Somewhere on your company’s shared drive, there’s a document called “Official Travel & Expense Policy.” It’s probably 20 pages long, full of legal jargon, and was last updated three years ago. And nobody ever reads it.

Sound familiar? This is one of the biggest, simplest problems in business travel. We create these massive documents to cover every possible situation, but in doing so, we make them completely useless for the people who actually need them: your employees.

When your team doesn’t know the rules, they guess. They book the wrong hotels, spend outside the budget, and send frustrated emails to their managers asking for basic information. It wastes time, it wastes money, and it creates a culture where it feels easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. But it doesn't have to be this way. You don’t need a perfect policy, you need a usable one.

Here’s how to write a simple travel policy that people will actually read and use:

1. Focus on What Actually Matters

Your policy doesn't need to have a rule for every conceivable situation. It just needs to give clear guidance on the most common questions. Forget the edge cases for a moment and focus on the big five:

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  How much can I spend? (Give clear budget caps for hotels, daily meals, etc.)
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  How do I book? (Should I use a specific tool? Do I book myself?)
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  What’s an approved hotel? (Are there preferred hotels? Are there safety standards?)
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  How do I pay? (Is there a company card? Do I use my own?)
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  What isn’t allowed? (e.g., Mini-bar charges, first-class flights for domestic trips.)

If you can answer these five questions clearly, you’ve solved 90% of your team’s problems.

2. Use Simple, Human Language

Your policy shouldn't be written by lawyers for other lawyers. It should be written for a busy salesperson who needs to book a hotel from their phone. Translate corporate jargon into plain English.

Instead of this: “Travelers should procure lodging at a reasonably priced establishment in line with market standards.”

Try this: “Please book a hotel that is under $175 per night. If you’re in a major city like New York or London, the cap is $250.”

Instead of this: “All expenses must be submitted for reimbursement no later than 15 business days post-travel.”

Try this: “Please submit your expenses within two weeks of returning from your trip.”

Clarity is kindness. Make it easy for people to do the right thing.

3. Create a "One-Page" Quick Guide

This is the most important step. Take your core rules and put them onto a single, easy-to-read page. This becomes the go-to document for everyone. It’s not the full policy, but it’s the part everyone will actually use.

Your one-page guide should have clear sections like:

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  Before You Go: (How to get approval).
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  Booking Your Trip: (Our booking tool, budget limits).
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  While You’re Traveling: (Meal allowances, ground transport).
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  When You Get Back: (How to submit expenses, who to ask for help).

This one-pager is your new best friend.

4. Put It Where People Can See It

Even a brilliant one-page guide is useless if it’s buried in a folder. The key is to make your policy impossible to miss.

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  Pin it in your company’s main Slack or Teams channel.
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  Link to it in the signature of the travel or finance team.
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  Best of all: Use a travel management tool that builds the policy right into the booking process.

Imagine a world where an employee can’t even book an out-of-policy hotel because the system flags it for them instantly. That’s how you make a policy truly work.

5. Talk to Your Team

A policy shouldn't be a decree from on high. Ask your frequent travelers what their biggest frustrations are. Ask managers where the most confusion comes from. Use their feedback to make the policy better. When people feel heard, they are far more likely to get on board with the rules.

The Payoff: Less Frustration, More Trust

When your travel policy is simple, clear, and easy to find, everything changes. Your team feels trusted and empowered. Managers spend less time being "policy police" and more time leading. And your finance team isn't chasing down non-compliant expenses.

You don't need a longer policy, you need a smarter one. And it starts by focusing on the people who use it every day.