Travel budget management with Lightning

Airfare fluctuations and unforeseen changes to travel schedules can be a challenge for travel managers managing a travel budget. For a leading luxury fashion brand, managing travel across multiple divisions without an integrated solution had become costly and time-consuming.

Relying solely on offline booking and manual processes, they faced inefficiencies that significantly impacted their travel budget and required substantial administrative oversight. By introducing CTM’s Lightning online booking tool (OBT), the customer could seamlessly access real-time flight schedules and fares across all classes enabling them to sort options by the lowest fares or corporate deals. This eliminated the need for a manual quotation process, saving time and reducing the frequency of missed savings. Additionally, Lightning Asia’s Fare Forecasting feature provides visibility of airfares up to three days before and after the selected travel dates at the time of booking, helping the customer identify the most cost-effective travel days – supporting better travel budget management.

Blending technology and personalised service

With Lightning, the customer experienced seamless integration of technology and personalised support. From booking to ticketing and invoicing, Lightning streamlined every aspect of the booking process. CTM ensured Lightning was configured around the customer travel policy, giving them better control and visibility over their travel programme. This resulted in a noticeable improvement in efficiency and reduced the administrative burden on their travel manager.

Achieving cost savings and higher efficiency

Since fully implementing Lightning, the customer has reached an impressive adoption rate of over 70%, realising substantial savings in business travel spend. With a more efficient, technology-driven approach to managing their travel budget, the travel team has gained the freedom to focus on enhancing their overall travel programme and maximising the return on their travel investment.

By embracing Lightning, this luxury fashion brand has successfully transformed its travel budgeting process demonstrating how the right technology can help reduce travel spend, maximise the travel budget, drive efficiency and elevate the travel experience.