Policy review

Before a fare is booked, a Travel Approver who did not prepare it looks at the submitted option, the alternatives on the trip, the supplier’s eligibility and the policy version. The decision is recorded against the booking’s exact revision, with Approve, Reject or Return, a written reason, the decision date and the approver’s name. Approval marks the option Approved; rejection marks it Rejected.

The approver must be an active team member in the same organization and must never be the coordinator who prepared the trip. Because the decision carries the revision, a trip changed after approval, for example new dates or a different supplier, needs a new decision.

• Independent approver. The coordinator who prepared the trip cannot approve it. The approver is named on the decision.
• Return for a fixable gap. Return sends the trip back with a reason, such as a missing cheaper alternative. Reject stops the fare.
• Decision tied to revision. The decision records the revision. A changed trip needs a new decision before it is held and paid.

Agree who approves in each organization and whether more expensive trips need a more senior approver. Agree what the approver checks: lowest logical fare, cabin class, preferred suppliers and advance purchase. Agree when to return and when to reject. Set a turnaround target, because fares change while a trip waits for review.

A coordinator submits a business-class fare of 3,900 USD for a London trip under policy 2026.1. The policy allows business class only on flights over eight hours, and this one is seven hours. The approver returns the trip with the reason “under eight hours; economy plus required by policy 2026.1”. The coordinator adds a premium economy option at 1,650 USD and submits it.

The approver approves the premium economy option. The trip’s comparison now shows both fares, and the rejected and returned list shows the first decision with its reason. When the traveler later asks to move the return date, the booking’s revision changes and the trip comes back for a new decision.

• Pending Review — Submitted options with route, quote date, fare and policy version, waiting for a decision.
• Rejected and Returned — Decisions that sent a trip back or stopped it, with reason and approver.
• My Review Decisions — The signed-in approver’s own decisions.

• Request to approved fare: The decision that releases a fare for booking.
• Correction of approved scope: Approve a compensating action after a change.

Check roles and permissions before naming approvers.