Active Online Travel Approval: Game Changer or Just Another Speed Bump?

By Dan Pena Ron, Corporate Travel Management (CTM) Client Manager, Australia and New Zealand.

In the age of automation and instant gratification, “travel approval” may sound like a relic from the past, yet it’s very much alive and still utilised.

Active Online Travel Approval: is a system designed to keep business travel within budget, within policy, and, ideally, within reason. But how well does it work in practice? Is it making life easier, or just creating another hoop for employees and managers to jump through?

Let’s unpack it.

What is active online travel approval?

At its core, active online approval is a digital workflow embedded into a corporate booking tool or travel management system. Before a flight, hotel, or car rental is confirmed, the trip is flagged for managerial review and approval based on company policy.

Sounds good, right? In theory, it keeps rogue spending in check, ensures compliance with travel policies, and gives decision-makers visibility into where employees are going and why.

Does it actually help?

When it works as intended, yes. Companies can reduce unnecessary costs, discourage out-of-policy bookings, and gain peace of mind. Plus, when approvals are streamlined and integrated into booking platforms, the process can be almost flawless.

But here’s the catch: not all organisations use it effectively.

The common pitfalls

1. Slower Booking Times The most frequent complaint? Delays. When approvals depend human action, from busy managers, it can become a bottleneck affecting the entire booking process. Employees end up in limbo, unable to lock in good rates or secure their preferred flights.
2. Approver Overload If managers are bombarded with every single travel request, regardless of cost or complexity, it can quickly become a chore. Many end up approving trips just to get it done, defeating the whole purpose of oversight.
3. Low Decline Rates Here’s the truth about it: most travel requests are approved anyway. Studies and anecdotal data from travel managers suggest that fewer than 4% of bookings are declined. So, are we just going through the motions?
4. Compliance vs. Flexibility Travel isn’t always black and white. A slightly more expensive hotel may be closer to a meeting venue, saving time and ground transport costs. Rigid approval rules can sometimes discourage logical decision-making.

So, what’s the right approval approach?

The key is intelligent automation and policy driven workflows. For example:

• Auto-approve bookings under a certain threshold or within policy.
• Only flag exceptions like luxury hotels, business class flights, or breach of rate caps.
• Provide clear context to approvers (purpose, cost comparison, reason for exception) so decisions are quick and informed.
• Configure the online booking tool effectively to reduce out of policy bookings.

More importantly, track approval data. If 96% of bookings are getting approved anyway, maybe it’s time to remove active approval placing more trust in your employees.

Final thoughts

Active online travel approval isn’t bad. In fact, when used properly, it can provide a smart solution. But implementing it for the sake of having an approval process can slow things down, frustrate employees, and burden managers with low value admin tasks.

So, ask yourself: is your approval process helping or hindering your business?

About the author:

Dan Pena Ron is a dedicated Client Manager at CTM where he strives to elevate travel programs with a strategic focus on client ROI.