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How to Simplify Crew Travel with Smarter Booking and Extended Stay Solutions

Jun 9, 2025

Streamline crew travel with extended stay hotels, travel management software, and workforce lodging built for construction, energy, and utility teams.

Travel managers play a critical role in coordinating complex crew travel. From securing extended stay rates for business to managing transportation and crew lodging budgets, they oversee every aspect of workforce travel logistics.

With packed schedules and tight project deadlines, travel managers are always seeking efficient ways to simplify tasks. We’ve outlined a few key strategies to help streamline field crew travel using workforce lodging platforms and travel management software.

What Do Travel Managers Handle When Booking Crew Accommodations?

Travel managers juggle a wide range of responsibilities when coordinating business lodging for field crews. Here are just a few key tasks they manage before, during, and after booking accommodations.

1. Establish and Communicate Travel Policies

In industries like construction, energy, and mining—where frequent crew mobilization is the norm—it’s essential to have clear travel procedures. Travel managers are responsible for helping shape these policies with leadership and ensuring they’re clearly communicated to traveling teams.

2. Negotiate Preferred Rates

To manage crew travel costs effectively, travel managers often negotiate rates with key travel vendors, including:

Extended stay hotels and crew accommodation platforms
Airlines and rental car companies
Hotel chains near job sites, such as oil fields or construction zones

They’ll assess whether the company already has preferred supplier agreements—or whether it’s worth establishing one to secure corporate lodging discounts or extended stay rates for business.

3. Book and Coordinate Workforce Travel

Once the best lodging and transportation options are identified, travel managers move into planning and coordination mode:

Book crew lodging, flights, and vehicle rentals using a hotel booking website or travel management software
Communicate itineraries and hotel check-in/check-out times to field crews
Arrange equipment transport, working with project leads to evaluate rental vs. delivery
Ensure lodging offers parking for work trucks or large equipment, considering any added costs

Proper coordination helps reduce confusion, keep teams on schedule, and stay within budget—especially when managing construction travel or oilfield crew housing.

4. Manage the Travel Budget

Travel managers are responsible for staying within the company’s travel budget while coordinating crew accommodations, flights, and transportation. Using travel booking software or a workforce travel cost calculator can help track expenses and flag potential overruns.

A clear travel policy helps account for both expected and unforeseen costs—reducing the risk of budget creep on construction crew lodging, oilfield travel, or utility field accommodations.

5. Provide Ongoing Crew Support

Before, during, and after a trip, travel managers support crew members by sharing travel details, answering questions, and addressing special requests. They also have Duty of Care to ensure the safety and well-being of travelers—staying available to assist during emergencies or unexpected schedule changes. For industries like construction and energy, this is critical to safe and efficient crew travel scheduling.

6. Track Spending and Report Insights

Once travel is complete, travel managers review total expenses and create detailed reports using business travel software or a corporate lodging platform. These reports help identify high-cost areas, assess hotel reviews, and find ways to optimize future workforce lodging budgets.

Three Ways Travel Managers Can Increase Efficiency

Travel managers can increase productivity and reduce complexity by optimizing how they manage crew travel. Here’s how:

1. Streamline Reporting with Travel Management Software

Using a corporate lodging platform or travel manager software helps consolidate invoices, automate expense tracking, and simplify reconciliation.

Benefits include:

Fewer vendor invoices and manual spreadsheets
Easy access to analytics by project, hotel, or booking date
Clearer visibility into crew travel trends for better planning

This makes it easier to manage current costs—and smarter to plan the next project.

2. Minimize Paperwork and Guesswork

Centralize workforce travel planning with travel management software that allows project teams to book accommodations using Payment IDs and Tracking Codes—all while staying within budget.

This approach reduces:

Manual booking processes and back-and-forth coordination
Paper trails and lost documentation
Overspending with built-in spending controls

Travel managers can store and access key details like crew lists, room spend, and preferred hotels in one place—making crew travel scheduling more efficient and less reliant on spreadsheets.

3. Use Travel Management Tools Built for Crews

Platforms like LodgeLink simplify every step of the booking process—from searching for extended stay hotels to managing last-minute changes.

With pre-negotiated rates at properties across North America, travel managers save time and reduce costs without having to haggle with suppliers. Search by amenities like:

After-hours meal services
Truck and equipment parking
Pet-friendly extended stays
Flexible booking and cancellation options

Whether it’s construction travel management, utility crew lodging, or oilfield accommodations, LodgeLink is built to support the real-world needs of field teams and the people who coordinate their travel.