REIMAGINING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS WITH TRAVEL-AS-A-SERVICE
In today’s competitive hiring market, employee benefits are no longer a ‘nice-to-have’, they’re a strategic differentiator.
A recent report by Roland Berger, “Lost in the German Employee Benefits Jungle?”, highlights a growing challenge in European HR: traditional perks no longer resonate.
Employees want benefits that support wellbeing, flexibility, and their broader lifestyle, not just subsidised lunches and gym memberships.
That’s where travel is stepping in.
Travel isn’t just a luxury anymore. It’s a proven driver of wellness, motivation, and loyalty. According to a MetLife study, 82% of employees say that travel reduces stress and improves wellbeing. And yet, few employers, or the employee benefits platforms they’re using are leveraging it in a meaningful, structured way.
That’s the gap Travel-as-a-Service (TaaS) is helping to fill.
Why Travel Makes a Great Benefit
It aligns with employee values around freedom, balance, and experience:
It’s aspirational yet attainable
It offers high perceived value at a relatively low cost to the employer
Through white-label travel portals, businesses can offer exclusive booking access to their teams without managing inventory, support, or systems. The employee sees a branded benefit platform with tailored offers, meanwhile, the employer earns goodwill, brand equity, and even a commission (if they don’t want to incentivize their employees by passing on commission as discounts!)
The Use Cases Are Expanding
I’ve seen companies successfully embed travel into:
Reward and recognition programmes
Wellness incentive schemes
Flexible benefits catalogues
Onboarding packages for new joiners
The best part? These portals can be live within weeks, with zero in-house tech requirement.
Think Beyond the Discount
A few years ago, offering travel perks to employees meant emailing out a 10% off Expedia code, but today’s workforce expects more. They want to feel valued and enjoy a seamless and convenient booking experience. With curated white-label platforms, companies can offer real value that’s branded, exclusive, and emotionally engaging.
Employees perceive this as a “wow” moment, not just another perk they forget to redeem. And in a market where top talent is hard to attract and harder to keep, that “wow” matters.
Where This Is Headed
The rise of hybrid work and digital-first onboarding has made the employee experience more fragmented. High-impact benefits like travel help anchor emotional loyalty, even in distributed teams.
Plus, with many travel platforms offering fully managed B2B travel solutions for employers and HR tech providers, this benefit is more accessible than ever before.
Want to explore how travel could enhance your benefits proposition or client offering? I’d love to share how others are doing it and how you can too.