Independent Auditing For Corporate Travel Procurement: Has Your Corporation Been Misled?
Corporations are always in need of Independent Travel Audit and Oversight services, and employ a travel audit firm to ensure that the audit on their hotel rates and airfares brings results, but most times, corporations end up employing Travel Audit Firms that are in partnership with travel agencies.
When a corporation employs a Travel Audit firm who is in partnership with a travel agency, it defeats the purpose of hiring the Travel Audit firm. These travel audit firms are esentially interested in their pockets, and would do almost anything to sell to their corporate clients; that their partner travel agency is the best thing that has happened to the business world.
The results they submit to corporate institutions are usually biased, favoring the travel agency that lines their pockets with cash. You are wondering if this is legal; it is unfairly legal. There are many travel audit firms that claim to offer the best audit services for you, the corporation, for great pre-trip, hotel, and air fare savings. Some go ahead to claim they offer the lowest prices for the best audit services in the travel world.
Yes, they may offer the lowest prices [buyer beware], but definitely not the best audit services in the travel world. Many of these travel audit firms that blow their horns on offering the lowest prices for quality services do this because they can afford to offer little or no fee since they will get a large piece of the cake from indirectly referring you to the travel agency and suppliers they partner with. The corporate buyer’s interest is definitely not their focus, as they parade the tainted audit as the Holy Grail.
The act of some unscrupulous travel audit firms should not taint the entire industry. There still exists few travel audit firms that offer independent travel audit and oversight services to get their corporate clients, hotel and airfare savings.
You are wondering how you can find a genuine one. Hire only travel audit firms that are independent. Before you hire a travel audit firm, ensure that they have no ties with a travel agency or suppliers of any sort. Do some background check. Immediately when you see signs of them partnering with a travel agency, pull the plug on the deal.
Every corporation deserves the best in travel audit, this is why they should opt for independent travel audit firms, with no ties to a travel agency.