SpeakerTravel Isn't Just for Speakers: Booking Travel for Everyone Your Event Flies In
By Maarten Balliauw · Published
Is SpeakerTravel only for speakers? No. Speakers are the people we hear about most, but the people an event flies in are a longer list. SpeakerTravel books flights and trains for the travellers you invite, and an invitation only needs a name and an e-mail address.
This post lists the usual suspects, and what to think about for each. These are examples of who organizers invite, not separate products. The same invite, budget and approval flow applies to everyone.
Who Travels to Your Event Besides Speakers?
Most events end up moving more people than the programme suggests. Common groups:
- Speakers, keynotes and panelists
- Workshop trainers, mentors and coaches
- MCs, hosts and moderators
- Journalists, press and analysts
- Influencers, content creators and community ambassadors
- Sponsors' and partners' guests
- Board members, advisors and award recipients
- Crew, AV and production staff, volunteers and event staff
- Performers and entertainment
Each of them needs the same thing: someone to arrange a trip within a budget, without a long email thread. Our guide to who arranges travel for keynote speakers covers the contract side for one of those groups.
Speakers, Trainers, Hosts and Moderators
These are the people on your programme. Typically, they travel for one to three days, from all over the world, and many of them arrive on the same few days.
Invite them one by one, or import them from an Excel or CSV file, or from Sessionize. For trainers running a multi-day workshop, set the earliest travel date and latest return date per traveller, so their search matches their schedule. Hosts and moderators often need to be there before and after everyone else, so the same setting helps.
Press, Influencers and Content Creators
Journalists, analysts, creators and community ambassadors are often invited by the event, with travel paid by the event.
A short note on ethics: if you pay for a journalist's or creator's trip, say so. Many publications have their own rules on paid travel, and audiences expect disclosure of sponsored trips. Agree on the terms in your invitation, and check what the guest's employer allows. SpeakerTravel arranges the trip, it doesn't set these rules.
Sponsors, Board Members, Advisors and Award Recipients
These guests are often a mix of VIPs and partners with their own expectations. Some events fly in a board member who expects a flexible fare, and an award recipient who simply needs to get there once.
You can override the budget per traveller and set a maximum booking class for each, so these guests can follow a different policy from the rest. If a sponsor's guest pays for their own trip, handle that outside the event's booking budget, since the event is the one invoiced for the fares booked.
Crew, Production Staff, Volunteers and Performers
Crew and volunteers are usually the most budget-sensitive group, and they often travel at specific times for setup and teardown. Performers have their own requirements, which may be in their rider.
Use travel dates per traveller to keep the search in the right window. If a traveller's partner or colleague is joining, you can allow up to 4 passengers per booking, and the event owner then arranges reimbursement with that traveller for the additional passengers. Everyone's trips then show up in one list.
Different Budgets and Booking Classes per Traveller Group
SpeakerTravel doesn't have a "group" feature, but it does give you the building blocks:
- A default budget for the event, optionally with overrides per region or country
- A budget override per traveller: use the defaults, a fixed amount with an allowed overrun percentage, or any amount
- A maximum booking class per traveller, such as economy only
- Optional automatic approval for requests within budget
- Custom fields to collect extra information, such as dietary needs, or which dinner they are joining, with the option to hide the fields for specific travellers
Travellers only see travel options within their budget, and price information is hidden by default. In practice, you set the rules for each person as you invite them, or in your import file, so each group follows the policy you want.
One Travel Report for Everyone
Whatever mix of travellers you have, event reports cover all of them: a financial summary of budget vs. spend, a travel times summary to help plan ground transport and hotels, an emissions summary, and the values from your custom fields. Each report can be exported for Excel.
Invite Any Traveller
If your event flies in more than speakers, there's no need to run a second process. See how SpeakerTravel works, or check pricing for the fixed fee per traveller.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can SpeakerTravel book travel for people who aren't speakers?
Yes. You invite travellers by name and e-mail address, and each one searches and requests a flight or train within the budget you set. Nothing in the invitation requires the traveller to be a speaker.
Can I set a different budget for different groups of travellers?
Yes. You set a default budget for the event, can override it per region or country, and can override it per traveller with a fixed amount or any amount. You can also assign a maximum booking class per traveller.
Can I book for someone who doesn't have a SpeakerTravel account?
Yes. From the travellers list you can book on behalf of a traveller by entering their name and e-mail address. No invitation is sent, and the booking is charged to your event immediately.
Can I get one report covering all travellers?
Yes. The event reports cover financial summary, travel times, emissions and custom field values for your travellers, and can be exported for Excel.