Travel managements companies should play a bigger role in looking after the wellbeing of business travellers, according to Ajay Sodha, managing director of Key Travel Management.

He told ttgbusiness.com at the Institute of Travel Management conference in Liverpool that TMCs must look a level beyond simply booking flights and hotels.

“We have the means to educate travellers about wellbeing in line with their company’s travel policy,” said Sodha. “We will be asking buyers to look at what parts of the policy are causing travellers stress.

“If you save £30 staying in a hotel out of town because of your commercial deal yet the traveller still has a distance to travel to a meeting, is that really a saving? And is it making life unnecessarily difficult for travellers?"

Sodha said to a large extent TMCs are only implementing the “bare bones” of a travel policy.

“Frontline agents talk to travellers about which class they may or may not travel and ask for the appropriate booking code but we don’t yet think about the next level," he said.

“We should be looking at booking patters. Are travellers taking two long-haul trips back to back? The business may say it is necessary but we should still be flagging it up. We need to get involved on a level above just flights and hotels.”