 A pre-trip approval process is the easiest and most effective way to enforce traveler compliance to your corporation’s
Travel Policy
 Compliance to your company’s travel mandates will control costs, increase efficiencies, and improve traveler security while simultaneously enhancing the overall traveler experience
 Creates the environment necessary for cost/benefit analysis
Standardization improves efficiencies on every level

 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 requires U.S. companies maintain the ability to accurately track, account for, and disclose financial transactions
 Pre-trip approval is not specifically required per SOX; however, a pre-trip approval process combined with the processes of recording, approving and properly classifying travel related expense creates an environment capable to comply with SOX requirements
 Standardizes your travel authorization process worldwide
 Ensures business objectives and management oversight are integrated into the Corporate Travel Program

Duty of Care
Optimize Travel
Spend
Manage Travel
Budget
Control Travel
Expenditures
Responsible
Employees
Effective Travel
Program
Pre-Trip Approval
Process

 Optimizes travel spend by ensuring all employees adhere to your company’s travel policy prior to ticketing
 For instance, lowest fare at time of booking, preferred carriers, etc…
 Enables you to address non-compliance issues and capture policy exceptions and reason-for-travel codes
 Eliminates non-essential business travel
 Eliminates multiple people on one trip
 Assists organizations/departments with managing travel budgets
 Effective tool to monitor, control and manage travel expenditures

 Assists with safeguarding your travelers and providing for proper duty of care
 Enables a corporation to see the travel destination’s risk classification (Low/Medium/High/Extreme Risk)
 Provides the opportunity to apply the appropriate and necessary risk mitigation actions and procedures
 Travel authorization protocols help to regulate employee behavior by fostering a greater sense of responsibility within the traveler

 Hard Stop Approval
 All reservations must be approved before ticketing by a designated travel authorizer (manager level or higher)
 Passive Approval
 All reservations are ticketed without approval
 Out of policy reservations are sent to the appropriate travel authorizer for review; the opportunity now exists to void the ticket within 24 hours of ticket issuance

Reservation is booked by an agent or
OBT
Authorizer determines if trip passes approval
Authorizer assesses risk & compliance
Travel
Itinerary is sent to a travel authorizer for approval
Reservation approved or rejected for ticketing

Pros
 This process supports full control of travel expenditures prior to purchase
 All of the traveler benefits listed in preceding slides can be obtained
 Travel risk is identified and addressed prior to travel
 Most efficient interaction with the travel agency
Cons
 Risk of lost fares if not approved in a timely manner
 More time consuming
 Need to have a back-up process in the event the designated travel authorizer does not respond to an approval request
 Approvers need to be diligent with approving travel

Reservation is booked by an agent or OBT
Reservation auto-tickets
Itinerary sent to authorizer for review
Trip does not meet established parameters
Reservation auto-tickets
Authorizer approves or rejects trip
Trip meets established parameters
Reservation stays ticketed
Reservation stays ticketed or is voided

Pros
 Companies can establish/customize parameters to filter reservations that will require approval
 Reservation not in compliance with Corporate Travel Policy
 Dollar threshold for tickets that exceed lowest fare available
Cons
 Company may not gain all of the benefits listed in preceding slides
 High risk travel may go totally unnoticed
 Elimination of non-essential business travel and multiple people on one trip
 Direct connect carriers cannot always be voided
 Cannot void ticket if the agent processed an exchange using existing travel credit

 Pre-trip approval is a precursor and a foundational element for many travel processes/benefits
 Pre-trip approval is the most efficient and cost-effective way to satisfy your company’s goals while concurrently safeguarding your travelers and enhancing their travel experience
 Pre-trip approval is the stepping stone for a Travel Risk Management
Program and the most efficient and effective approach for applying risk avoidance and mitigation tactics to appropriate travelers
 Employee responsibility, morale and company perception are greatly enhanced.
 Standardization simplifies management and creates an environment of accountability

Questions about Passive or Hard Stop Approvals?
13