Travel Glossary · Corporate Travel
Travel Management Company (TMC)
Definition
Travel Management Company (TMC): A travel management company is an agency that books, manages, and reports on an organization’s business travel, applying its travel policy and supporting travelers before and during trips.
A TMC is the managed alternative to employees booking trips on their own. Core services include air, hotel, car, and rail booking; storing traveler profiles and loyalty numbers; applying the company’s travel policy; tracking unused ticket credits; and reporting spend so finance can see where the money goes.
Just as important is what happens during a trip. Because every booking sits in one place, a TMC knows where travelers are, can reach them when something goes wrong, and can rebook them after a cancellation. That is the foundation of an employer’s duty of care.
TMCs range from global agencies serving thousands of travelers to boutique firms where one advisor knows each traveler’s preferences. Empyrean has provided travel management since 1984, with Gigi as your dedicated advisor rather than a call center. See what a TMC does for a deeper look.
Go deeper
- Travel GuidesWhat Is a Travel Management Company (TMC)?What a travel management company does, how TMCs get paid, how they differ from booking sites, and when your business is ready for one. A practical guide.
- Corporate TravelCorporate Travel Management Company in Los AngelesCorporate travel management since 1984: business flights, executive travel, meetings, duty of care and policy — one dedicated advisor for your whole team.
- Corporate TravelSmall Business Travel ManagementSmall business travel management without a big-company program: one dedicated Los Angeles advisor who books, tracks and manages your team’s trips.
- Travel GuidesCorporate Travel Program Checklist: Policy, Suppliers, Duty of Care and DataA practical corporate travel program checklist: policy and approvals, negotiated fares, payment, unused tickets, duty of care and reporting, step by step.
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