Apply the VisaHQ Benchmark
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VisaHQ, the world’s premier online visa and passport application solution, publishes today a simple check-list to benchmark your visa management supplier against the best of breeds and ensure that your travelers have access to the best online solution and the right human-touch and local expertise.
Managed travel has changed significantly in recent years. Online solutions have changed how visas are distributed and, as a result, travel management companies have had to reinvent how they operate. Within organizations, travel managers have taken on new roles, often functioning within procurement departments. With nearly every aspect of travel successfully managed today, it may seem that no stone has been left unturned.
This is not, however, entirely true. Visa and passport management is simultaneously the most overlooked component of business travel and the most essential. If you book a trip without the proper documentation, you probably won’t make it on the plane!
“Visa and Passport is probably the biggest headache for business travelers, the governmental red-tape makes it complex and time-consuming for corporate travel department to handle,” says VisaHQ CEO Alexander Yaroshenko. “In recent years hundreds of companies have entered this space, competing to provide corporations with some level of visa outsourcing.”
“It is because of the complexity of the visa industry that we’ve decided to publish a Visa Management Company selection guide,” added Yaroshenko.
This guide helps ensure a good fit between your company’s needs and the visa and passport application solution you ultimately select.
Recommendations for the VisaHQ Benchmark
1 - Look at each supplier’s footprint
In the travel industry, there’s no such thing as a centralized location. In order to deliver your visa, the company you choose to work with must have a presence in the country you are applying from. Agents need to physically deliver your passport to the proper embassy or consulate to be processed and stamped. You have to pick a supplier who has an office in the nations where your travelers do business.
2 - Online Solutions
Nowadays, people expect every company they work with, both in the travel industry and in other fields, to offer online services. This is not, however, a given. Many visa and passport suppliers have few, if any, online services available. Do your due diligence and make sure you choose a solution that will provide your employees with an incredible user experience and your administrative staff with full-fledged reporting tools and an advanced API integration. Along the way, you may need your visa application solution to be fully integrated with the travel booking expense solution for end-to-end travel management. Can your current vendor accommodate this?
3 - Mobile Friendly
Today’s travelers use smartphones and tablets more than ever before. This means they literally need to be able to manage their trips in the palms of their hands. As you consider various visa suppliers, spend time using their apps to see which features are available. It’s easy to create an app that looks good, but functionality matters too.
4 - Customer Support
No matter how good a given solution is, there are times when you need a helping hand. Does your supplier offer 24/7 support with local experts to guide your travelers through the application process?
Business travelers aren’t flexible. Dates can’t be moved and being late often means canceling a flight and skipping potentially valuable meetings. This is why you must make sure you select a solution that is known for predictability, accuracy, and consistency.
As you work on your RFP questionnaire, we recommend that you pay special attention to the following critical points:
5 - The User Interface
User interfaces matter, perhaps more than any other aspect of a visa solution. After all, if your users can’t figure out how to utilize the new tool, there’s no point in having it. You need your travelers to be able to adopt your new system right away without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on costly training.
Your goal should be to select a visa application solution that has one interface regardless of the type of visa an individual traveler requires. This will simplify the application process and make it easy for your people to get where they’re going, time after time.
6 - Contextual Help
Some countries ask surprising and confusing questions on their visa applications. Due to this, your visa application solution of choice should provide contextual help to guide travelers as they fill out their applications. This assistance will hasten completion and lower the risk of errors. An excellent UI coupled with context information will help your travelers get their visas faster.
7 - Pre-Filled Visa Form
Nobody likes to fill out forms and, certainly, everyone hates having to complete the same information over and over again. Look for a solution that securely pre-fills travelers’ pertinent information from past applications, no matter where they were traveling to before. Because certain information may be sensitive, only consider suppliers who offer top-notch security guarantees. Your travelers will appreciate your efforts to protect their best interests while easing the burden of international business travel.
8 - A Unified Global Service
As a global organization, you need your visa application management solution and service provider to offer a consistent experience throughout the world. From Washington D.C. to London to Dubai to Mumbai and beyond, ask to see the agent’s Standard Operating Procedure. Are the same security procedures used in every office to ensure the safety of your employees' passports and travel documents? Can you expect the same customer-centered service from anyone working in any branch? These are crucial questions you need honest answers to!
9 - Transparency
As a general rule, this is one of the most difficult areas to grapple with as you peruse vendors, as reality may not match the sales pitch. The travel visa industry is known for its complexity and you are sure to quickly realize that some service providers take advantage of this to hide fees and costs. Look for companies that provide you with upfront fees and clear statements of their behind-the-scenes work so you know what to expect and how to plan your budget.
10 - Constant Updates
How does your visa provider plan to keep you in the loop about your travelers’ visas? Choosing a company that will give your applicants status updates every step of the way saves you from having to answer constant questions regarding visa progress. Pick a solution that offers email or SMS alerts in addition to the aforementioned highly-functional mobile app.
Download our Fee Guide here
About VisaHQ
VisaHQ’s online platform makes it simple to obtain travel visas by streamlining and automating the application process. Whether you are a seasoned business traveler or a first-time overseas vacationer, our secure and intuitive platform saves time and hassle leaving you free to focus on your upcoming trip.
Headquartered in Washington D.C., VisaHQ was founded in 2003 on the premise that physical borders between nations can be made invisible via technology. Our mission has always been to create a more accessible, secure world for every traveler.
Today, the company has 24 offices in 14 countries and is continuously expanding to new locations. See www.visahq.com for more information.
Contact:
Stan Berteloot
stan@visahq.com
609 933 4363