PeopleMuster

Travel request form

Travel requests submitted late cost more than the trip is worth. Fares rise, visas run out of time, and the approval arrives after the only sensible flight has gone.

Raise this as soon as a trip is likely, not once it is certain. Local travel inside the working day is usually handled by the on-duty form rather than by this one.

BUSINESS TRAVEL REQUEST — [COMPANY NAME]

Traveller: [TRAVELLER NAME], [EMPLOYEE CODE], [DEPARTMENT]
Raised on: [DATE OF REQUEST]

PURPOSE
Reason for travel: [PURPOSE — CLIENT, EVENT, SITE VISIT]
Who is being met: [CLIENT OR COUNTERPART]
Why it cannot be done remotely: [ONE LINE]
Charge to: [PROJECT OR COST CENTRE]

ITINERARY
Leaving [ORIGIN CITY] on [DEPART DATE]
Arriving [DESTINATION CITY] on [ARRIVE DATE]
Returning on [RETURN DATE]
Nights away: [NIGHTS]

BOOKINGS AND PAPERS
Travel to be booked by: [TRAVELLER / ADMIN]
Accommodation: [HOTEL OR ALLOWANCE BASIS]
Visa needed: yes / no · Applied on [VISA APPLICATION DATE]
Passport valid until: [PASSPORT EXPIRY]
Insurance arranged: yes / no

MONEY
Estimated fares: [FARE ESTIMATE]
Estimated accommodation: [ACCOMMODATION ESTIMATE]
Daily allowance basis: [PER DIEM BASIS]
Advance requested: [ADVANCE AMOUNT]
Claim to be settled by: [CLAIM DEADLINE]

WHILE AWAY
Work covered by: [COLLEAGUE NAME]
Reachable on: [CONTACT METHOD]

APPROVALS
Manager ____________  Date ______
Budget holder ____________  Date ______
Travel booked by ____________ on __ / __ / ____

What to put in each blank

[PURPOSE — CLIENT, EVENT, SITE VISIT]
One concrete reason. Business development as a purpose is what gets a request queried.
[PASSPORT EXPIRY]
Check it now. Many destinations refuse entry on a passport close to expiry.
[ADVANCE AMOUNT]
Request an advance only where the traveller would otherwise be out of pocket.
[PER DIEM BASIS]
Name your own published basis rather than a figure typed from memory.
[CLAIM DEADLINE]
Set the date the expense claim is due back. Claims without one arrive months later.

Before you send it

  • Raise it as soon as the trip looks likely. A provisional request is cheaper than a late booking.
  • Put the visa question at the top of the form. It has the longest lead time and it is the one that cancels trips.
  • Book through one channel. Travel booked by whoever found a fare is impossible to reconcile afterwards.
  • Allowances, tax treatment and what counts as a business journey are set by your own rules and local ones. Ask finance rather than assuming.

Days away show on the PeopleMuster capacity plan alongside leave and holidays, so cover is planned around them

Questions people ask about this letter

How far ahead should a travel request go in?

As soon as the trip is likely rather than confirmed. Fares and visa appointments are the constraint, and both get worse every week you wait.

Does the traveller book, or does an administrator?

Pick one and write it in the form. Mixed booking is where duplicate tickets and unreconciled invoices come from, and it is a policy choice rather than a preference.

Should the return claim use this form?

No. This one authorises the trip. The money actually spent belongs on your expense claim, which has its own deadline and receipts.

Other templates