Marriott International is pushing corporate rates for 2025 that lack last-room availability guarantees that, at least in key destinations, some buyers consider essential. Already, LRA rates are not always honored across the industry and don’t always provide sufficient savings compared with other negotiated rates, prompting some to wonder whether they’re worth the effort. Acknowledging a…
Plaintiffs in several class-action lawsuits filed over the past 18 months accused hotel chains and third-party intermediaries, including STR and Amadeus, of conspiring to raise room rates. Some of them alleged anticompetitive effects from the use of sophisticated pricing algorithms. They also argued that the U.S. luxury hotel market is heavily concentrated among a few…
Atlanta — The GBTA Foundation and GBTA Sustainability Committee in June published sustainable procurement standards for lodging. They followed a similar resource made available in March for air travel sourcing. Some of those involved in creating the lodging standards spoke here last month during panel discussions at GBTA’s annual convention. The critical message was to…
Several big lodging chains and a data intermediary face allegations of unreasonable restraint of trade regarding hotel rates, in violation of antitrust regulations. A set of seven plaintiffs, seeking class-action status for untold numbers of others, accused CoStar, which owns Smith Travel Research, along with Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels, Loews Hotels and Marriott, of…
Though some forecasters expect moderation next year, corporate hotel rates continue to rise. There are several reasons, notably inflation, cost pressures and lagging corporate recovery relative to other segments. While several hotel executives in recent weeks said all three challenges were easing, they also described a “normalized” environment featuring elevated pricing levels. Buyers should expect…
More hotel chains are adopting a solution developed by Grasp Technologies and Marriott International for the vexing problem of communicating virtual payment instructions to properties. “Right now, we’ve launched with Marriott, Hilton, IHG and Hyatt,” said Grasp senior sales director for virtual payments Stacey Mack during a webinar last week. “We will bring on more…
Clients told Cvent its transient sourcing products were “adequate,” but the company is shooting higher. As business travel pros begin thinking about 2023 rate negotiations, the company on Tuesday told buyers and suppliers it would update components of its request for proposals technology for this summer. Reducing custom questions and back-and-forth on standard ones are…
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