Tag Archives: hotel rate

Big Three TMCs On Evolution Of The Model, Airline Distribution, Airbnb, Concur, Synxis Breach

You generally will not see interviews published here, but an opportunity that came up last week made an exception worthwhile. What follows are excerpts of separate interviews with top executives at the three largest travel management companies. We spoke by phone with American Express Global Business Travel president Philippe Chérèque last Monday, Carlson Wagonlit Travel president and CEO… Read More »

CWT Using Points, New Rate System To Capture More Hotel Bookings

Many travel management companies and tech firms are working to process more of their clients’ hotel bookings. Continuing its push, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is rolling out a simplified rate aggregation system and using loyalty points as incentives. During a Wednesday interview, CWT president of hotels Scott Brennan said some clients in Europe that use the KDS and Traveldoo… Read More »

2017 U.S. Corporate Hotel Rates: Small Increases, Some Happy Surprises

[CLARIFICATION, Jan. 4, 2017: An HRS spokesperson explained that while the company promotes independent properties, it does not require sourcing clients to commit to using them. Rather, those clients are asked to funnel “a reasonable” share of total hotel volume through HRS systems. This article has been updated with that information.] U.S. corporate negotiated hotel rates generally are… Read More »

Lodging 2017: Buyers May Be ‘More Aggressive’

When Bjorn Hanson last year published his preliminary outlook for 2016 corporate negotiated hotel rates, the New York University professor predicted buyers might suffer their biggest increases in years. It didn’t happen. The aggressive prognostication followed several years in which hotels outperformed expectations on rates. Entering 2016, Hanson said last month, “There was a sense that the increase… Read More »

Lodging 2017: Time For A New Approach?

Thanks partly to rate assurance technology and data, some buyers now are thinking about setting fire to the lodging RFP process. Or, at least, subjecting it to a little controlled burning. According to 2014 GBTA Foundation research sponsored by Best Western, the hotel RFP process was taking between three and six months for more than half of 127… Read More »

Lodging 2017: HRS Hunts Sourcing Clients, Lanyon Quiet

It’s natural to look askance at HRS when executives say they’ll do your hotel sourcing for free. We’ll get to that. The other story on hotel sourcing partners this year is whether we’re at peak Lanyon. To manage the onerous hotel rate negotiating process, corporations and travel management companies turn to technology. Lanyon has been the go-to partner… Read More »

Direct Affront: Hotel Rates And The Familiar Channel Conflict

It’s tough to know if you got the cheapest hotel rate. A lot of that has to do with timing. Published hotel rates, like airfares, fluctuate. Availability changes based on occupancy. Corporate rates aren’t always as accessible as many program managers would like. Some big chains also are more actively favoring direct bookers. They offer various enticements, notably free Wi-Fi.… Read More »