How much does corporate travel management cost? Real Australian numbers

Short answer: somewhere between 1% and 8% of your travel spend, depending on program size and how the fee is structured. This post breaks that down in plain English.

The three ways TMCs charge

1. Per-transaction fee

• Typical range: $25–$75 per booking in Australia
• Covers flights, hotels, ground transport, changes
• Best for low-volume programs (under ~30 bookings/month)

2. Monthly platform fee + reduced per-transaction

• Typical range: $150–$800/month platform + $10–$25 per booking
• Best for growing programs that want predictability

3. Percentage of spend

• Typical range: 1.5%–3.5% of billed travel
• Best for enterprise programs where volume delivers leverage
• Watch for minimum monthly commitments

What''s usually bundled

• Booking portal + traveller profiles
• Policy engine and approval workflows
• 24/7 emergency support
• Consolidated monthly invoicing
• Basic reporting

What''s usually extra

• Custom reporting and BI feeds
• Dedicated account manager
• Group travel (10+ pax) or event travel management
• Visa/document services
• Advanced duty-of-care (real-time traveller tracking)

The savings that offset the fee

A competent Australian TMC brings negotiated corporate airfares (typically 4–12% below public fares), corporate hotel rates (often with free breakfast and flex cancellation), and policy enforcement (which alone can cut ~8% off unmanaged programs).

The rule of thumb: if a TMC can''t save you at least their fee, you''ve picked the wrong one.

When you''re paying too much

Warning signs:

• Change fees layered on top of transaction fees for every date tweak
• "Technology fees" with no defined deliverable
• Ticketing fees plus service fees for the same booking
• Percentage-of-spend deals below $250k annual travel spend — you''re subsidising bigger clients

Ados pricing, as a reference point

Our published tiers:

• Solo / Starter — flat per-booking fee, no monthly
• Growth — small monthly platform + reduced per-booking
• Enterprise — custom, based on spend

Full breakdown on our pricing page. Every tier ships the same 1-hour SLA and the same 24/7 Australian concierge.

Bottom line

Corporate travel management should pay for itself. If a proposal doesn''t include a savings estimate you can measure, that''s a red flag — not a sales tactic.