Corporate travel approval: a workflow that doesn’t slow teams

An approval workflow exists so the company knows, before buying, who is traveling, where, why and at what cost. The trouble starts when it becomes a bottleneck: the request sits in a director’s inbox, the fare goes up while nobody answers, and the ticket ends up being bought at a higher price, sometimes the day before the flight.

A good corporate travel approval process controls spending without holding the team back. At ArrowTur, organizing business travel since 1989, we see that the difference between a process that works and one that gets in the way comes down to a few decisions: how many levels there are, who approves what, how quickly, and what happens when the approver does not respond.

What travel approval is for

Approval is more than a manager saying yes. It confirms that the trip is necessary, that it complies with the policy and that there is budget in the cost center provided. It also records the decision, which makes internal audits and post-trip expense checks easier.

That is why approvers need the right information to decide quickly:

• traveler name, destination, dates and purpose of the trip;
• cost center and, where applicable, project or client;
• the options quoted, with the price of the chosen option and of the lowest available one;
• a clear flag on anything outside the policy, with the reason.

How many approval levels to have

Every extra level adds waiting time. For most trips, one level is enough: the direct manager or the person who owns the area’s budget. Additional levels should be kept for specific cases.

Example of a simple structure

• In-policy trip: approval by the direct manager.
• Out-of-policy trip (fare above the limit, higher cabin class, shorter lead time than required): direct manager and area director.
• International trips or trips above a set amount: direct manager and executive board.
• Directors’ trips: approval by a peer or by finance, according to the policy.

The threshold amount and exception rules vary from company to company. What matters is that they are written into the travel policy and that everyone knows which path each request will follow.

Response times and the cost of waiting

Airfares change throughout the day, and well-priced hotel holds can expire. An approval that takes three days may cost more than the savings it was meant to protect. A few rules help:

• A set deadline: for example, a response within one business day for domestic trips and faster for urgent requests.
• Automatic reminders: the approver gets a notice if the request is still pending.
• Visible fare deadline: the approver can see how long the booking holds the quoted price.
• Mobile approval: managers approve from wherever they are, without needing a computer.

Substitutes, absences and emergencies

Approvers’ vacations, trips and long meetings are the main reason requests get stuck. The workflow should include:

• a registered backup approver for each manager;
• temporary delegation during vacations and leave;
• a path for genuine emergencies, such as an urgent client visit or an equipment failure, with approval recorded afterwards.

Also define what counts as an emergency. If everything becomes an exception, the workflow loses its purpose and spending climbs again.

Pre-approval and recurring trips

Some trips repeat with the same profile: the consultant who visits the same branch every week, the technical team serving a fixed contract, the sales rep with a monthly route. For these cases, pre-approval avoids repeated requests.

It works like this: the manager approves, once, a set of trips with a defined destination, period and spending limit. Within those limits, bookings go ahead without new approval. Outside them, they return to the normal workflow. The monthly report shows whether usage stayed within what was agreed.

How to measure whether the workflow is working

A few numbers show whether approval is protecting the budget or just delaying purchases:

• average time between request and approval, by manager;
• requests that lost the quoted fare while waiting for a response;
• percentage of trips approved as policy exceptions;
• rejected requests and the most common reasons;
• average booking lead time before and after changes to the workflow.

If one manager’s approval time is much longer than the others’, it is worth discussing delegation or pre-approval for recurring trips.

Corporate travel approval with ArrowTur

At ArrowTur, we configure your company’s approval workflow according to its travel policy: levels by type of trip, approvers and backups by cost center, exception rules and response deadlines. Approvers receive the request with the quoted options and any out-of-policy items highlighted, and can reply by email or through the booking tool. Our consultants follow up on pending requests so the fare is not lost, and our reports show approval times and exceptions for each area.

Our team is available Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Brasília time), with emergency support outside those hours. Learn more about our corporate travel management and contact our sales team by phone at +55 11 5189-4120, on WhatsApp or through our Contact Us page.

Read also: Corporate travel policy: what to include and how to create one.

Frequently asked questions

Does every trip need approval?

In most companies, yes, but it can be simple. In-policy trips and pre-approved recurring trips can go through a single level or need no new approval.

What happens when the approver does not respond?

The workflow should include reminders, a response deadline and a backup approver. In genuine emergencies, the trip goes ahead and the approval is recorded afterwards.

Can the agency issue tickets without approval?

That depends on the rule the company sets. Most commonly, the agency issues only after approval, except in the emergency cases provided for in the policy.