World Travel Service (WTS) is a trusted travel management company and a TMC Elite partner of SAP Concur, offering certified support, seamless tool integrations, and deep expertise in helping corporate travelers optimize their bookings.
Navigating business travel with SAP Concur is smoother and safer when you follow best practices. Here are key tips, including your focus areas, plus suggestions to enhance every trip.
1. Complete Bookings in a Timely Manner
- Why it matters: Until finalized, holds on flights, cars, and hotels are temporary. Leaving trips in limbo puts your space at risk, and availability isn’t guaranteed without booking.
- Best practice: Start and complete your trip booking in one session. Once you add segments (air, car, hotel), move swiftly to finalize and wait for confirmation.
2. Avoid Mid-Process Edits
- Issue: Adding a hotel or car before the airline ticket is issued can disrupt the sequence, generating errors or ticketing delays.
- Best practice: Once you’re in the ticketing stage, allow Concur to process. Wait for your invoice and confirmation email before editing the trip.
3. Watch for “Withdrawn” Status Alerts
- What’s happening: Concur is updating codes for airline schedule changes. Some may inaccurately mark your trip as “Withdrawn,” even if it’s still active.
- Best practice: If you see “Withdrawn” without cancellation, contact WTS immediately to validate your booking.
4. Leverage Policy-Driven Booking to Stay Compliant
SAP Concur’s platform helps enforce your travel policy, vendor rules, budget limits, preferred carriers, all embedded into the tool. This drives both cost control and duty of care.
Tips:
- Use direct (nonstop) or lowest-logical-fare filters to save time and money.
- Take advantage of inline guidance: flagged non-compliant options and hotel notes can help faster compliance.
5. Book Early & Monitor Availability
- Book flights, rooms, and rental cars well in advance. Last-minute bookings can cost more and carry a higher cancellation risk.
- Keep an eye on your itinerary for alerts: Concur integrates schedule change updates into trips to aid duty of care.
6. Keep Your Profile & Payment Info Updated
- Ensure your traveler profile is current, especially passport and birthdate, for flights.
- Verify you’ve added a valid corporate credit card; expired card details can block bookings.
7. Use Support Resources When Needed
- If Concur isn’t populating inventory or you get errors, contact WTS. They know system patterns and workarounds during platform lags or schedule-driven system oddities.
- Clearly communicate with your travel manager if you encounter a “Withdrawn” flag.
8. Embrace Data & Analytics
- Concur offers reporting features to track trip costs, booking behavior, and vendor compliance.
- Use this data to inform policy improvements: e.g., identifying expensive routes, and renegotiating with providers.
9. Prioritize Traveler Experience
- Nonstop flight filters, flexible booking windows, and custom hotel notes improve traveler satisfaction.
- Encourage feedback post-trip to continuously refine travel policy and platform workflows.
Final Thoughts
SAP Concur is a powerful booking tool, but it works best when travelers follow best practices, WTS support, and corporate policy alignment. Speed, accuracy, clear communication, and ongoing feedback are critical to a seamless experience, ensuring safety, savings, and satisfaction on every trip.
Ready to optimize your Concur experience? Contact your Program Manager or email online@worldtrav.com for more about training, updates, and feedback channels.