How to choose a corporate travel management company in South Africa
A practical guide for finance teams, PAs and travel bookers who are setting up company travel for the first time, or who are thinking of moving to a new agency.
The short answer: choose a travel management company (TMC) that gives you a named consultant, a staffed 24-hour emergency line, access to negotiated airline and hotel rates through a recognised travel group, your travel policy built into every booking, monthly spend reporting, and a written fee schedule. Ask for references from companies of your size and check how they handle a cancelled flight at night.
What a corporate travel management company does
A travel management company books and manages all of a business's work travel in one place. Employees or their PAs send requests to the TMC instead of booking on consumer websites. The TMC:
- books flights, hotels, car hire and transfers, locally and internationally;
- applies your company's travel policy and approval rules before anything is booked;
- uses negotiated corporate rates that aren't available on consumer sites;
- handles changes, cancellations and emergencies, including after hours;
- helps with visas, passports, travel insurance and forex;
- gives finance consolidated invoices and reports on what was spent, by whom, and where.
Signs your company needs one
- Several people book their own travel and finance reconciles it from card statements.
- Nobody can say quickly what the company spent on travel last quarter.
- Travellers are stranded when flights are cancelled and have to sort it out themselves.
- The travel policy exists on paper but isn't followed.
- Your people travel into Africa, where visas, routings and safety need local knowledge.
What to check before you sign
1. Who will actually handle your bookings
Ask whether you get a named consultant or a shared call centre. A consultant who knows your travellers' preferences, loyalty numbers and policy saves time on every booking.
2. After-hours support
Ask who answers the emergency number at 11pm on a Sunday, and whether they can rebook and change hotels on the spot. Test it before you sign.
3. Buying power
Independent agencies usually get airline, hotel and car hire contracts through a travel group or consortium. Ask which group the agency belongs to and which airlines and hotel groups its rates cover on your most-used routes.
4. Accreditation and industry membership
Ask whether the agency is IATA-accredited to issue airline tickets and whether it is a member of ASATA, the Association of Southern African Travel Agents.
5. Travel policy and approvals
The TMC should load your policy (class of travel, hotel caps, advance booking, approvers) and flag out-of-policy requests before booking, not after.
6. Reporting
Ask for a sample monthly report. Useful reports show spend by traveller, department, supplier and route, policy compliance, missed savings and, if you report on sustainability, CO₂.
7. Fees, in writing
TMCs typically charge a transaction fee per booking, a monthly management fee, or a mix. Ask for a written fee schedule that covers bookings, changes, after-hours calls, visas and refunds, so you can compare agencies on the same basis.
8. Billing that suits finance
Check how invoices are issued (per trip or consolidated monthly), that they are valid VAT invoices, and whether the agency can bill against cost centres or purchase order numbers.
9. Procurement paperwork
Many South African companies need a supplier's B-BBEE certificate, tax clearance and bank confirmation before they can onboard them. Ask for these up front.
10. References
Ask to speak to two clients of a similar size and travel pattern. Ask them how problems were handled, not just how bookings went.
Questions to ask in a proposal or RFP
- Who will be our consultant, and who covers when they are away?
- What is your after-hours process, and what does an after-hours call cost?
- Which travel group or consortium are you part of, and what rates does that give us on our top five routes?
- How will you apply our travel policy and approvals?
- Can we see a sample monthly report?
- What is your full fee schedule?
- How do you invoice, and can you bill to cost centres?
- How do you support travellers into Africa, including visas?
- Can you provide your B-BBEE certificate and company documents?
- Can we speak to two current clients?
How switching to a new TMC works
Moving agencies is less work than most companies expect. The new TMC collects traveller profiles (passport details, loyalty numbers, seat and meal preferences), loads your travel policy and approvers, sets up billing, and takes over new bookings from an agreed date. Trips already booked with the old agency usually stay with it until they are completed.
Where Birnam Travel fits
Birnam Travel is a corporate travel management company at 218 Corlett Drive, Bramley, Johannesburg, and a member agency of the XL Travel group. It is IATA accredited, a member of ASATA and SATSA, and has managed corporate travel for over 25 years. Clients get a dedicated consultant and an after-hours emergency line, with the airline, hotel and car hire agreements of a national travel group. We manage flights, hotels, car hire, visas, forex, group travel, policy and reporting for South African companies, including large corporates.
Talk to a Birnam Travel consultant
Tell us how your people travel and we'll show you how we'd run it.