Booking data from a travel management company includes
transaction activity performed through the TMC and provides visibility into
air, hotel and car bookings; spend management; traveler profile maintenance;
unused tickets; contract compliance; and traveler location.
Pros & Cons: TMC data includes offline and online
bookings if the booking tool is integrated. Data is limited to transactions
performed through the TMC, providing a limited view of actual spend, but the
detail is good. Because TMCs are not truly global, multinational programs may
rely on several TMCs that may not standardize or fully combine with the primary
TMC.
Access/Formats: Companies can attain exportable raw
data or standard reports from their TMCs as part of their standard packages or
through a proprietary data reporting platform, which can cost extra. Reporting tools vary from canned reports to
dynamic data visualization and drill-down capabilities.
Booking Tool: Separate or integrated with the TMC, booking
tool data provides insight into travel spend, traveler behavior and compliance.
Booking tools can provide raw data, reports or an online analytics platform,
which is likely to cost extra.