If your employees regularly go on business trips, the right
travel management platform
can be your best friend and can make all the difference between getting overwhelmed by admin tasks and creating a smooth and easy travel experience for everyone who’s on the road.A SaaS travel management tool enables you to plan itineraries, compare and book flights and hotels, manage expenses, and change plans if needed. In short, it helps you optimise travel plans and expenses in a way that is stress-free for both admin staff and travellers — and that doesn’t harm employees’ productivity while they’re on a trip.
CWT (formerly known as Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a travel management company that helps companies of all sizes, as well as government institutions and NGOs, optimise their travel programmes and provide swift assistance to travellers.
That being said, CWT might not be the best option for every company out there. Depending on your needs, you might be better served by another corporate travel management platform.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best CWT competitors to help you choose a provider that really meets your needs.
Let’s dive in.
1. TravelPerk
TravelPerk
is an end-to-end travel management company with an all-in-one digital platform for businesses and corporate travellers.The modern platform is built with traveller self-management at its core and enables users to manage the business travel booking process from beginning to end from its centralised platform. From travel management, reporting, and trip approvals to
policy compliance
and traveller safety features
, TravelPerk aims to provide a quality experience for business travellers and finance managers.As well as access to an extensive
inventory of flights
and accommodation
, TravelPerk offers many corporate travel features. These include a VAT recovery solution
, a carbon offsetting programme
, and FlexiPerk
, an add-on that allows users to cancel their travel plans up to two hours before departure with a guaranteed refund of 80%.TravelPerk noteworthy features
- An intuitive, user-friendly online booking platform—all traveller data, preferences, and loyalty points can be stored to use whenever needed.
- Integrated travel policy and approval flowsto streamline the booking process.
- A simplified travel expense process withreal-time expense reports.
- 24/7 business travel assistancewith a target 15-second response rate from the 7* customer care team.
- TravelCare, a complete and modern travel safety and alerts system that provides business travellers with peace of mind.
- Centralised and single invoicing for all business travel, removing the need to send invoice requests and reminders.
- A huge catalogue of integrations with third-party software.
On top of the comprehensive features listed above, TravelPerk also offers a
meetings and events management
solution and enables users to book alternative transportation options, such as trains
and rental cars
from within the TravelPerk platform.How customers rate TravelPerk
- G2 rating: 4.5/5 (as of March 2024)
- Capterra rating: 4.8/5 (as of March 2024)
TravelPerk pricing
Since TravelPerk is suitable for businesses of all sizes, there are four pricing plans to choose from, starting with a free tier. All plans have access to an industry-leading travel inventory and the 7* customer care support team, and customers can add an unlimited amount of travellers or administrators to the platform.
Across all of TravelPerk’s paid plans, businesses only pay the monthly fee if they travel that month. Here’s an overview of TravelPerk’s pricing tiers:
- Starter: The first 5 bookings each month are completely free too, with a 5% booking fee thereafter. Users have access to consolidated invoicing, unlimited cost centres, one policy and approval workflow, and travel restrictions information and alerts.
- Premium: Priced at £99/month with a 3% booking fee, this plan offers concierge services for special requests, savings of up to 25% with VAT-ready invoices, and secure traveller sign-in and automated user setup
- Pro: This plan costs £299/month with a 3% booking fee and provides unlimited policy and approval workflows, unlimited budgets by cost centre, custom reports and insights, and access to negotiated rates
- Enterprise: This tier is designed for enterprise businesses that want to customise their requirements. To find out more about this plan, get in touch with an expert.
Languages supported by TravelPerk
TravelPerk supports the following languages: English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French.
CWT vs TravelPerk
So, how do CWT and TravelPerk compare?
On G2
, CWT has only 6 reviews and a rating of 3.7/5, while TravelPerk has a score of 4.6/5 (with 1476 reviews). Of the small number of reviews, one user reported that "CWT is reliable
".Users report that TravelPerk “
takes the complexity out of booking business travel
” and that the platform provides “great UX, good prices, and top customer service
”.CWT isn’t present on Capterra, while TravelPerk has a rating of
4.8/5
.2. SAP Concur
SAP Concur is one of the most popular corporate travel management software solutions out there, enabling you to manage travel bookings, expenses, and invoices in one location.
It has three core functionalities:
- Concur Expense streamlines expense management and auditing and automates expense reports.
- Concur Invoice can be used to automate and integrate account payable processes and invoice validation and gain better visibility into spending.
- And lastly, Concur Travel lets employees book business travel on their own via an extensive network of travel suppliers.
The main features of SAP Concur
SAP Concur provides travel management services to medium and large companies and has plenty to offer:
- Travel, expense, and invoice management in one platform
- Automated expense reports and management
- All-in-one event planning and management to simplify attendee registration and event spending
- Three-way match, analysing purchase orders, receipts, and invoices for every payment
- A consolidated dashboard with all your corporate travel data and customisable reports
- Quick API integrations with other providers, such as Xero, NetSuite, and Quickbooks
G2 rating:
4/5
Capterra rating:
4.3/5
Pricing: 3-tier plan: Automate (£9/report), Insights (quote-based), Optimise (quote-based)
Languages supported: 20+ languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and more.
(Info checked on the 19th of March, 2024)
CWT vs. SAP Concur
If we’re speaking about customers’ reviews of the two platforms, it’s difficult to make a side-by-side comparison, because CWT’s presence on review sites such as G2 and Capterra is not that strong.
SAP Concur is a part of the SAP ecosystem, which means that it integrates well with all other SAP products, such as SAP CRM, SAP Advanced Planner and Optimiser, and more. Both SAP Concur and CWT provide an end-to-end travel service that helps them keep track of their travel arrangements.
In fact, SAP Concur and CWT work together: SAP Concur supports CWT in providing full data transparency to its users and adapting to different languages, currencies, and tax requirements.
3. CTM
CTM (Corporate Travel Management) is another business travel management software that is devoted to providing personalised travel solutions to companies. It focusses on simplicity, sustainability, and safety, and gives you an overview of the savings you make with each trip.
The main features of CTM
- An intuitive mobile app, from which travellers can plan, book, and change travels on the go
- A self-serve online booking tool to find and book the best deals
- Competitive fares and a strategic budget control, enabling you to benchmark employees’ spending and save money
- A customised dashboard regrouping all your corporate travel data
- A dedicated account manager to help you optimise your travel programme
- Industry-specific solutions for sports, academic travel, small businesses, and more
G2 rating:
1.8/5
(2 reviews)Capterra rating: N/A
Pricing: Upon request (subscription fee)
Languages supported: English
(Info checked on the 19th of March, 2024)
CWT vs. CTM
So, how do CWT and CTM compare? It’s a bit difficult to say, because both companies have only very few reviews on app comparison sites: CWT has only 6 reviews on G2, while CTM has only one. Neither are present on Capterra.
On G2, one commenter
said that CTM
’s customer support was poor but that the platform itself was intuitive and provided the ability to add multiple destinations to a trip. Another reviewer said about CWT
that the platform had been reliable but that customer service quality varied from agent to agent.4. FCM Travel
FCM Travel has recently rebuilt its platform to make it more flexible and provide better corporate travel management solutions to its customers. It used to be a conventional business travel management company but is now offering AI-enabled online travel management solutions.
The main features of FCM Travel
- Simple and intuitive bookings managed through the platforms
- Optimised approval workflows to simplify complex procedures
- Advanced safety and risk management for travellers
- A streamlined expense management process
- Actionable reporting and analytics to help you optimise your travel programme
- A mobile app to enable travellers to manage and update bookings on the go
G2 rating:
5/5
(1 review)Capterra rating: N/A
Pricing: Upon request
Languages supported: English
(Info checked on the 19th of March, 2024)
CWT vs. FCM Travel
Both CWT and FCM Travel don’t have a lot of ratings online and aren’t present on some of the more popular comparison websites. That being said, we found a
couple of reviews
of FCM Travel in which customers are mostly expressing their dissatisfaction with the company and its slow and inefficient processes.5. BCD Travel
The last CWT alternative we’d like to mention is BCD Travel. The company operates in more than 100 countries and offers streamlined reporting, expense management, and even CO2 emissions tracking. It has an online booking system with multiple tools and platforms.
The main features of BCD Travel
- Real-time alerts in BCD’s mobile app to make sure all travellers are safe
- Streamlined spend management and full data visibility
- Data reporting within 90 minutes of making a booking
- TripSource®, a tool allowing admin staff and travellers to manage trips in one place
- 24/7 customer service
G2 rating: N/A
Capterra rating: N/A
Pricing: Upon request
Languages supported: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
(Info checked on the 19th of March, 2024)
CWT vs. BCD Travel
It’s difficult to say: BCD Travel’s online presence on comparison websites and customer review websites like Capterra and G2 is practically non-existent, while CWT has only a handful of reviews on G2.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered 5 alternatives to CWT. All of them have solid features, but it's important to make the right choice based on your business needs.
Curious to see how TravelPerk can help?
Request a free demo today
to see how TravelPerk can simplify business travel for you and improve your travel experience from A to Z.