In-house travel agencies are becoming a more prominent staple of mid-sized and large businesses.

For a number of reasons, more mid-sized and large companies have begun addressing their organization’s travel activities by launching in-house travel agencies. With managers traveling to production plants to oversee supply chain progress, sales teams venturing out to meet potential clients and a glut of other needs that make travel an integral part of a business’s success, the cost and data management can become an endeavor that is best accomplished by a team closely affiliated with the company.

The travel expenses of Dart Container, the world’s largest producer of food-packaging containers and foam cups, average out to $600,000 for car rentals, $1.5 million on hotel rooms and $2.3 million on airline tickets annually, according to an American Express article. But the company also saved 53 percent on expenses by opening their own travel department.

Cheryl Benjamin, the travel manager for Dart, tells American Express that organizing the travel for a company with 45 facilities in 8 different countries means trying to “keep track of multiple people in many places on a daily basis, like running a business within a business. There’s no software tool that will do it for you.”

Though launching an in-house travel agency is not practical for most companies, there are few obstacles to receiving accreditation from the Airlines Reporting Corp as a corporate travel department. After paying a $2,000 application fee and an annual renewal of $160, a company is able to perform as any traditional retail travel agency would, but only within its organization.

Republic National Bank, now a part of HSBC, was the first corporation to launch its own internal travel agency in 1998. But with the practice gaining more prominence company’s are in need of the best qualified candidates to oversee their travel activities. Travel Placement Service has the expertise you’re looking for when trying to recruit, or work as, a corporate travel manager. Contact us today!