Begin with the journeys you actually make
List your regular destinations, approximate booking frequency and the traveller groups involved. Include who requests travel, who approves it and how late changes are handled. If leadership journeys differ from project-team visits, make that distinction visible. A partner can only propose a relevant service when the brief describes those differences. Identify the problems you want to solve: repeated clarification, unsuitable options, approval delays or a fragmented itinerary. Avoid beginning with a feature checklist that has no connection to those problems.
Test a realistic request
Ask a shortlisted partner to explain how they would handle a representative journey. Use a fictional traveller and a genuine planning challenge, such as a fixed meeting time with an uncertain return date. Look for the reasoning behind the suggested itinerary. Are baggage, airport transfers and hotel location considered? Are fare conditions presented clearly? A useful demonstration should help the approver make a decision, rather than simply show a large number of flight results.
Understand the service and commercial arrangement
Clarify how requests are received, who coordinates them and what support is available when plans change. Ask how service hours, urgent requests and escalation are defined in the proposed arrangement. Review booking, amendment and cancellation service fees alongside any supplier charges. Confirm payment and invoicing terms before onboarding. There is no benefit in comparing one provider’s headline booking fee with another provider’s total service cost; request a like-for-like explanation of what is included and what is charged separately.
Look at the handover from quote to journey
A quote is only one stage. Ask what happens after an option is selected, how the approved conditions are recorded and where the traveller finds the final itinerary. Distinguish a selected option, a held booking and an issued ticket. They are different stages and should not be described interchangeably. The same applies to a hotel request and a confirmed reservation. Good technology makes the stage of the arrangement easier to understand, with people available to resolve questions.
Agree how the programme will improve
Discuss the information that will be available for review and how often it will be considered. Useful questions include which routes generate repeated changes, where travellers reject the first options and which approval steps create delays. Reporting should support a decision, not create another administrative task. Agree a manageable starting scope, review the relationship after a period of real use and adjust the process in response to evidence. Ask for an explanation of proposed improvements rather than a guaranteed savings percentage.