Free Corporate Travel Policy Template
Looking to implement a travel policy? Don’t know where to start? Download our free travel policy template in Word format for easy editing or keep reading to learn more about what to include.
If you’re looking for a Sustainable Travel Policy, you can download one here.
Fill out the form below to receive the Corporate Travel Policy Template:
What is a Travel Policy?
A travel policy is your company’s rules and procedures that outline how your employees should book, approve and includes expense travel for business purposes. Corporate travel policies are usually created by the Finance team and detail criteria such as if an employee can fly business class, normally determined by the length of the flight, how many weeks in advance they should book their trips, or if there are any precautions employees must take when travelling alone.
A comprehensive travel policy should have information about the following:
- Booking process
- Allowable cost of booking hotels and flights
- Any exceptions or rules
- Preferred company vendors
- Approval process for trips that exceed typical limitations
- Reimbursement process
- Permitted and not permitted expenses i.e. Alcohol with the evening meal
- Travel insurance provider
- What to do in an emergency
What’s in a Travel Policy?
Our company travel policy template contains eight key sections:
- General Guidelines
- Travel Administration
- Key Travel Policy Guidelines by category, (Air/Rail/Hotel/Car)
- General Travel Policy Guidelines by category
- Travel Agency Contact Details
- Travel Booking Process
- Travel Request Form
- Personal Travel Profile Form
Travel policy Introduction
Your travel policy template should include an introduction to make it clear to employees that your policy is not just a box-ticking exercise. It’s there to keep them safe, improves fairness and reduces manual work and confusion. We recommend including a bulleted point list of the key principles and benefits of your travel policy so travellers know why it matters.
General Guidelines
Your travel policy template should include guidelines that apply to all employees, explaining the benefits to them as well as stating your general policies such as…
Employees are expected to apply good judgement regarding the need to travel, the method and the timing of each trip with minimum impact on the business and the total cost.
Wherever possible, the need to travel must be based on a clear benefit to the company. The use of video or audio-conferencing facilities should always be considered.
Travel Administration
You need to ensure your staff knows the procedure for booking travel including:
- How to contact your travel management company (TMC)
- The approval process, especially if the trip falls outside your travel policy
- What expenses will be paid
Key Travel Policy Guidelines
This is where you set out your key corporate travel policy and answer questions such as:
- Airline preference?
- Which class should they fly in ie
- Short Haul – Economy
- Long Haul (Flight time: 5- 9 hours) – Premium Economy
- Long Haul (Flight time: over 9 hours) – Business Class
- Should rail travel be booked by the employee or the TMC?
- What is the per-night room price limit?
General Travel Policy Guidelines
General Travel Policy Guidelines apply to all aspects of travel and could include:
- Rewards Programmes
- Internet access
- Phone usage
- Meals
- Visa’s
- Passport
- Expenses
- Taxis
- Public Transport (Bus/Tube etc.)
- Car mileage
- Travel Insurance
- Out of hours travel changes
- Personal travel – as part of business trip
- Entertainment
- Exchange Rates
- Use of company credit cards
Travel Agency Contact Details
This states how your employees should contact your TMC. This could include a dedicated email address and phone number and make sure your staff know the out of hours phone number in case of emergencies:
- [email protected]
- From UK +44 (0) 844 736 3663
- From outside UK and Mobile +44 (0)116 264 5270
- 24hr Emergency Service: +44 (0)1730 820 990
Travel Booking Process
A basic diagram to outline the process flow for completing a booking. Forward planning and adherence to the travel policy will speed the time taken to complete the booking.
Travel Request Form
This is most commonly done via an online booking tool but it’s always good to have this information when booking your travel through your TMC.
- Name as shown on Passport
- Travel Dates
- Locations To/From
- Preferred hotels
- Car hire
Don’t forget to leave enough time for approval, flights are normally only held for 24 hours and you will need to rebook if not approved in time!
Personal Travel Profile
After you’ve appointed your TMC, they will require travel profiles for your staff to ensure they can book flights, hotels, etc with ease. The travel profile usually includes:
- Last Name (as on passport)
- First Name (as on passport)
- Middle Name
- Title (Mr / Mrs / Miss etc.)
- Position / Job Title
- Home Address
- Emergency Contact (Name)
- Emergency Contact (Phone No)
- Email address
- Air Travel preferences
- Airline memberships / numbers
- Car Rental memberships/numbers
- Hotel chain memberships/ numbers
- Dietary requirements
- Seating preference
- Passport number
- Place of issue
- Date of Birth
- Expiry date
- Date of issue
