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Corporate Travel Management Risk Assessment: Booking, Duty of Care and Payment Controls

A worked example of how a corporate travel team finds, scores and controls the risks to travellers, payments, data and service, from booking errors and fraud to disruption, supplier failure and staffing gaps.

Updated November 2026 8 hazards assessed Review every 6 months Highest risk: Critical to Medium
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Executive summary

This assessment shows how a corporate travel desk can find, rate and control the risks that matter most to travellers, money, data and service. Eight risks were chosen because they are plausible in everyday booking, payment and duty of care work. Safety and payment fraud carry the highest impact, while booking errors and disruption are more frequent but easier to recover from. Each risk is scored before controls and again after existing and added controls. Most risks fall to Low or Medium once added controls are in place, but traveller safety stays at Medium because some incidents are beyond the desk's reach. The first actions are a verification rule for bank changes, a contact drill for incidents, a data access review and a tested handover checklist. The business is a teaching example, so every score illustrates method, not a real organization.

Focus area
Corporate travel management, duty of care and travel payments
Setting
Internal travel desk for a mid-sized company that books flights, hotels and car hire for staff and visitors
Method
Five by five likelihood and impact risk register

Scope

This assessment covers the internal travel desk of a mid-sized company, from trip requests and approvals through booking, payment, itinerary changes, traveller support and post-trip review. It looks at risks to traveller safety, money, personal data, service quality and continuity. It does not give legal or medical advice. Assumptions: the business is in one country, uses a booking tool and corporate cards, and has no specific jurisdiction stated, so legal duties are described in general terms only.

Context

The travel desk has a travel manager, three booking agents, a payments administrator and an on-call duty of care coordinator. Trips are requested through an online form, approved by line managers and booked through a booking tool linked to corporate cards. Traveller profiles hold passport, contact and emergency details. Suppliers include airlines, hotels, car hire firms and a ground transport provider. Each risk is scored before controls to show its natural level, then again after the existing and added controls.

Objectives, assets and stakeholders

The objective is to book safe, accurate and value for money travel, protect travellers and their personal data, keep payments secure and maintain trust with staff, managers and suppliers. The assets in scope are traveller records, corporate cards, supplier accounts, booking tool data, itineraries and the duty of care contact process. Stakeholders include travellers and their families, line managers, budget holders, finance, the data protection lead, suppliers and senior leaders. Clear roles matter: every risk has one owner role, and the travel manager keeps the register current and reports to the senior leadership team each quarter.

Risk matrix: before and after controls

Each cell shows hazard numbers placed by likelihood and impact. Compare the two grids to see how controls move each hazard.

Before controls

Inherent risk

Risk before controls: rows are likelihood from almost certain to rare, columns are impact from insignificant to catastrophic. Cells list hazard numbers.
1
Insignificant		 2
Minor		 3
Moderate		 4
Major		 5
Catastrophic
5 Almost certain
4 Likely Likelihood 4, impact 3, score 12, high: H03 H04 H05 Likelihood 4, impact 4, score 16, high: H01 Likelihood 4, impact 5, score 20, critical: H02
3 Possible Likelihood 3, impact 3, score 9, medium: H07 Likelihood 3, impact 4, score 12, high: H06 H08
2 Unlikely
1 Rare

After controls

Residual risk

Risk after controls: rows are likelihood from almost certain to rare, columns are impact from insignificant to catastrophic. Cells list hazard numbers.
1
Insignificant		 2
Minor		 3
Moderate		 4
Major		 5
Catastrophic
5 Almost certain
4 Likely
3 Possible Likelihood 3, impact 2, score 6, medium: H05
2 Unlikely Likelihood 2, impact 2, score 4, low: H04 H07 Likelihood 2, impact 3, score 6, medium: H01 H03 H06 H08 Likelihood 2, impact 4, score 8, medium: H02
1 Rare
  • Low 1 to 4
  • Medium 5 to 9
  • High 10 to 16
  • Critical 17 to 25

Hazard register

A summary first, then the detail for each hazard.

Summary of hazards with scores before and after controls
No.HazardBeforeAfterOwner
H01 Payment and booking fraud 16 High 6 Medium Head of finance
H02 Traveller safety and duty of care failure 20 Critical 8 Medium Duty of care manager
H03 Personal data exposed from traveller records 12 High 6 Medium Data protection lead
H04 Booking and itinerary errors 12 High 4 Low Travel desk supervisor
H05 Weather and transport disruption 12 High 6 Medium Travel operations manager
H06 Supplier failure for hotels, carriers and car hire 12 High 6 Medium Supplier relationship manager
H07 Staffing gaps and poor handovers 9 Medium 4 Low Travel manager
H08 Accessibility needs missed and service complaints 12 High 6 Medium Client service lead
H01

Payment and booking fraud

Financial Before 16 After 6

Fake supplier invoices, altered bank details or misused corporate cards allow money to be taken for bookings that never happen or are inflated, often through a convincing request sent by email or phone.

Who or what is affected: Finance team, company budget holders and travellers

Causes

Urgent requests from apparent senior staff, weak checks on supplier changes and shared card details.

Consequences

Direct loss of funds, failed audit findings and strain on supplier trust.

Existing controls

  • Card payments above a set value need a second approval.
  • Supplier bank detail changes are confirmed by phone.

Control gaps

Weekly transaction review covers only a sample, so small repeated payments can pass unnoticed.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Verify every change to supplier bank or card details through a call to a known contact before any payment.
  • Detect: Review booking and card transactions each week for duplicates, unknown merchants and round sums.
Likelihood 4 x impact 4 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Head of finance Target: Within 30 days Early warning: A supplier bank detail change that is not confirmed by a call back to a known contact.
H02

Traveller safety and duty of care failure

Safety Before 20 After 8

A traveller is sent to an unsafe destination, is not reached during a local incident, or cannot get support after a medical event, violent incident or political unrest because the desk lacks current information or a tested contact process.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, their families and the duty of care coordinator

Causes

Out of date destination information, unclear approval routes and travellers who do not report changes to their plans.

Consequences

Serious injury, distress to families, legal exposure and loss of staff trust.

Existing controls

  • Traveller profiles hold emergency contacts.
  • High risk destinations trigger a pre-trip briefing.

Control gaps

Contact drills are not run, and tracking relies on travellers checking in by themselves.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Check current travel advice before approval and block bookings to restricted areas without senior sign-off.
  • Respond: Start the contact and tracking procedure within one hour of any reported incident and log each step.
Likelihood 4 x impact 5 before; 2 x 4 after Owner: Duty of care manager Target: Within 45 days Early warning: Travellers who have not checked in within the agreed window after a local alert.
H03

Personal data exposed from traveller records

Technology and data Before 12 After 6

Passport numbers, health notes and travel histories are copied into spreadsheets, emails or shared drives where they can be read, lost or sent to the wrong person.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, the data protection lead and the IT team

Causes

Manual workarounds, urgent exports for approvers and unclear rules on how long data is kept.

Consequences

Data loss complaints, a regulator inquiry and damage to trust in the travel service.

Existing controls

  • Booking tool access is limited to the travel team.
  • Traveller profiles are removed once a trip record is closed.

Control gaps

Spreadsheets made for reporting sit outside the booking tool and are not listed.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Limit passport and health fields to named roles and stop exports of traveller data to shared drives.
  • Detect: Review access logs and file stores each quarter for copied traveller data.
Likelihood 4 x impact 3 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Data protection lead Target: Within 60 days Early warning: A spreadsheet holding traveller personal data stored outside the booking tool.
H04

Booking and itinerary errors

Operational Before 12 After 4

Wrong dates, names, airports or fare rules are entered, or a change is made without updating the approval, so a traveller arrives late, travels on the wrong day or pays for an unused ticket.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, budget holders and booking agents

Causes

Rushed bookings, copied details from old emails and fare rules that are not read in full.

Consequences

Missed flights, extra costs, rebooking fees and complaints from travellers.

Existing controls

  • Each booking confirmation is sent to the traveller.
  • International itineraries are checked by a second agent before ticketing.

Control gaps

Second checks are skipped for domestic trips and late changes made by phone.

Additional controls

  • Detect: Compare each itinerary with the approved request before ticketing and flag any mismatch.
  • Respond: Use a standard change process that alerts the traveller and approver within 24 hours of any edit.
Likelihood 4 x impact 3 before; 2 x 2 after Owner: Travel desk supervisor Target: Within 30 days Early warning: Itinerary changes made within 48 hours of departure.
H05

Weather and transport disruption

Operational Before 12 After 6

Storms, strikes, airport closures or technical faults cancel flights or delay ground transport, leaving travellers stranded and meetings missed.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, hosts at the destination and the travel desk

Causes

Seasonal storms, industrial action, tight schedules and reliance on one carrier per route.

Consequences

Missed meetings, extra accommodation costs and tired travellers who need support.

Existing controls

  • Supplier change alerts are sent to the travel desk.
  • Trips over a set length include a backup flight option in the request.

Control gaps

Rebooking options are not reviewed against current schedules, and alerts go to one inbox.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Avoid very short connections on approved itineraries where the policy allows.
  • Recover: Keep a current list of rebooking options and ground transport for each main route.
Likelihood 4 x impact 3 before; 3 x 2 after Owner: Travel operations manager Target: Within 45 days Early warning: Connections shorter than the agreed minimum on approved itineraries.
H06

Supplier failure for hotels, carriers and car hire

Supplier Before 12 After 6

A hotel closes, a carrier cancels a route or a car hire firm fails to hold a vehicle, and no replacement is agreed, leaving the desk with unusable bookings and fees.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, the supplier relationship manager and finance

Causes

Concentration on a few suppliers, weak contract terms and little review of performance.

Consequences

Unplanned spending, lost time for travellers and damage to the company's supplier standing.

Existing controls

  • A preferred supplier list is kept with contract terms.
  • Deposits are paid only where refund terms have been reviewed.

Control gaps

Performance is not recorded in one place, so repeat failures are missed.

Additional controls

  • Respond: Keep a backup supplier list for each main city and agree its rates in advance.
  • Detect: Review supplier performance each quarter, including failed bookings and late confirmations.
Likelihood 3 x impact 4 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Supplier relationship manager Target: Within 90 days Early warning: Repeated booking failures with one hotel or carrier within a quarter.
H07

Staffing gaps and poor handovers

People Before 9 After 4

An agent leaves, is absent or moves roles, and open trips, approvals or emergency contacts are lost in the handover, so requests wait and risks go unmanaged.

Who or what is affected: Travellers, remaining agents and the travel manager

Causes

Small team size, unclear ownership of open tasks and heavy seasonal peaks.

Consequences

Missed deadlines, unmet traveller needs and unsafe gaps in support.

Existing controls

  • Booking notes are shared in the travel tool.
  • At least two agents are trained on each market.

Control gaps

Cover is not tested, and open requests are not reviewed during absences.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Keep a written handover checklist for live trips, open approvals and emergency contacts.
  • Recover: Cross train a backup agent for each market and test cover each quarter.
Likelihood 3 x impact 3 before; 2 x 2 after Owner: Travel manager Target: Within 60 days Early warning: Open trip requests unassigned for more than one working day.
H08

Accessibility needs missed and service complaints

Reputational Before 12 After 6

Mobility, sensory or dietary needs are not recorded or passed to suppliers, so a traveller faces an unsuitable room, seat or venue, and complaints reach senior staff and the public.

Who or what is affected: Travellers with accessibility needs, the client service lead and senior leaders

Causes

Needs not asked for, information lost between systems and suppliers that give inaccurate access details.

Consequences

Unfair treatment of staff, complaints, potential legal challenge and damage to the company's standing.

Existing controls

  • Traveller profiles include an optional needs field.
  • Preferred hotels are checked for step-free access before booking.

Control gaps

Access information is not checked again after a booking changes supplier.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Ask every traveller about access needs at request stage and pass them to each supplier in writing.
  • Detect: Review complaints about access or seating each month and trace each one to its cause.
Likelihood 3 x impact 4 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Client service lead Target: Within 60 days Early warning: Two or more complaints about access or seating in a single month.

Rating method and evaluation

Each risk is rated on two five-point scales. Likelihood runs from Rare to Almost certain, and impact runs from Insignificant to Catastrophic. Multiplying the two gives a score from 1 to 25, which falls into one of four bands: Low from 1 to 4, Medium from 5 to 9, High from 10 to 16 and Critical from 17 to 25. The score is a guide for ordering work, not a measurement. Inherent risk is the score before any controls. Residual risk is the score after existing and added controls. Impact considers harm to people first, then money, delay, legal exposure and trust. A risk is never rated down only because it has not yet happened. Anything Critical or High needs senior attention and a dated plan, anything Medium needs routine controls with a named owner, and anything Low is accepted and watched. Team members who do the work should challenge the ratings, and each risk is reviewed whenever its indicator reaches the escalation threshold.

Likelihood, impact and rating bands

Likelihood

  • 5 Almost certain: Expected to happen in most circumstances.
  • 4 Likely: Will probably happen in many circumstances.
  • 3 Possible: Could happen at some time.
  • 2 Unlikely: Not expected, but it could happen.
  • 1 Rare: Only in exceptional circumstances.

Impact

  • 1 Insignificant: No lasting effect. Handled within routine work.
  • 2 Minor: Small effect that is quickly corrected.
  • 3 Moderate: Noticeable effect that needs managed effort to correct.
  • 4 Major: Serious effect on people, delivery or reputation.
  • 5 Catastrophic: Severe or lasting effect that threatens the whole activity.

Bands (likelihood x impact)

  • Low (1 to 4): Accept and monitor.
  • Medium (5 to 9): Manage with routine controls.
  • High (10 to 16): Senior attention and a treatment plan.
  • Critical (17 to 25): Act first. Do not proceed until reduced.

Monitoring, escalation and review

Review this assessment every 6 months, and sooner when an indicator below reaches its threshold.

Early-warning indicators and escalation thresholds
Indicator to watchEscalate when
Supplier bank detail changes made without a call back to a known contact.Escalate to the head of finance at once and hold the payment until the change is confirmed.
Travellers who have not checked in within the agreed window after a local alert.Escalate to the duty of care manager immediately and start the contact procedure.
Spreadsheets or exports holding traveller personal data outside the booking tool.Escalate to the data protection lead within one working day and remove the copy.
Itinerary changes made within 48 hours of departure on approved trips.Escalate to the travel desk supervisor when three or more occur in a week, and to the travel manager if they continue.
Open trip requests with no assigned agent for more than one working day.Escalate to the travel manager the same day, and to the senior leadership team if still open after two days.

Contingency arrangements

If a serious event occurs, such as a traveller injury, a confirmed payment fraud or a data breach, the duty of care coordinator starts the contact procedure and the travel manager stops related bookings. Finance freezes the affected cards and supplier accounts. The data protection lead preserves records and advises on notification duties in the relevant jurisdiction. Senior leaders and families are informed early, plainly and through an agreed contact.

Prioritized action plan

  1. Introduce a verification rule for all supplier bank and card detail changes, owner head of finance, within 30 days.
  2. Run a contact and tracking drill for an incident abroad, owner duty of care manager, within 45 days.
  3. Remove traveller data from shared spreadsheets and restrict exports, owner data protection lead, within 60 days.
  4. Write a handover checklist for live trips and test cover for each market, owner travel manager, within 60 days.
  5. Set up a backup supplier list for each main city, owner supplier relationship manager, within 90 days.

Conclusion

Reliable travel management depends on a few steady habits: verified payment changes, current safety information, checked itineraries, tested contact routes, controlled traveller data and a clear handover for every open trip. The highest scores sit with traveller safety and payment fraud, and each has actions that bring the residual score down. Treat the register as a living record, review it on the stated cycle, and seek qualified legal, medical or security advice for any real incident.

Assumptions and limitations

Assumptions

  • The company operates in one country and its travel policy is set by the travel manager and approved by senior leadership.
  • Travellers are employees or contractors who have consented to hold personal data in the booking tool.
  • Supplier contracts include standard change and cancellation terms that the desk can review.

Limitations

  • The scores are examples for learning and do not describe any real company, route or supplier.
  • Privacy, employment, aviation and safety rules vary by country and change over time, so specialist review is needed.
  • This is educational content and does not replace a formal site-specific risk assessment or licensed legal, medical or security advice.

Related frameworks to study

  • Duty of care principles for employers
  • Risk register with likelihood and impact scoring
  • Hierarchy of controls
  • Three lines model of risk ownership

Professional Risk Assessment

China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Spain.

For Learning Reference Only: This assessment demonstrates how risk assessment principles are applied in a practical setting, providing a useful reference for learning and understanding. Actual assessments may be adapted to suit specific site conditions and circumstances.

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