Download improving your hotel strategy - Christopherson Business Travel

Best Practices in Business Travel:
Improving Your Hotel Strategy
By: Krista Maurer, Christopherson Business Travel, Marketing Manager
Pinching pennies. Saving paper clips. Christopherson Business Travel understands the rigors of running a fiscally
sound business. We also understand that small improvements can often result in big savings. This paper explains three
key tactics companies of all sizes can implement to improve their hotel strategies and optimize a more cost-effective
travel program.
Policy
Creating hotel policies is the best way to establish standards that will reduce travel costs, encourage productivity, and
keep travelers safe. Such guidelines also ensure correctness and consistency throughout the booking and approval
process.
A complete hotel policy should reflect the culture of the company and will include details on approved hotel
properties, acceptable room rates, and payment/reimbursement methods. Keep in mind that a detailed policy reduces
the likelihood of future problems and simplifies the post-trip expense reporting process. Once a policy is in place, it
needs to be both consistently communicated and enforced.
Vendor Negotiations
It takes an expert team to keep a business travel program running both smoothly and cost effectively, and having a
skilled Travel Management Company (TMC) on your side bumps you into the major leagues. One significant benefit
of partnering with a TMC is that you get a qualified negotiator. With a TMC negotiating on your behalf, you will
enjoy the benefits of their:
• Buying power (i.e leverage) to get the best rates
• Experience in negotiating with hotel vendors
• Adept understanding of hotel properties, their rates, and potential discounts
• Ability to quantify and prove your value as a buyer
An experienced TMC knows that travel vendor negotiations can differ from company to company depending on the
type of organization, size, geographic scope, and the degree of influence on the vendor. TMCs regularly consult with
industry experts and employ sourcing methods to help clients create and manage their entire travel supplier network.
Integrated Technology
Technology makes compliance simple. By integrating your company’s hotel policy and negotiated rates with both
your online booking tool and full-service reservation options, your company’s business travelers can quickly book
pre-approved options. The result is:
•
Short and long-term savings
•
Bookings that stay within company policy
•
Ability to fulfill duty of care responsibilities
CBTravel.com
Christopherson’s technology platform, AirPortal , provides such integration and delivers a suite of corporate travel
management software that can generate considerable cost savings for companies. Two valuable tools within AirPortal
that assist in building a favorable hotel strategy are Hotel Attachment and HotelPrepayLogic .
®
®
Hotel Attachment
Hotel Attachment is a hotel compliance system that
identifies itineraries with missing hotel bookings and
provides the traveler with four options to close that gap:
1. Make a hotel reservation
2. Request another reminder for a later date
3. Attach a hotel reservation made outside the system to
the itinerary
4. Waive the need for a hotel reservation
With Hotel Attachment’s digital reminders, companies
can ensure trip plans are complete and hotel compliant
prior to travel.
“Low hotel attachment results in weakened vendor negotiations and compromised duty of care,” explains Mike
Cameron, Christopherson’s CEO. “Hotel Attachment solves these problems. First, it meets the needs of the travelers
who want an acceptable hotel included in every itinerary. Second, it meets the needs of the travel manager who wants
savings, a knowledge of where travelers are in order to fulfill duty of care responsibilities, and the ability to satisfy the
company’s commitments with contracted hotel vendors.”
HotelPrepayLogic
®
HotelPrepayLogic is a safe, convenient way to pre-authorize
payments for hotel reservations. By consolidating hotel
spend with one credit card company, you can limit fraud
exposure with single use cards while eliminating the need
for traveler reimbursements. Additionally, companies can
ensure hoteliers actually charge the negotiated rate. With
HotelPrepayLogic, hotel billing accuracy is improved as
well as operational efficiencies between accounting and
travel departments.
conclusion
Corporate travel programs need to run like a well-oiled machine. After all, Travel and Expense costs are the second most
difficult operating expense line item for businesses to control, according to a study1 conducted by Forrester Consulting.
It is imperative that companies consistently evaluate the details of their program. By assessing the effectiveness of
their hotel policies, the expertise of their vendor negotiations, and the integration of valuable travel technologies,
companies can begin to improve the overall design of their hotel strategy and in turn, the cost-effectiveness of their
overall program.
pg 2 • Improving Your Hotel Strategy