In times of pandemic, when companies are struggling to reduce expenses and increase revenue more and more, the expectation on measuring ROI will be more and more valuable in the corporate travel segment.

But what is ROI?

This acronym is the abbreviation of the expression “Return on Investment”, translating into Portuguese: Retorno sobre Investimento, that is, an indicator widely used to measure the effectiveness of different types of investments made by the company. With this metric, managers can exactly see which strategies are bringing better financial returns to the company, thus avoiding spending time and money on less efficient ones.

How to calculate ROI?

The formula is very simple. ROI = (Profit obtained – Cost of travel) ./. Cost of travel

The figure obtained will be the return on capital which was invested during a business trip. To calculate this number, it is necessary that all expenses related to the trip are fully accrued.

For example, the cost of corporate travel resulted in R $ 4,000 and the profit obtained (financial return) was R $ 10,000, we would then be:

ROI = (10,000 – 4,000) / 4,000

ROI = 1.5

This means that the return was 1.5 times the cost of the trip, that is, 150% (in percentage).

The important thing is to accrue all travel expenses and not forget any item: airfare, accommodation, traveler’s meals, rent a car, courses, events, travel insurance etc.

However it is worth mentioning that even if sometimes the ROI is not positive, it should be considered that the business trips are part of a broad strategy and it may be generating other invisible and indirect results. Also many of the benefits generated by the business trip will not be achieved in the short or medium term.

How to increase the ROI?

Possibly the first idea that comes to mind is to reduce spending. For this to happen, it is recommended to have an effective travel policy, where travelers have a good understanding of refund rules, preferred suppliers and booking tools. With all the rules being met, it is easier to control these expenses and see the points where the company can save.

If possible, use travel management tools and platforms. Having a specialized technological solution can help a lot in organizing the business trips.

As we have shown, understanding what ROI is, it allows you to better define the expected results of each corporate trip, analyze how each one happened and what the expenses were. All this combined with a good travel partner company, the expenses will be optimized, the ROI will grow and your company will get better results.

And the most important recommendation is to have some strategic partners who are able to manage the choices intelligently. Look for a partner that can get better prices on accommodation, tickets, transfers and other travel services and count on WTB Travel to be your ideal choice.