CORPORATE BUSINESS TRAVEL SLOWLY RETURNING!

Hoteliers are seeing indications corporate business travel is slowly returning! There are subtle shifts in corporate business travel policies causing instant regeneration of travelers from companies to your markets. As more people travel their level of comfort and viral sharing of their experiences will continue to impact this recovery.

ARE YOU GOING TO GET THIS RETURNING BUSINESS TRAVELER?

Are your sales managers working other departments like front desk shifts or are they furloughed? Has your business transient sales manager had enough time to be actively selling and nurturing their clients throughout this pandemic? Do you still have subscriptions to Hotelligence Agency360 and Demand360 business intelligence tools? Without dedicated focus and tools in place you will not have the competitive edge to gain this new revenue.

Your hotels will see quicker and longer term improvement of revenues with focused sales efforts today.  Sales must actively be selling with time dedicated to produce results. By optimally using your forward looking Hotelligence Agency360, and other hotel reports- you will find these subtle shifts in corporate travel triggering sales to take action. At the same time, if you have maintained your outreach with your corporate clients and travel managers you will be front of mind when travel policy changes.

Communication is crucial to revenue generation. It is most important today to frequently update your hotel website. Be sure to showcase new images of hotel experience and a clear, current Duty of Care addressing today’s health and safety concerns. Set the stage for your corporate business traveler so they know what to expect and are confident in staying at your hotel.

NEW CORPORATE TRAVEL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

Hotel industry’s new pandemic impacted environment requires new approaches to corporate business development. This includes Agency360 and other business intelligence resources.  A sales person you have in place may have not sold to corporate transient segment before. Veteran business transient sales managers have to shift approach finding new corporate travelers while former volume corporate travel has all but dried up.

Hospitality Revenue Solutions LLC has spent these pandemic months researching and honing our corporate travel knowledge and expertise. We are hear to help you seek and identify corporate business travel as it returns.  Our virtual training courses redefine use of  intelligence and provides current industry insights. By taking these courses your team will quickly establish a stronger sales plan saving valuable time, while finding that new corporate traveler.

APPLY THESE PRACTICES TO AID DEVELOPING NEW CORPORATE TRAVEL

  • Participate in corporate travel community forums like GBTA & ACTE members community discussions.  Frequent participation will keep you current to what business travel industry members are saying about business travel and indications of returning business.
    1. Learn of business travel today and who is returning, restrictions and policy changes.
    2. Develop new or strengthen relationships to keep front of mind when business travel opportunities arise.
  • Ensure you are proficient using and incorporating your business intelligence tools so you are well equipped to grow “new” business traveler share.
    1. Invest in advanced training applying and integrating these resources to develop today’s new business relationships.
    2. Refine competitive sets applying to current business transient traveler.
    3. Monitor future bookings and direct to hotel business returning.
    4. Utilize Agency360 future looking detail to identify new business traveler.
    5. Local drive market travel has been returning first. Identify companies within 500 mile drive market who have essential travel or will need to return to travel first.
    6. Sister Portfolio Hotels Regional Hotel Collaboration -who has corporate relationships within their drive markets?
      • Identify and establish collective sales efforts targeting business that is shared across drive market regions.
      • Leverage portfolio offering via organized collaborative team plan.
  • TMC-Consortia business has grown with the shift of new essential business traveler and other corporate travel. This travel was not volume producers to markets before pandemic.  This is unmanaged business transient travel not tied to specific contracted hotels. Often these travelers are related to companies involved in reshaping organizations before return of business. By seeking the TMC/Consortia traveler through participation in consortia programs, free and paid GDS marketing you help replace some of the reduction in managed preferred corporate travel prevalent pre-pandemic.
    1. Travel Leaders are keeping preferred partners informed by inviting Global NAMS to attend webinars.
    2. Complimentary GDS marketing opportunities typically with a price tag of $1K-$5K.
      •  GDS Marketing helps keep front of mind- relationship and awareness reaching contacts handling travel.
      • Example opportunities include one page updates, hosted videos, recorded webinars, destination training, and product training to keep top of mind.
      • Push communication, but not your typical marketing message. Make it interesting to Agents.
        • Popular are virtual tours of hotels featured on GDS.
        • Create a recorded webinar about your hotel or company applying to specific TMC traveler.

Contributing content-Allison Ahrens, President-Hospitality Revenue Solutions LLC & Elaine Kennedy, VP Hotel Market Planning- Pegasus.