Did you know that, on average, between 5-7% of total travel spend is lost when manually tracking unused ticket credits? While there are many cost saving benefits to a managed travel program, maximizing the value of your unused ticket credits is definitely high on that list. Unused ticket tracking has always been a savings driver, but in the COVID-19 era, it has never been more important. The number of unused ticket credits has reached an extreme high. Our data shows an increase of 275% above the previous monthly averages for this same time period last year. This data, compounded by higher employee turnover and ever-changing airline policies makes it even more important to manage this portion of your travel spend properly. Here are a few of the key elements to consider when looking for a partner to manage your travel better.

Get Visibility

Ultimately it’s the visibility into your travelers’ unused ticket credits that is most important. In order for any new process to be effective you need to know what you’re missing, and gain back control of your unused ticket credits before you can begin to realize the savings. The easiest way to do this is to automate the entire process. At Cadence, we use Agency Technology software to streamline this automation, providing real-time ticket tracking and a smoother and more efficient process. As a result, our clients gain insight into their spend via monthly reports, flag credits for future use, record savings, and more! Using this tool and our own internal processes, while leveraging our industry partners, our success rate of utilizing applicable tickets is 99%.

Be Proactive

Once you have insight into your available credits, it’s important to be proactive in using them. Cadence ensures that expiration dates have been updated with the latest guidelines from each of the major US carriers. We stay current by engaging with our vendors via weekly calls and make continuous updates. We also leverage UATP accounts when possible to consolidate ticket credits for easier management and fund usage.

Communicate Effectively

A travel company like Cadence will automatically apply credits when permitted to ensure proactive application and the most value. However, if you’re managing a high number of available ticket credits, you may also want to increase the frequency of your traveler communication as it relates to your travel policy and workflow changes. It’s a good practice to send out refreshers to remind travelers where they can view and apply ticket credits in their booking tool, or to use them with an agent, especially for those who have been not traveling for many months.

Communication is also critically important when implementing your return-to-travel plans. Be sure to take advantage of this time to address holes in your policy or processes. We call this travel leakage. Leakage happens when employees or departments are booking outside of your designated travel program and going direct to vendors. Your data is only as good as what you can see and track. Ensure everyone is aligned by re-communicating the policy and enforcing the rules you set in place.

More To Consider

Have you had turnover during the pandemic? Most companies have. Without a managed travel partner, chances are any unused ticket credits belong to those employees will be lost. But they don’t have to be. At Cadence, we mitigate any potential losses by a process that allows us to apply name changes to re-use the ticket credits for different travelers. This is the power of a managed travel program – cost savings, leveraged spend, and duty of care that begins and ends with care.

Looking to gain insight into your own unused ticket credits or recapture lost spend? Please reach out to connect with our team and find out more about how we can maximize your travel program's cost savings.

Maximize Your Unused Ticket Credits