How Do I Become a Corporate Travel Consultant?

To become a corporate travel consultant, you'll have to have a thorough knowledge of the needs of business travelers. Corporate travel consultant requirements vary, but specialized training is often needed, as business clients often have more complicated flight and trip details than customers booking vacations. In corporate travel, there is usually also more of an emphasis placed on building a professional relationship with the client, such as by anticipating and planning for specifics in meeting facilities or other business services. Communication and listening skills are crucial if you hope to become a corporate travel consultant, as is an attention to detail and deadlines.

Corporate travel often has an urgency and lack of flexibility that the tourism side of the industry doesn't. This means many business clients will depend on your ability to schedule transportation and hotel check-ins to minimize their time spent waiting for flights, connections and other typical holdups. The smoother and more hassle-free you can coordinate these business trips on a tight deadline, the more likely you are to become a corporate travel consultant with a solid base of happy clients. Understanding some foreign languages, or at least the basic geography and customs, of locales in which you'll be arranging travel can be extremely beneficial in a career as a corporate travel consultant.

Being able to communicate with foreign transportation and accommodation-related companies to get what your business clients want is essential. Corporate customers expect their budget needs to be met, whether it is to save costs through more economy travel options or to have luxury amenities such as work space and hotel-like accommodation on private charter flights. Listening to the client's needs initially and noting them for future bookings is mandatory if you want to become a corporate travel consultant with a network of satisfied clients. Listening to and communicating with clients and key contacts in the travel industry will be a large part of your career.

Education and training requirements for corporate travel consultants vary widely depending on the employer and country. You may be able to be hired with a Grade 12 diploma by some companies, while others may expect a bachelor's or even a master's degree in travel and tourism. In any case, continuing education is typically mandatory if you want to become a corporate travel consultant, as you'll be expected to be an expert with the leading industry information. Your clients will be able to access information about travel on the Internet, so you must always stay at least several steps ahead.