What should you look for when hiring a corporate travel manager?
If this is the first time you’re looking to post a vacancy for a travel manager job within your company, you might be unsure where to start from. This is why we’ve prepared a quick checklist of five things to look out for when drafting up your job postings and scanning LinkedIn profiles:
1. In-depth understanding of the travel industry
The role of travel manager is not an entry-level one. Your potential travel manager needs to know the travel industry intimately. This means understanding how to get the best deals, the economics of the industry, and be up-to-date with industry trends, policies, and best practices. They could have previous experience as travel managers or within specific sectors like service providers or travel agencies.
4. Great organizational skills
When multiple staff members are booking and planning their trips, reconciling their expenses, or are off on the trips at the same time, a travel manager needs to be on top of it all. They must have systems in place to have a real-time overview of all of this and this often means being open to using the latest technology solutions out there aimed at making this possible. A good travel manager must be an extremely well-organized and proactive planner.
5. The right qualifications
A travel manager’s experience undoubtedly comes from their time in the field, particularly in a supervisory role. That said, it’s important to make sure your candidates possess the right qualifications, in other words, a bachelor’s degree in tourism, travel, or hospitality. Candidates who have further certification in travel or hospitality are of particular value.
We asked Natalie Marcantonio, Office Manager at Quadmark what skills are generally valued in a corporate travel manager. Here's what she said:
"Being organized and pragmatic has helped me. Employees don't always have the time to organize their own travel, or due to being busy and stressed can often make mistakes in the booking process. I make sure that everyone within the company knows I'm approachable and willing to help them with their travel requirements. I also think it's really valuable to keep people updated with changes and confident to use all the elements available to them within the platform." (Natalie Marcantonio, Office Manager, Quadmark)