Boston – Big hotel companies have a monumental task in keeping their properties safe. Many are in far-flung locales, some of which are deemed risky. They may be terrorist targets. They’re unwitting havens for human traffickers. They host high-profile events and high-profile guests. People from all walks of life are always coming and going. Corporate security and travel… Read More »
Companies that do not audit hotel rates and availability are leaving piles of cash on front desks, according to BCD Travel analysis of client data. Without standard rate audits, a firm spending about $20 million annually on hotels overpays them by $490,000, the travel management company found. The same client would save about $900,000 per year using both rate and availability audits. Extrapolating the findings, BCD… Read More »
Industry practice stipulates that hotels don’t pay commissions on penalty charges when travelers don’t show up, even if the rate they booked was commissionable. Yet, one expert said some travel management companies get hotels to stray from the standard practice. No-shows are fairly rare, but the topic could become more relevant if hotels continue to tinker with cancellation… Read More »
For those who found Hilton’s restrictive “flexible” rates problematic, there’s some good news. A Hilton official confirmed the hotel company ended a test of those rates. But don’t be surprised if you see them again. Like Basic Economy airfares, these kinds of hotel rates aren’t suited for corporate travel. Some program managers would rather not include them in booking… Read More »
[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 »
Most organizations don’t inspect every hotel property they tell travelers to use. They can do some of that with the help of travel management companies and risk specialists, but covering the globe is a tall order. So how do travel management pros really know if properties in their programs are safe? Mostly they’re taking the hotels’ word for… Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Join us as we talk to travel management professionals about business travel services, expense management and careers on The Company Dime’s podcast. Our tenth episode features the first installment of a panel discussion recorded this week on hotel pricing and distribution strategies. The expert guests are new Miraval Group SVP and CMO Tom Botts, Yapta president and CEO James… Read More »