Travelers may find a fare or hotel rate that appears more affordable when booking outside your approved booking tool. Are rates cheaper outside the booking tool, truly— or does a lower displayed price tell an incomplete story? 

As a Travel Manager, you’ve probably seen this before. A Traveler sidesteps the approved booking tool, convinced they’ve found a better deal elsewhere. And at first glance, prices on a direct booking site or aggregator do look lower.

Unfortunately, what Travelers often miss is the full picture. A lower displayed price doesn’t always mean a lower total cost.

Let’s look at how to determine whether booking tool rates and off-channel options are truly comparable, and what recurring claims of cheaper outside rates may reveal about your booking content, policy or program design. Knowing that may just improve program transparency and the value of your managed booking experience.

Key Takeaways

• A lower displayed price may represent a different product, rate type or set of conditions.
• Travelers need enough information to understand why managed and external prices differ.
• Support, flexibility, Duty of Care and negotiated benefits contribute to total travel value.
• Recurring claims of cheaper prices outside the travel program may identify content or program issues that need attention.

Why Rates May Look Cheaper Elsewhere

There are many reasons why rates may appear cheaper outside your organization’s booking tool. 

Many providers use dynamic pricing, which may change rates based on not only the individual booking the travel, but also current and evolving availability. Then, you have to take into account your negotiated rates versus public rates. Does your organization have special considerations that may make some rates look more or less attractive?

On the individual level, is your Business Traveler seeing a rate that only they can access due to their loyalty program or membership status? 

Even simple, easy-to-overlook factors can make one rate look more affordable than another. For example, a Traveler may be viewing cached or outdated pricing, especially on metasearch sites such as Skyscanner, where fares are not always refreshed in real time. Fare classes, room types, refundability, fees and included services can also vary across channels. Those differences may seem small at first, but they can significantly change the true total cost of a business travel booking.

Lastly, differences in taxes, fees and ancillary services can also skew the total cost. 

Any of the above can convince your Travelers that it’s in their (and the company’s) best interests to book outside of the designated channels, leading to leakage that can come with heavy costs. And yet, despite the consequences, leakage still exists and, to some degree, has increased. 

Last year, the Global Business Travel Association found that “travel programs continue to struggle with ‘leakage’ for bookings made outside of ‘managed’ channels like TMCs or OBTs. Most Travel Managers (67%) said their company’s air travel leakage increased (19%) or stayed the same (48%) over the past year. Hotel leakage is an even bigger challenge, with a total of 81% reporting that it grew (24%) or stayed the same (57%).” 

Confirm That the Options Are Comparable

So what’s a Travel Manager to do? To start, rather than dismissing Travelers’ claims, conduct your own business travel price comparison. 

Before concluding that an outside rate is or isn’t cheaper, check the following:

• Fare class or hotel room type
• Refundability and change conditions
• Baggage and seat selection
• Breakfast, Wi-Fi and parking
• Taxes and mandatory fees
• Loyalty eligibility
• Cancellation deadlines
• Hotel location and transportation needs

When you begin to break down a fare or fee beyond just the primary booking cost, it can become very quickly clear what’s actually going to be more expensive or more affordable, and what’s not.

Then, if you find that you’re receiving consistent reports of Travelers finding “better deals” outside of the booking tool, begin using that data to your advantage. Track recurring reports by supplier, route, market and reason, then review your content, policy filters, negotiated rates and booking-tool presentation where patterns appear. From there, you can determine whether the data supports adjusting your managed travel program accordingly.

Consider the Value Beyond the Displayed Rate

Remind your Travelers the managed booking channel may not always show the lowest upfront price. However, it can include value that is harder to see in a search result. That value can go a long way, even if it’s not tied to an exact dollar amount. 

For example, following the mandated protocol means that Travelers have access to disruption support, which can be valuable in the event of a delay or cancellation. Speaking of, they’ll also enjoy rebooking or cancellation assistance as needed, removing any stress or busy work that would come with booking direct. 

Additionally, approved bookings mean greater Duty of Care visibility, which proves valuable when the unexpected occurs. 

Plus, Travel Managers often negotiate certain amenities or perks for their Travelers, that they just won’t be able to secure on their own elsewhere (or that they would pay more for elsewhere). 

Lastly, they’ll also be able to take advantage of streamlined approvals and expense reporting processes, as everything is already documented in the organization’s system.

All in all, that convenience, potential extra amenities, safety and security can really add up in value. 

Treat the Claim as Program Feedback

The next time that you encounter a claim that a Traveler has found a cheaper deal elsewhere, don’t treat it as a nuisance or falsehood. Treat it as program feedback and ask yourself the following questions: 

• Is relevant content missing from your booking platform?
• Do your policy filters exclude suitable options for your Travelers?
• Are your negotiated rates still competitive?
• Does the booking experience make comparison difficult?
• Is the value of your managed option clearly explained to Travelers?
• Do certain suppliers, routes or markets consistently create concerns?

Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, you can make any program adjustments as necessary. 

Build a Booking Experience Travelers Can Trust 

Yes, it’s true that your managed travel option will not always have the lowest displayed price—but Travelers are more likely to use approved channels when they can see relevant content, understand the differences and trust that their business travel program evaluates total value, not just a price point. JTB Business Travel helps Travel Managers evaluate booking content, rate visibility, policy alignment and Traveler support so the managed channel is easier to understand and easier to use

Northstar Travel Group is a JTB Corp company. JTB Business Travel may reference reporting or research published by Northstar; however, all commentary and recommendations in this article are independently developed.