Travel agent, TMC or booking tool: which suits your company

What is the difference between the three?

A self-booking tool is software: employees search and book within rules the company sets. A travel agent is a service: people who book on your behalf and help when plans change. A travel management company, or TMC, runs the whole programme: policy, approvals, booking channels, invoicing, data and duty of care, usually combining a tool with a service desk.

Which suits a small company?

If a handful of people travel a few times a year, mostly in India, a capable travel agent with a named contact is usually enough, and a booking tool may be more set-up than it is worth. What matters is a written policy, invoices in the company's name, and one person who knows your travellers.

A useful test is how many trips change each month. If changes are rare and someone can handle them within the working day, an agent is enough. If several trips change every week, or travellers are abroad when they do, a round-the-clock desk and proper reporting start to pay for themselves.

When does a travel management company make sense?

A TMC earns its place when travel is frequent, international or hard to control: several offices, frequent changes, approvals that need to be enforced, finance wanting one monthly statement, or a duty to know where staff are in an emergency. It also helps when the company runs offsites or delegations that need visas and group bookings.

What should you ask before choosing?

Ask how bookings are made and approved, who answers at night and on weekends, how fees are charged, what reports finance will receive, how traveller data is protected, and whether visas, forex and group events are handled in-house or passed on. Ask for the service terms in writing and a named account manager.

1. How are trips requested, approved and booked?
2. Who answers at night, on weekends and abroad?
3. How are fees charged: per transaction, per month, or both?
4. What reports and invoices will finance receive, and how often?
5. How is traveller data stored and who can see it?
6. Are visas, forex and group events handled in-house?

Can a company combine them?

Yes. Many companies let employees book simple domestic trips through a tool and route international, group and complex trips to an agent or TMC. The policy should say which trips go where, and the company should still receive one set of invoices and one view of who is travelling.