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UK ETA Scheme: Navigating the change to UK travel authorisation

If you’re planning a trip to the UK, a recent change to travel authorisation and legislation could require you to get a UK ETA (United Kindom Electronic Travel Authorisation). Designed to enhance border security to simplify entry procedures, the UK ETA is a crucial aspect of travelling to the United Kingdom for corporate travellers. This…

In-Destination Mobility for Business Travellers

When it comes to getting around during your business trips, the choices can be overwhelming. Should you rent a car, take a taxi, or perhaps explore the city on a bike? Let’s unravel the best ways to improve In-Destination Mobility for business travellers. City Mobility: Think Local, Save Big In bustling cities like London, blending…

Business Travel Insurance Guide: Making Informed Choices

In the dynamic realm of corporate travel, where unexpected twists can throw off your plans in an instant, securing the right Business Travel Insurance becomes your ticket to peace of mind. Let’s delve into making savvy choices to ensure a safeguarded journey for you and your team. Unlocking the Mystery of Business Travel Insurance Business…

Business Travel for Beginners – Corporate Travel Mastery

Welcome to the world of business travel! Your inaugural corporate trip promises more than plush hotels and city exploration—it’s a chance to represent your organisation with responsibility and finesse. Business Travel can be daunting for beginners, so let’s explore some expert tips to transform you from a business travel beginner to a corporate travel champion….

Business Travel Packing Hacks – How to pack like a pro

Let’s say you’re getting ready to travel for a business meeting, but your ticket is hand luggage only? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some business travel packing hacks from Ortharize to teach you how to minimise the amount of space required while keeping your luggage neat and tidy! Vacuum bags The most…

Tech Tools for Business Travellers: 5 we couldn’t live without

Our phones have become integral to everything we do, a limb that some of us could not live without.  When we leave the house, we check for it the same way we do our keys and bank cards.  Therefore, it is not surprising that it has become one of many integral Tech Tools for Business…

Corporate Travel Planners: Do you need their help?

In the dynamic realm of modern business, the significance of smooth and efficient corporate travel cannot be overstated. Business trips can be a vital part of closing pivotal deals and nurturing client relationships. However, orchestrating and managing business trips is intricate and time-consuming. This is where the often-overlooked heroes of corporate travel, corporate travel planners,…

Expense Reporting Mastery: A Guide to Better Reconciliation

Expense reporting is a necessary, yet dreaded part of business life. They serve as the primary means for employees to get reimbursed for company-related expenses, and they are crucial for organisations to maintain control over spending. However, creating and managing expense reports doesn’t have to be a time-consuming and frustrating process. In this guide, we’ll…

Recoup Credits are live!

At Ortharize, we’re taking on the dreaded F word – Fees. First, we abolished booking fees, and now we’re taking on change fees and amendment fees. We’ve always been committed to enhancing your business travel experience by charging as few fees as possible. We’re thrilled to introduce a game-changing feature that will make huge strides…

Have you booked your Office Christmas Party?

It’s almost office Christmas party time, which means we’re getting ready for a party, great company, celebrations, and let’s face it, a bit of stress for all of us designated party planners. But worry not, we’re here to take the hassle out of organising the perfect Christmas party. If you’re the go-to person for planning…

Rackrate – Travel term definitions

Rackrate, you’ve heard the term but what exactly is it? Collins Oxford dictionary defines this as “the normal price of a hotel room, before any discount.”  When a hotel has just launched a new room, whether it is a grand suite or a quaint single bed. They want to know what the highest price possible…

New feature: Live flight info

It’s an exciting month for the development team and for our users, live flight info is here. A shiny new feature has landed on the platform. All of our users will now have up-to-date information regarding their upcoming flights, including a live view of any delays, cancellations, or updates. Keep reading to learn more about…

Airport Lounge giveaway: A Free Upgrade

Step into a world of comfort and luxury while you wait for your flight. Booking your next business trip or a demo of our platform automatically enters you into a giveaway for an exclusive airport lounge experience. Indulge in plush seating and serene ambience. Book now and enter for a chance to win. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity!

New Feature: Geographic Spend Limits

We are thrilled to unveil the latest addition to the Ortharize platform – Geographic Spend Limits. In this blog, we will walk you through this exciting new feature and demonstrate how it empowers organizations with even greater control over their business travel with another layer of control and customisation.

We’re giving away a weekend in the Lake District

How does a free weekend in the Lake District sound? Enter our giveaway to be in with a chance to win! Simply book your next business trip with us or book a demo to enter! An exclusive giveaway for new and existing userss that are booking business travel on our platform. The prize? A stay in the idyllic Lake District. Enter before the end of May!

New Feature: Blanket Approval Limits

We’re pleased to announce another new feature on the Ortharize platform. We’ll explain the new feature in this blog and how we’re continuing to help organisations gain even more control over their business travel. One of the challenges that we wanted to solve with the Ortharize platform is how organisations control their travel spend.

Win a free trip for two to Paris!

Fancy a free trip to Paris this year? We’re excited to announce our first giveaway of the year! An exclusive giveaway for our users that are booking business travel on our platform. The prize? A free trip to the beautiful French capital city- Paris.
The rules are simple; book a business trip with us before the end of April, and you’ll automatically be entered into the giveaway!

Building staff wellbeing into corporate travel

Travelling can be stressful and incredibly tiring, putting a strain on staff wellbeing. Employees should understand the effects of travelling and being away from home can have on their physical and mental health. A World Bank study showed that almost 75% of those traveling for business reported high or very high stress.

Five reasons flexible working works

You don’t need a pandemic to push you into the remote working revolution; flexible working is good for your business and for your people. At Ortharize, we’ve always been 100 per cent behind agile working and all of our teams work from home. Here are five reasons why we’ve embraced flexible working fully.

[Download] Company Travel Policy Template

A company travel policy are integral for any organisation that needs multiple employees or teams to travel over the year. Set out clear instructions for your staff on how to book travel, as well as limitations and best practice. Download for free now to create your first travel policy, or improve upon your current provisions.

Eight reasons Ortharize should be your next travel platform

With the right policies, processes and travel partner, organisations can build real growth through travel. It’s difficult to find a good business travel company that fits all the needs of your organisation and is flexible enough to foster a long, successful partnership. We’ve compiled some of the reasons that our clients have found most useful, and hope that you will too.

Five tips for saving money on business travel

Saving money on travel is an act of balance. It’s key that savings are made effectively and consistently, but not at the expense of employee engagement. Staff should feel valued when travelling for your organisation, whilst making sure that return of investment is monitored. We’ve compiled some of our favourites tips from our experience and those that have been working for our clients.

Business travel recovery in 2022

In 2019 the world saw an unexpected event. The rise of a global pandemic that halted the world and ultimately changed the way it operates. Businesses had to move critical client meetings to video conferencing, adapt to remote working, and expand their network with only digital means. This saw the start of a new normal…

Which type of business traveller are you?

Which type of business traveller are you, and how might this affect your travel plans? Statistics show that 1.3 million people travel for business each day in the US alone. Business travellers make up 12% of all travel. Which accounted for $1.33tn USD spent on global business travel in 2017. This suggests that the individuals…

A working day at Ortharize – Chris

Hello there! My name is Chris Flynn and I’m Head of Operations at Ortharize. I joined this company back in April of 2020! More than 2 years ago! Time really does fly.  Within my role, I look after our day-to-day operations at Ortharize as we work hard to grow our user base, and build the…

A working day at Ortharize – Shane

Hi – My name is Shane and I have been working at Ortharize since May, operating as Business Development Manager. I spend my days connecting with and speaking to our new and existing clients. It’s my job to be a product expert at Ortharize so that I can answer anything and everything about our amazing…

A working day at Ortharize – Jed

Hello! I’m Jed, and I’m a Marketing Executive at Ortharize, and I’ve been a part of the team since April 2021. I love that my job means that I’m usually working on something different every week.  My role is very diverse at the moment and I’m involved in pretty much everything marketing related. As well…

Travel policy – Do you need one?

A solid travel policy is a must for all business trips in 2022 and the coming future. Business travel has changed so much since the pandemic. Standards for travel risk management are higher than ever. As a result, having organisational standards and guidelines for business travel is crucial for both monitoring corporate expenditure and serving…

Billback – Travel term definitions

Have you heard of a Billback? When travelling for business, some of us like to leave everything to the last minute. Packing, booking cabs, arriving at the airport… almost everything. This inevitably leads to rushing around and neglecting a few essential steps in preparing to leave. Checking out of a hotel for example isn’t always…

My Internship at Otharize

This summer we took on 3 interns from Swansea university to join our marketing team. Cameron took some time to write about his internship and wanted to share it on our website.

If you’re thinking about a career or internship at Ortharize, give Cam’s interview a read this for an inside insight!

Lodge cards & Ghost cards – Travel term definitions

What are ghost cards and lodge cards? Is there a difference? A lodge card (or ghost card) is a credit or debit card number and CVV that is produced at random. They can be used to perform a single transaction. Unlike traditional plastic cards, lodge cards are not physical cards, which is where the name…

Layover – Travel term definitions

a layover is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as a “short stay in a place that you make while you are on a longer journey”. 
For domestic flights, a Layover is usually defined by a stop of fewer than 4 hours, whilst longer waiting times are often called a ‘Stopover’. If a flight has a layover of 24 hours or more, this is defined as a “stopover”.

The Future of Business Travel – Business travel in a post pandemic era

Business travel is a huge asset for the national economy as it accounts for 20% of pre-pandemic flights and journeys. Whilst there is still uncertainty for the future of business travel, 50% of business travellers who did not travel prior to the pandemic are expected to take to the skies by 2024 (GBTA).

Sustainable Aviation- what does the future look like?

Is the future of sustainable air travel solved through new biofuels? Government legislation? Or is there something the frequent flyer can do to aid the reduction of carbon emissions? These questions have been circulating through the aerospace and tourism industry for years, and now we are closer to finding alternatives.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

We’re celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. As lockdowns have ended and most restrictions have eased up many have found themselves reflecting on their mental state. It’s no surprise that the last few years have had a lasting effect on some. Mental Health Awareness Week has aimed to address them this year. And is focusing…

Which rail tickets should you buy?

If you’ve ever booked a train journey you’ll be no stranger to the many options presented when trying to buy a ticket. Advance? Anytime? Package? Super off-peak return? Rail can be baffling. We’ve created this handy and helpful guide that runs through all rail ticket options available, and which train fare would be right for you and your journey.

Business travel in Wales

Wales, you won’t find many places with so many spectacular areas of natural beauty. There’s a reason we chose Wales to be the home of Ortharize. It’s the perfect destination for your next business trip. With options for formal meetings and exciting team building activities, its only fair we share them with you. Read to find out why Ortharize loves Wales

Careers for travel – 10 careers that travel

Are you looking to travel more, but maybe don’t have the time without compromising your career? Perhaps a move into a new role that aligns with your current goals could get you back on the road again. We often think about the travellers that use our platform, and how they became business travellers. Are there any ‘best’ careers for travel?

StartUp Awards Wales – We’re finalists!

Our campaign for awards in 2022 has begun! We’re really pleased to announce that we’ve been named finalists in our category by StartUp Awards Wales.  We’ve made excellent progress on further additions to our platform and the development of our app is going really well. Seeing this recognised by StartUp Awards Wales is encouraging for…

Save money on rail tickets, here’s how

Saving money on rail tickets can be confusing. Lots of third party services offer to do this for you, but fall short ant the finish line. We’ve put together this guide of simple tips that you can use to guarantee a saving on your next rail trip. Saving money can often mean missing out on benefits, which shouldn’t be the case. Read to find out how you can save!

Travel Trends for Business Travel in 2022

We’re excited to see people hitting the road again, and have even started to notice some travel trends forming. 2022 will likely see some trends from 2021 develop further, but we’re expecting some new trends to emerge. This guide should prepare you for what to expect this year. These are 2022’s travel trends. 

Business or leisure? How about bleisure

You might have heard about bleisure at this point. It’s an emerging trend blending business and leisure travel. It’s fast becoming a well-known and popular trend within the world of business travel. The trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. And that’s a great thing. We’re here to fill you in on the emerging craze that is bleisure travel.

CorporateLiveWire Wales Prestige Awards

We’ve been working hard on our platform, and have promised a lot to our supporters and investors. We’re getting closer to unveiling our platform and we’re very excited to show you. We wanted to show you that the quality of our product and the commitment that we’ve put into developing the platform is being recognised.

Carbon emissions reporting on our platform, how does it work?

Who’s responsibility should it be to make global travel greener? COP26 shined a light on the plans held by our governments and politicians. We’re extremely conscious about how we affect the world around us. We’re encouraging our customers to travel the world, so it’s our responsibility to make sustainable travel easier for our them.

Environmentally friendly business travel, what can we do to help?

Many business travellers think that a more sustainable option is often out of reach. However, it’s vital to consider more environmentally friendly actions and activities when on the go. This guide features some simple, easy-to-use tips to make your trips a little bit greener. Together we can take the right steps to help global sustainability efforts succeed

Mental health and business travel: 5 ways to keep healthy

Business trips bring are often associated with excitement, but recent studies show that they can also take a toll on our mental health too. After looking into the research we put together this guide of useful tips that can benefit most travellers. We’ve included are some contact telephone numbers that you can use if you need to speak with someone.

Top travel hacks from our team!

We’ve all been there… forgotten passports, heavy luggage, and tight layover times. When it comes to corporate travel, preparation and organisation is key. Here at Ortharize, we asked some of our team members to come up with some of the best travel hacks to use when travelling for work in order to make your business trip a little less stressful.

10 ways to stay healthy on a business trip

Travelling can be exhausting, causing stress on your body – regardless of whether the purpose is for work or leisure. It can disrupt your sleep, what you eat, and your workout routine.
We’ve put together 10 useful tips that you’ll find in this guide. They’re easy to follow and can help you maintain a healthy travel lifestyle.

Sleep struggles? 6 ways to get more shut-eye on your business trip

It’s safe to say that we all love to travel, but staying in hotels for business trips can take it’s toll on the quality of our sleep. Unfamiliar surroundings, a head full of meetings, and probably too much coffee. If you’re struggling to sleep when you’re out of town, try these six suggestions for a more restful night.

[Research] How do business travellers actually feel about sustainability?

Earth Day (22nd April) got us thinking- what can we do as businesses and business travellers to be more sustainability focused? We’ve only got one planet Earth, let’s try to treat it right. We decided to find out how much organisations value the environment, sustainability and their carbon footprint.

Bleisure: The smarter way to manage travel?

You find yourself sent away on a business trip to a stunning, exotic city that you’ve always wanted to visit. Wouldn’t it be great to have a few days to try the local cuisines, see the sights and tick something off of your bucket list? Bleisure is an emerging movement that allows a business traveller to extend their stay using annual leave.

Our Business Travel Trends for 2021

Business and corporate travel took a backseat in 2020 in the wake of closed borders, cancelled travel and lockdowns. By April 2020, airline capacity was down by 70 to 80 percent, compared to 2019. We take a look at some of the key business travel trends to look out for as we cautiously look towards travel this year.

[Download] Travel Arranger Template

You know that at times, booking travel for other members of your organisation can be tough. Some like to leave a message, others email; some requests appear on a post-it note on your desk after lunch. We’ve put together this document to help you get the information you need to make booking corporate travel easier.

[Download] Ortharize: Who we are

Ortharize was built to solve a problem that many companies suffer from. Why should companies pay more? Any why do employees need to book their travel through a call centre so often? Surely a business travel platform could also cater to more complex bookings. In our eBook about Ortharize, we explain who we are, what we do and why we do it.

[Download] Save Money on Business Travel

For many organisations, travel is directly linked with growth. It allows you to connect with your regional and international bases, clients and prospects. It’s no surprise that organisations make on average $12.50 for every dollar they spend on business travel. Left unchecked, travel costs can skyrocket.

[Download] Covid-19: Returning to Travel

Getting travel right is key for any organisation; it can save you money and time. But getting in right in a world with Covid-19 is even more important. No one wants valuable staff off sick under any circumstances, but safeguarding your people during a pandemic is paramount. Download this free eBook now to learn more.

Our Top Tips for Sustainable Business Travel

The past year’s events and global slowdown has shown the beauty of the environment around us. It has shown us the beauty of nature and how important it is that we do what we can to protect the environment and encourage it to thrive. We’ve listed the best way for travelers and organisations to make their travel more sustainable.

Renting a car post-COVID-19

We’re finishing our four part series of returning to travel with a look at renting a car post-COVID-19. Many car rental companies have been touting their ‘flexibility’ during this pandemic. Some rental firms are happy to make changes to any reservation—in a similar way to airlines—under the current circumstances.

Travelling by Train post-COVID-19

As with the majority of transport services, many stations and trains are operating with higher levels of cleaning, both in frequency and detail. We’re continuing our transport series on returning to travel with an article on what to expect when travelling by train post-Covid-19.

Staying at hotels post-COVID-19: What to expect

The swipe of the key-card. The buzz of the electric lock. The slow opening of the door to reveal your room for the first time. Whether you’re a seasoned traveller, or a novice; there’s something special about the hotel experience. As the second in our series on different travel aspects post-COVID-19, we talk about staying at hotels, wherever you are in the world.

What to expect when flying post-COVID-19

Businesses and travellers are returning to the skies and beginning the process of flying post-COVID-19. In the first of our series looking at returning to travel post-COVID-19, we talk about what to expect when flying. Find out below what to expect when travelling for business at airports and on planes, as well as some top tips to make your journey go smoothly.

Business travel after Covid-19: Our top tips

Returning to business travel in 2020 after the disruption of Covid-19 can be an uncomfortable conversation for some organisations and staff. As a result, many organisations are trying to make remote working the norm, but this is going to be difficulty for many sectors. Whether it’s meetings, client success activities and keeping regional bases connected and engaged.

Social Media and Ortharize

If you’re looking for the most up to date business travel news and updates from Ortharize, the best way is through our social media channels. We believe that no two social media channels are alike, and for that reason, we’re tailoring our content for each channel to match those using a specific platform and what you’d expect or want to see on it. We’re now live on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Linkedin.

Our Most Popular Blogs

staff returning to business travel meeting

Business travel after Covid-19: Our top tips

Returning to business travel in 2020 after the disruption of Covid-19 can be an uncomfortable conversation for some organisations and…
airplane boarding passengers

What to expect when flying post-COVID-19

Businesses and travellers are returning to the skies and beginning the process of flying post-COVID-19. In the first of our…
hotel door opening

Staying at hotels post-COVID-19: What to expect

The swipe of the key-card. The buzz of the electric lock. The slow opening of the door to reveal your…