Coordinating Chauffeur Travel With a Travel Management Company
When a TMC holds the itinerary and the car is booked direct, the risk is two records that quietly disagree.
Two systems, one traveller
Most organisations of any size book flights and hotels through a travel management company while arranging chauffeur travel directly, because ground transport requirements are often too specific for a booking tool. That is a perfectly workable arrangement, but it creates two records of the same trip held in different places. Problems arise not from the split itself but from the assumption that a change made in one place is visible in the other.
Deciding who owns the ground leg
The simplest fix is to decide, once, whether ground transport is owned by the TMC or arranged directly, and to write that into the travel policy rather than leaving it to individual travellers. Mixed practice is what causes trouble: a director whose assistant books the car directly while the TMC also arranges one, or a traveller who assumes the airport transfer is included in a trip booked through an online tool because it usually is.
- State in policy who arranges ground transport for each trip type
- Name the people authorised to book directly
- Agree what the TMC records when a car is booked outside it
- Make one party responsible for cancelling if the trip is dropped
The duplicate booking problem
Two cars turning up for one traveller is the visible symptom; the invisible one is a cancelled trip where only one of the two bookings gets cancelled. Both are avoidable with a single habit: whoever books also cancels, and the traveller confirms which arrangement they are actually using before they travel. Where a TMC and a direct booking cover the same leg, it is worth resolving that the day before rather than at the kerb.
Changes made in the wrong place
A traveller who rebooks a flight through the TMC has changed their arrival time, and unless somebody tells the ground transport supplier, the car is still meeting the original one. Flight numbers help here, because a tracked flight adjusts automatically to the actual landing, but a change of flight number is a different matter entirely and has to be communicated. The cleanest arrangement is that any change to a flight triggers a message on the same thread as the original car booking.
Out of policy is not the same as unapproved
Ground transport frequently sits outside the default policy setting, particularly for senior travellers, late-night journeys and trips involving several stops. That is normally a matter of the policy allowing an exception with the right approval rather than the journey being prohibited. Recording the approval alongside the booking reference at the time, rather than explaining it during an audit, is what keeps the arrangement comfortable for everyone.
Reconciliation at the end of the month
Where flights come through a TMC statement and ground transport is billed directly, finance teams need both to carry the same references so a trip can be assembled from two sources. Agreeing the reference format at the outset, whether that is a cost centre, a project code or a traveller identifier, makes reconciliation mechanical rather than investigative. What is actually available on a billing record is confirmed when the account is set up.
Plan your chauffeur journey
London Chauffeurs provides itinerary-led private travel for airport transfers, executive travel, private aviation, events and long-distance UK journeys. Availability and pricing are confirmed for the requested itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
Can a TMC book on behalf of our company?
Arrangements where a travel management company books on a client account are handled per enquiry, including who receives confirmations and how billing is directed. The important part is deciding it once rather than letting practice vary between travellers.
How do we avoid two cars arriving for one traveller?
By naming who arranges ground transport for each trip type in your policy, and by applying the rule that whoever books also cancels. Where a duplicate is spotted, resolving it the day before is straightforward; resolving it at the kerb is not.
What happens if a flight is rebooked through the TMC?
A tracked flight adjusts to a delay automatically, but a new flight number is a different journey and needs to be sent through. A short message on the same thread as the original booking is enough, and it should be sent as soon as the change is made.