It’s one of the biggest compliance struggles travel managers (TMs) have: getting their business travelers to book their overnight stays through the company-approved tools. With direct booking through hotel apps and online travel agencies (OTA) gaining popularity, it’s been a hard battle for TMs to win. And, that’s a problem for several reasons.
First, hotel leakage can spell disaster for your duty of care objectives. How in the world are you supposed to pinpoint your travelers’ whereabouts if you haven’t the faintest idea where they are staying?
Second, when travelers book outside the program’s preferred suppliers, you will have less negotiating power with these vendors and ultimately miss out on cost-savings opportunities. Even if your travelers are staying at their properties, without all the data captured, it’ll be tough to prove.
Finally, when travelers book outside the company’s tool, it can be time-consuming for them to hunt down the room they want through the hotel’s website or OTA.
So why do so many travelers stray when it comes to the company’s hotel policy? Lack of awareness is one answer. (Here’s how you can address that issue.) But it also may be that you are not giving them what they want — which is what we’ll work on fixing today.
To help boost your hotel attachment rate, SMT's owner American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has identified five types of business travelers, what it is they are seeking from their hotel booking experience and how, together, we can best fulfill their needs. Find it out here: Obtaining Travel Policy Compliance For Hotel Booking.