.
• Costs incurred by traveler's failure to cancel travel or hotel reservations in a timely fashion.
• Evening or formal wear expenses.
• Haircuts and personal grooming.
• Laundry and dry cleaning.
• Passports, vaccinations and visas when not required as a specific and necessary condition of the travel assignment.
• Personal entertainment expenses, including in-flight movies, headsets, health club facilities, hotel pay-per-view movies, in-theater movies, social activities and related incidental costs.
• Travel accident insurance premiums or purchase of additional travel insurance.
• Other expenses not directly related to the business travel.

Travel for Non-Employees Additional costs for travel, lodging, meal or other travel expenses for spouses or other family members will not be reimbursed unless the individual has a bona fide company purpose for engaging in the travel or attending the event. Such travel is generally limited to senior management and should occur infrequently.

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The complete guide to corporate travel policies

Corporate travel policy (+ free template).

Start writing your own corporate travel policy with our comprehensive template

What’s inside our travel policy template.

• Introduction
• Travel booking process
• Expense categories
• Non-reimbursable purchases
• Expense reporting and reimbursement process
• Travel support, safety and duty of care

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: travel booking process.

• How to book travel – What is your approved process, method and/or platform for booking business travel? If your company use a platform to enable travelers to book within policy , include the name of your approved booking platform. Otherwise, write out the name and contact details of the company or person they’re supposed to contact in order to request a booking.
• Approval process for senior management - the approval process for c suite and senior members of staff will likely differ from that of other employees. Senior management might require approval from an executive, and executives might require sign-off from other c suite members. All of this must be included in your policy.
• Use of loyalty programs – Many companies don’t allow travelers to collect points for their personal loyalty programs. But if you trust your travelers to do the right thing, you can allow this and include a line in your policy like “Employees may not choose more expensive options only to get loyalty points.”
• Leisure extensions – Sometimes business travelers want to extend their trip into the weekend, or use up some of their vacation days. You should include rules around leisure extensions (or “bleisure”), such as what cost difference is allowable for return flights. It's important to outline what expenses you will cover and what you consider "personal expenses" for "personal travel". Make clear that these are additional costs that do not fall within the ambit of business expenses under your travel policy.
• Traveling with non-employees - travel expenses related to travel with spouses, family members, pets or anyone outside of the company are not normally eligible for reimbursement. These situations can be subject to approval if they are accompanying staff members for business reasons such as attending a conference or for a networking event.

Section 3: Expense categories

Here’s the information to include in each expense category:.

• Approved tool or method for booking
• Preferred vendors (if any)
• Rules on whether or not business class is allowed, such as for flights over a certain duration, or flights taken by employees of a certain seniority level. Highlight whether travelers should go in economy class or business.
• How many days in advance international flights must be booked
• How many days in advance domestic travel must be booked

Accommodation

• Maximum nightly rates per city for hotel rooms
• Preferred vendors and negotiated rate details (if any)
• Rules on standard rooms and upgrades, for example standard rooms are required but room upgrades are allowed if offered at no additional charge
• Reimbursable hotel costs, such as parking
• Rules for booking Airbnb or apartment rentals

Rail travel

• Type of train ticket allowed, such as economy

Taxis and ride-sharing

• When taxis and ride-sharing is allowed, for example when public transportation isn’t viable
• Maximum amount per transaction

Rental and personal car

• Type of rental car class allowed, such as compact or mid-size
• The number of employees expected to share a rental car when traveling together
• How much is reimbursed per mile or kilometer

Conferences & events

• Expense reimbursement process for conference or event registration in cases where it was not pre-paid.
• Process for other conference or event related expenses such as business meals or anything not included in the registration cost.

Food, travel and entertainment

• Reimbursable amount, per breakfast
• Reimbursable amount, per lunch
• Reimbursable amount, per dinner
• Alternatively, a daily maximum or per diem
• Personal meal expenses throughout their trip
• Rules for business meals, such as who approves the amount
• Rules for client entertainment expenses, such as what is allowed

Personal telephone usage

• Cell phone bill amount or percentage that is reimbursable during the weeks that the employee travels. Clarify whether calls for personal reasons will be covered by your company.
• Whether or not personal phone damages or theft are reimbursable during business travel, and if so up to what amount?

Section 4: Non-reimbursable purchases

• In-flight purchases, not airfare
• Excess baggage fees
• Childcare, pet care, and pet boarding
• Costs for family members joining travelers on their trip
• Toiletries or clothing
• Airline club memberships
• Minibar purchases or bar bills
• Laundry or dry cleaning
• Parking fines or traffic violations
• Airline ticket change fees
• First-class rail transportation
• Premium, Luxury or Elite car rentals
• Movies, online entertainment or newspapers
• Spa and health club usage
• Flowers, sweets and confectionery
• Room service
• Additional beds or bedding
• Damage to personal vehicles
• Rental car company insurance

Section 5: Expense reporting and reimbursement process

• What tool to use for expensing
• What items do not need to be added in the expense tool, for example if a trip is booked with your approved booking tool
• Who to submit expense reports to
• What to include in reimbursement requests, such as original receipts
• Deadline for submitting reimbursement requests
• Typical processing time for receiving reimbursement

Section 6: Travel support, safety, and duty of care

• Tracking travelers’ whereabouts – Use this opportunity to let travelers’ know that when they book using your approved method or tool, their trip is tracked. In the event of an emergency, steps will be taken to evacuate them. If you don’t know where they are, you can’t help! Include the name of your approved tool, and what they should do to ensure their trip is accurately tracked if they must book outside of it for a valid reason.
• Travel support – In case of trip cancellations, changes, etc., who should your travelers call? Include contact details for your travel support provider, including phone numbers, email addresses and whatever applies. If there are multiple numbers based on region or language, include those as well.
• Support for emergency needs – In this sub-section, include your duty of care vendor (if you have one) and your travel insurance policy details. Also include the employee name or vendor name they should contact in the event of an emergency.

How to implement your travel policy

• Customize – Customize and finalize the travel policy template. Work with stakeholders to make all of the necessary edits and customizations to the policy; collect all details like travel insurance, nightly rates, etc.
• Automate – Update your automated travel policy. Create or update an automated travel policy so travelers and/or admins can book within policy all the time.
• Deploy – Roll out changes to employees. Depending on the size of your company, roll out your new policy document and automated policy to all employees or an initial subset.
• Listen – Collect feedback on the new policy. Get feedback from employees on the clarity of your travel policy, as well as the ease-of-use of your approved tools and automated policy.

How to improve corporate travel policy compliance

How to improve travel policy compliance with travelperk.

• Is your policy outdated? This could be down to changes within your organization or simply that your current policy isn’t being adhered to. Maybe it’s time to revisit and revamp your policy.
• Monitor your compliance issues. Use travel management software that monitors your policy compliance and use that data to help you understand the reasons behind the barriers you’re facing.
• Self-booking improves policy compliance. Your preferred booking tool plays a role here too. Make use of one that allows your team to book the business trip they want within your policy to avoid confusion and breach of policy.
• Choose an easy-to-use booking tool. Your employees aren’t going to want to use software that is difficult to use, offers little to no support, and has limited options.
• Build your travel expense policy into the booking tool. By doing this, you create an automatic system that allows or rejects different types of travel arrangements based on your business needs.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
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Planning to Combine Business and Leisure Travel? You’re Not Alone.

As employees increasingly add leisure time to their business trips, companies are trying to figure out where their duty of care obligations begin and end.

Credit... Aart-Jan Venema

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By Amy Zipkin

• April 7, 2024

On a Sunday in late January, Melinda Buchmann, who lives in Florida and supervises client relations for RevShoppe, a 30-person remote company advising organizations on sales techniques and strategies, arrived in Banff, Alberta, to help set up a four-day company meeting.

The last day of the event, her husband, Josh, a director of strategic partnerships for the delivery company DoorDash , who also works remotely, joined her. They spent two leisurely days hiking in Banff National Park and visiting Lake Louise.

“I take advantage, because I don’t know when I’m going to return,” Ms. Buchmann said of the decision to combine downtime with a business trip.

As postpandemic work life has changed, and arrangements now include full-time office attendance as well as hybrid and remote work, so, too, has business travel. The phenomenon known as bleisure, or blended business and leisure travel, was initially embraced largely by digital nomads . But such combined travel is now also popular with people outside that group . Allied Market Research, a subsidiary of Allied Analytics, based in Portland, Ore., estimated that the bleisure travel market was $315.3 billion in 2022 and would reach $731.4 billion by 2032.

As employees increasingly add leisure time to their business trips, companies are struggling to determine where their legal obligation to protect employees from harm — their so-called duty of care — begins and ends. And workers may think that because their trip started with business, they will get all the help they need if something goes wrong on the leisure end. Instead, they should generally consider the leisure part of a trip as a regular vacation where they cover all expenses and contingencies.

Companies are responsible for knowing where their employees are during a business trip, covering expenses if an accident or emergency occurs, securing new lodging if a hotel is damaged, even swapping out a broken down rental car. Still, it’s not entirely clear if that coverage ends completely after the conference or the last client meeting.

Companies recognize that threats are increasing, said Robert Cole, senior research analyst focusing on lodging and leisure travel at Phocuswright, a market research company. They are trying to figure out how to take care of a valuable company resource, the employee, without leaving themselves open to financial risk or potential litigation.

“Crafting a comprehensive policy that balances business objectives, employee well-being and legal considerations can be challenging,” Nikolaos Gkolfinopoulos, head of tourism at ICF, a consulting and technology services company in Reston, Va., wrote in an email.

Employees may be on their own without realizing it and may be surprised by out-of-pocket expenses if they require hospital care abroad or evacuation, said Suzanne Morrow, chief executive of InsureMyTrip , an online insurance travel comparison site in Warwick, R.I.

Ms. Morrow said medical coverage provided by a company “is generally only for the dates of the actual business trip abroad.” If travelers are extending the trip for personal travel, she added, “they would want to secure emergency medical coverage for that additional time abroad.”

Employers and employees are left to figure out when the business portion of the trip ends and the leisure segment begins, a significant detail if an employee has a medical emergency. “Where does the corporation liability end?” said Kathy Bedell, senior vice president at BCD Travel, a travel management company.

Companies have varying policies to deal with the new travel amalgam. The chief executive of RevShoppe, Patricia McLaren, based in Austin, Texas, said the company provided flexible travel options and allowed employees to work anywhere they choose.

Even so, there are constraints. The company requires all employees, including executives, to sign liability and insurance waivers when they are on a voluntary company-sponsored trip, such as an off-site meeting. Such waivers typically place responsibility on employees for their own well-being. And if they bring someone, they are responsible for that person’s expenses.

Employees are responsible for requesting the paid time off and notifying their managers of their whereabouts, although that part is not a requirement. Managers have to ensure adequate staffing, Ms. McLaren said.

Elsewhere, employees may not bother to mention the leisure portion of their trip. Eliot Lees, a vice president and managing director at ICF, said he had been on trips as a child with his parents when they combined business and leisure. His parents were academics, who would piggyback vacations onto conferences.

Now he does the same. “I don’t think I ever asked for approval,” he said. (ICF has no formal business-leisure travel policy. It’s allowed as part of personal time off.) After a conference in the Netherlands last year, he spent four days hiking in the northern part of the country.

“I go anywhere, and take more risks than I should,” he said. He said he didn’t carry personal travel or accident insurance.

Any nonchalance may quickly evaporate if a threat emerges. Security experts say even low-risk locations can become high-risk for a few days or weeks of the year.

“Companies are concerned about losing visibility into a traveler’s whereabouts if they booked flights and hotels outside their corporate travel management company,” Benjamin Thorne, senior intelligence manager in London for Crisis24, a subsidiary of GardaWorld, wrote in an email. “The company may think the traveler is in one city when, in reality, they could have booked a holiday package to another nearby city. This lack of visibility by the company makes it difficult to support travelers when a disaster occurs.”

He also raised the possibility that “a traveler with bleisure travel reservations and expectations may find their work trip canceled due to changes in the risk environment or company policy, disrupting their leisure plans.”

Will a company step in off hours if there’s a problem? “That depends on how you are booked,” Mr. Cole, the senior research analyst at Phocuswright, said. A rule of thumb is the further you get from corporate control, the greater the gray area gets.

Half of GoldSpring Consulting’s clients take the responsibility for the entire trip, said Will Tate, a partner at the consultancy based in Cross Roads, Texas, and a certified public accountant. They don’t want the reputational risk. The other half say: “The business trip ended Friday. That’s when we end our duty of care.”

Some companies are trying to define and narrow the gray area. “If you are clearly on personal time, there is no legal requirement for your employer to provide for you,” said Nicole Page, a lawyer whose practice includes employment law at Reavis Page Jump in New York.

Uber provides employees with advisories before a trip, travel assessments, safety tips while traveling and emergency travel assistance, including medical aid, airport travel support, urgent and emergency assistance, and lost or stolen personal property insurance whether they are on business or pleasure travel or a combination.

And at DoorDash, Chris Cherry, head of global safety and security, wrote in an email that “while personal travel is not something we track, we have received requests to extend our travel support capabilities to personal travel.” Mr. Cherry said in those cases, the company has manually added employee leisure itineraries to its travel risk management system and “provided the same level of overwatch that we do for regular business travel.”

The Buchmanns plan to travel this month to Barcelona, Spain, for the McDonald’s Worldwide Convention. DoorDash will have a booth, and Mr. Buchmann will work on the exhibit floor and also entertain clients.

Ms. Buchmann will accompany him. She plans to go sightseeing in the morning, and work in the afternoons and evenings Barcelona time. She will also take three days of paid time off and has shared her plans with Ms. McLaren, the RevShoppe chief executive.

They will stay a day after the conference and plan to visit the Dalí Theater and Museum in Figueres. “I’m sure there will be no shortage of tapas and window shopping along way,” Mr. Buchmann said. He expects to be back at work the next Monday.

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