Corporate travel glossary
Last updated 2 November 2026
The words that come up when a company starts managing its travel, in plain English. For finance teams, travel managers, and founders who've just become both.
Advance booking rule
A travel policy rule that sets how many days before departure a trip must be booked.
Approval workflow
The steps a trip goes through before it's booked: who is asked to approve it, in what order, and who covers while they're away.
Booking fee
A fee a travel management company or platform charges on each booking, on top of the fare or rate.
Cabin class
The section of the plane a seat is in: economy, premium economy, business or first. Travel policies often set it by flight length.
Corporate travel management
How a company books, controls and pays for its people's work trips: the policy, the approvals, the booking itself, support while people travel, and reporting on what it all cost.
Cost centre
The part of the business a cost is charged to, such as a department or a project. Recording it on each trip lets finance see travel spend by team.
Duty of care
An employer's responsibility for the safety of its people while they travel for work: knowing where they are, being able to reach them, and helping in an emergency.
Fare limit
The most a traveller may spend on a flight, often set per route.
Hotel limit
The most a traveller may spend per night on a hotel, usually set per city because prices differ so much between cities.
Negotiated rate
A hotel or airline price agreed for one company, usually in return for a volume of bookings.
Out-of-policy booking
A trip that breaks one or more of the travel policy's rules. A policy says whether such trips are blocked, or allowed with a reason and an approval.
PO number
A purchase order number: the reference finance uses to match a cost to an approved purchase. Some companies require one on every trip.
Travel management company (TMC)
A company that books and manages business travel for other companies, usually with support for travellers and reporting for finance.
Travel policy
A company's rules for work trips: what people can book, who approves it, and how the cost is recorded.
Travel spend reporting
Reports that show where a company's travel money went: by department, destination, airline and person, and which trips were booked outside policy.