UK SMEs losing £175m by not using a TMC
Small businesses are believed to be losing £175 million each year by not using a travel agent to book their business travel.
According to a study by Advantage Travel Centres, companies can save 25% on their travel spend just by enlisting the services of an Advantage member agent.
“It’s absolutely crazy for companies to not manage their travel budget effectively,†said Advantage director of business travel Norman Gage.
“The level of wastage revealed in our calculations is simply astonishing. Any small business that is still letting its own staff book flights and hotels themselves on the internet needs to think again. Hopefully these figures will be a wake-up call to SMEs across the country.â€
The ‘wastage’ was calculated by taking the total amount that ‘larger’ companies (those with more than five staff) in the UK’s SME sector currently spend on travel but not through a TMC – £700 million.
Advantage then applied the typical percentage saving that its members make for their clients – 25%, with flights alone around 40% cheaper.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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