Think about your company’s sales targets or marketing plans. You’d never let them run for five years without a review, right? The market changes, your goals evolve, and what worked in 2022 is likely irrelevant today.

So why is your company still running on a travel policy from three years ago?

For too many businesses, the travel policy is a "set it and forget it" document. It gets written, saved as a PDF, and then slowly "fossilizes" in a forgotten folder. Its hotel budget caps become impossible due to inflation, its rules no longer reflect the company's new sustainability goals, and it fails to account for the new cities your team now travels to.

A travel policy should be a living guide, not a stone tablet. To keep it effective, it needs a regular check-up. Here is a simple 5-point checklist for conducting an annual health check that will keep your policy relevant, fair, and aligned with your business.

Why a "Set-and-Forget" Policy Fails

When a policy becomes disconnected from reality, it does more harm than good.

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  It creates friction: Unrealistic rules force good employees to either break them or waste time in a cumbersome exception process.
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  It loses credibility: When everyone knows the budgets are impossible, they start ignoring the entire document, and your policy loses all authority.
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  It misses opportunities: An outdated policy won't reflect new company goals, like reducing your carbon footprint or improving employee well-being.

Your Annual Travel Policy Health Check

Schedule this review once a year. Gather your key stakeholders, like someone from finance, HR, and a representative for frequent travelers, and walk through this checklist.

1. The Data Review (The Reality Check)

Before you change a single word, look at what your data from the last 12 months is telling you. This is your single source of truth.

Ask your data: What was our actual average nightly hotel rate in London, New York, and Singapore? Which rule has the lowest compliance rate? What is the most common reason employees request an exception? Your data will point you directly to the parts of the policy that are broken.

2. The Human Feedback Loop (The On-the-Ground View)

Data tells you what is happening, but your people can tell you why.

Take action: Send a one-question survey to your frequent travelers: "What is the single most frustrating part of our travel policy?" Talk to a few managers and ask them what questions they get asked over and over again. This feedback is gold.

3. The Budget Realignment (The Inflation Update)

This is often the biggest point of failure. Use your data and a quick search of current market prices to bring your budgets back to reality.

Take action: Adjust your hotel caps and daily meal allowances for your key cities based on today's prices, not 2022's. A realistic budget is the foundation of a policy people can actually follow.

4. The Strategic Sync-Up (Aligning with Company Goals)

Your travel program should be a tool that helps the company achieve its goals.

Ask your leadership: Has the company launched a major sustainability initiative? If so, let's add a clause that encourages train travel over short-haul flights. Is attracting top talent a key priority? Let's add a more flexible rule about flight times to improve employee well-being.

5. The Communications Refresh (The Relaunch)

An update is useless if nobody knows about it. Plan how you'll communicate the changes.

Take action: Don't just upload a new PDF. Create a simple one-page summary of what’s new and, most importantly, why the changes were made. For example: "We've increased the hotel budget for New York because our data and your feedback showed the old limit was unrealistic."

A travel policy is not a one-time project; it's a cycle of continuous improvement. By scheduling this simple health check each year, you ensure your policy remains a valuable, respected guide that helps your team travel smart, instead of a fossil that just gathers dust.