Case Study: BayWa r.e. EMEA

How BayWa r.e. EMEA uses TravelPerk to accelerate travel management and incident response by 70%

BayWa r.e. is a leading developer of renewable energy and energy solutions with a presence in 34 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.

Specifically, BayWa r.e. Spain focuses on the construction of utility scale wind and solar projects, distribution of solar components, and renewable asset management.

The need for an more agile and efficient travel solution

This level of operations required greater mobility and the elimination of the following travel challenges:

Waiting up to 7 days to organize a trip
The entire renewable asset management division in Spain needed to travel frequently, but using a travel agency to continuously book travel was unsustainable. Staff would send their requests by email, wait for a response, compare the agency’s proposed options, and exchange information until the trip was confirmed.The process could take anywhere from one day to a week — unacceptable when dealing with 15–20 trips a month.

Lack of traveler tracking options
Improving mandatory duty of care, required a solution that could show the location of each person during a trip and provide support in case of an emergency — particularly given the risks faced by technical staff maintaining assets throughout the Iberian region.

Manual budget and expense control
BayWa needed a more efficient way to evaluate whether each booking complied with company policy and fit the budget. In addition, the decentralized process made it very difficult to track all transport and accommodation expenses for both office staff attending corporate events and the Asset Management and Operations & Maintenance teams.Without the administrative chaos of managing loose invoices and receipts, the finance team could focus on more strategic decisions.

Automated management with full support

BayWa r.e. discovered that TravelPerk allowed them to manage travel more centrally, gain greater control over expenses, and eliminate long waits.The best part was that TravelPerk was available at every stage of implementation, with clear and efficient assistance. “The Account Management team gave us very useful recommendations for customizing policies and automating approvals,” says Tomás, Lead Manager.

“Before, travel management was manual, with email exchanges taking up to a week. With TravelPerk, we’ve automated the process and reduced management time by about 70%.”

Tomás Clemente Suárez, Lead Manager at BayWa r.e. EMEA

“Now 100% of staff use TravelPerk”

Today, BayWa not only has almost instant booking processes but has also improved traveler safety and eliminated financial chaos.

From waiting 7 days to confirmed bookings in minutes
Employees now book their own trips with their Line Manager’s approval, speeding up management time and easing the administrative team’s workload.

“Now, we can compare options in real time and get almost instant confirmation, whereas before we had to exchange multiple emails to get it.”

Tomás Clemente Suárez, Lead Manager at BayWa r.e. EMEA

Since adopting the platform, they’ve seen an increase in available flights, hotels, Airbnb accommodations, trains, and rental cars — all at exclusive corporate rates. “When we needed a hotel that wasn’t on the platform, we called and TravelPerk’s customer service arranged the booking for us,” says Tomás.

Tracking 49 travelers in real time with 24/7 protection

At a glance, travel managers can see the status of the Spanish team’s travelers: whether they’re planning a trip, en route, or back in the office. This feature allows grouping employees by team or destination and accessing all travel details.

In addition, the company can contact the support team in case of emergencies or last-minute changes. “Customer support via chat usually responds quickly, which makes incident management easier,” says Tomás — typically in less than one minute.

“The tracking tool lets us see travelers’ locations and respond quickly to unforeseen events, offering support when needed.”

Tomás Clemente Suárez, Lead Manager at BayWa r.e. EMEA

Greater control and optimization of expenses

BayWa r.e. finally has clear, centralized visibility of all travel expenses. The finance team automatically downloads weekly reports to import into PowerBI, enabling more efficient cost analysis.

“Having TravelPerk has made it easier to track travel expenses associated with transportation and accommodation"

Tomás Clemente Suárez, Lead Manager at BayWa r.e. EMEA

Not only that, but “now trips comply with our internal policies,” he continues. By integrating company policies into TravelPerk, employees know before booking whether accommodation or transport is within budget and policy guidelines.

Without a doubt, Tomás believes, “TravelPerk will continue to be key in our travel management, optimizing processes, and reducing costs.”