Booking outside the online tool or the TCM is tempting for travelers or their arrangers for a variety of reasons, especially if there are budget constraints. They look at the booking tool and then Expedia and see the Expedia rate is "cheaper." This is when some education has to come in which can be done with a Lunch 'n Learn, etc. As it was explained to me by our TMC:
1. Cheaper is Actually Cheap: The Expedia rate seems cheaper but it has some vital things missing. Usually these are non-refundable rates so if you cancel you eat that amount or the amount stuck within the Expedia system (I have a cancelled ticket stuck in Expedia which I can't seem to re-use, it's just going to expire now.) Also, if you need to make changes to the reservation you won't have the TMC expert travel agents helping you. You will be stuck called 1800EXPEDIA. Also, you might get a "cheaper" hotel rate but the room might not be any good. A corporate hotel program negotiates a lot of perks that might not be included in a cheap Expedia rate.
2. Duty of Care: Most TMC have duty of care agreements this means if something goes wrong during the trip you will have help. This could be a natural disaster, a political upheaval, or terrorism. Trips booked outside the TMC aren't visible to the Corporate Travel team (think Amex Expert Care or Global Guardian). If there's a catastrophe in a certain area they won't know to mobilize help for the employee. They won't even know about the trip. Additionally, miles and hotel nights booked outside the program aren't tracked and can't be used to negotiate corporate rates with vendors.
3. Convenience: Trips booked inside the TMC have e-receipts automatically sent to Concur Expense which saves time.
4. NDC Content: Concur T2 has the kinds of NDC content that have until now only been available on airline websites or consumer sites. This means a broader range of rates and schedule options while staying inside the corporate travel system.
Maybe other people have ideas too?
