Vetting help that keeps travel spend under control

The biggest mistake people make when hiring a travel coordinator is assuming that cheaper always means faster turnaround and fewer mistakes. Many business owners delegate travel bookings expecting a quick fix, only to discover their coordinator has missed policy details, booked flights that don't align with meeting schedules, or failed to track expenses properly. By the time problems surface—a missed connection, an unclaimed tax deduction, an overspend that should have been flagged—the cost of fixing it far exceeds what you'd have paid for someone competent from the start.

Vetting a travel coordinator is about confirming three things: their actual track record with itineraries similar to yours, their understanding of your company's travel policies and budget limits, and their ability to communicate clearly when something goes wrong. It's not enough to hear they're "experienced." You need to verify it.

Checking their systems and proof of competence

Start by asking what tools they use to manage bookings. Reliable coordinators work with proper expense tracking software, maintain calendars that sync with your team's systems, and keep auditable records of every booking made. Request a sample itinerary they've created for a client in your industry—redacted for privacy, of course. Look for detail: does it include backup flight options, ground transport timing, visa requirements noted, contact numbers for hotels and airlines, and a cost breakdown? If they hand over a basic list of flight numbers and hotel addresses, they're not thinking ahead about what actually needs to go right.

Ask to see their policy document or checklist. How do they handle last-minute changes? What's their process when a booking needs cancellation? How do they manage approval workflows for expenses over a certain amount? Someone operating ad-hoc, without a repeatable process, will create inconsistency and blind spots.

Before you contract them, request permission to review their cancellation and change history with a past client (with that client's consent). Not cancellations they made, but how they handled them—were amendments made quickly, were you notified of fee impacts, was the new booking equally thorough? This tells you whether they treat changes as routine or crisis.

Reference calls and the right questions to ask

When you speak to referees, don't ask generic questions. Instead, probe the actual friction points:

• "Tell me about a time the coordinator missed something in an itinerary. How did they respond?" This reveals whether they own mistakes or deflect, and how they prevent repeat errors.
• "Have they ever flagged a booking as risky—too tight a connection, or a policy violation—and pushed back?" A good coordinator protects you from your own rushed decisions, not just executes them.
• "How do they communicate expense data back to your finance team?" Listen for whether they provide summaries, raw receipts, or spreadsheets. Does it require rework on your end?
• "What's the turnaround time when you request an urgent change, and how reliable is that?" Get specifics: do they respond same-day, do they proactively monitor flights for delays, do they alert you to price drops after booking?
• "Have you had to chase them for information?" If multiple referees mention chasing for receipts or itinerary details, that's a red flag.

Also ask referees about scale: do they coordinate travel for solo executives, or teams of ten people across multiple continents? A coordinator brilliant at two-city trips might falter when juggling a conference delegation.

Watch what they ask you

A competent coordinator doesn't just wait for you to hand over flight dates. Early in your conversation, they should ask about your company's travel policy, any preferred vendors, budget thresholds that require approval, visa considerations for your team's nationalities, and whether anyone has accessibility or dietary needs. If they're asking these questions, they're thinking systematically. If they're not, they're reactive—and reactive coordinators blow budgets and miss deadlines.

Once you've narrowed down candidates who pass these checks, book a trial trip with the coordinator before committing to an ongoing relationship. A one-off weekend meeting is low-stakes but revealing. It shows you whether they deliver what they promise and how they handle real pressure.

When you're ready to bring someone on, find a coordinator on Strove whose client reviews and verification details address these exact concerns—experience with corporate travel, transparent processes, and a track record of catching mistakes before they become expensive problems.