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JOHANNESBURG – Reports of travellers being denied entry at U.S. ports of entry have sparked international concern – and for South African corporates, they’ve triggered renewed discussions around a long-standing blind spot: employees making business travel bookings outside official company systems.
So far, no known cases have involved South African travellers. But according to travel experts, the risks exposed by incidents abroad apply just as easily here.
“These stories have brought some uncomfortable realities to the surface,” says Mummy Mafojane, GM of FCM. “They remind companies how vulnerable they are when they don’t know where their people are travelling, or how.”
That vulnerability is often created by one simple decision: a traveller choosing to book a flight or hotel on their own – outside of authorised corporate travel channels. Known in the industry as travel leakage or “rogue bookings,” this behaviour is once again in the spotlight, thanks to the growing unpredictability of international mobility regulations.
A Growing Risk for Companies
For most corporate travellers, stepping outside the system is driven by convenience. They find a better fare online, want to use loyalty points, or feel they can move faster if they skip the company portal. But what gets lost in this process – visibility, control and access to support – can become critical within hours if something goes wrong.
“If your employee can’t get into the U.S. and your travel team doesn’t even know what flight they’re on or what hotel they’ve booked, there’s very little that can be done to help,” says Mafojane. Managed travel platforms offer more than flights – they integrate visa requirements, real-time alerts and document verification. They also provide duty-of-care features that help companies fulfil their obligations to travelling employees. Without system oversight, these safeguards fall away.
Not Just a U.S. Problem
The United States might be the headline, but Mafojane warns that rogue bookings are a vulnerability across any destination with heightened security, complex visa applications or volatile mobility frameworks.
“Any country that requires supporting documentation, clear proof of purpose, or multiple entrance documents becomes higher risk,” she says.
When trips to these destinations are arranged piecemeal – half through consumer apps, half through loyalty portals, with no itinerary on file – it becomes next to impossible for a business to intervene, even in cases of flight cancellations, immigration delays, or emergency relocations.
Why Employees Still Book Off-Channel
Despite these risks, leakage persists across companies of all sizes. Some employees are simply unaware of policy, while others are frustrated by approval delays and limited content.
“It’s not always bad faith,” Mafojane says. “Sometimes the experience travellers want just isn’t available on the tools they’re given.” That’s why she encourages companies to focus just as much on traveller experience as they do on enforcement. “Modernising your booking system is one of the most effective ways to reduce leakage,” she says. “It needs to be mobile-first, personalised, efficient and feel familiar – like the consumer tools people trust.”
A Policy Shift in the Making
In the wake of renewed scrutiny around border issues, organisations could look to a hard-handed solution like mandating that off-platform bookings may no longer be reimbursed. It’s understandable, says Mafojane. “This is no longer just a policy compliance issue,” she says. “It’s a reputational, legal and duty-of-care concern.”
Mafojane recommends a proactive approach to encourage compliant bookings instead:
Make the booking experience easier than going rogue.
- Ensure your approved booking tool or TMC platform is intuitive, fast, mobile-friendly and offers a wide inventory of flights and accommodation. If it’s clunky or limited, travellers will look elsewhere.
- Educate travellers on why the policy exists. Explain the real reasons behind travel policy not just rules for the sake of it. When employees understand how compliance personally protects them, they’re more likely to follow guidelines.
- Include frequent travellers in platform feedback loops. Ask for input from business travellers about what isn’t working in the system. Involving them in decisions builds ownership and loyalty.
- Shorten approval cycles and streamline processes. Complex approval chains or manual steps cause delays that frustrate travellers. Automate where you can and empower travellers to book faster, within policy.
- Ensure booking tools show real-time availability and pricing. When travellers see different airfares elsewhere, they lose trust in the system. Work with your TMC to ensure content parity with major aggregators and online platforms.
**ends**
About FCM Travel:
FCM Travel, the flagship corporate travel brand at Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), is the business travel partner of choice for large national, multinational and global corporations. We are an award-winning global corporate travel management company ranking as one of the top five by size around the world. We operate a global network which spans more than 100 countries, employing over 6000 people.
FCM are transforming the business of travel through our empowered and accountable people who deliver 24/7 service and are available either online or offline. Leveraging FCM’s negotiating strength and supplier relationships in conjunction with our tailored business travel programs, our expertise delivers more for our clients where it matters most to them.
Visit us at www.fcmtravel.co.za
Issued by: Big Ambitions
Contact: Lori Cohen
Tel: +27 79 641 4965
Email: Lori@bigambitions.co.za
