In these challenging times, what extras are the five-star hotels offering to retain or grow their share of the business travel market? Catherine Chetwynd investigates
INCENTIVES
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WITH ROOM RATES in luxury properties starting at around £500 a night in the UK and heading north to levels in the region of Ð1,000 in Paris, it might seem surprising that any of these hotels has much corporate business. But as consultant to the industry Melvin Gold points out: “Corporate rates are relatively low. They have to bolster mid-week occupancies with business from good brand name companies. If an organisation is putting enough volume into a particular hotel, they probably achieve a reasonable rate and get the benefits of keeping people happy without compromising on austerity policies or location.” He says corporate rate discussions are ongoing even at the five-star level, and companies are given incentives to bring in the requisite amount of business. Location is a key factor and luxury properties are by nature in city centres. Looking at total cost of trip is an important part of keeping costs down and that means keeping collateral spend to a minimum – it is cheaper to put travellers in a hotel from
Fairmont Kempinski Munich
which they can walk to their appointments than have them racking up taxi fares on top of a lower room-rate in a less convenient hotel.
BESPOKE BUSINESS Added-value packages can be negotiated but are not a given. “If a hotel has a commitment to the business traveller, it will give free wifi, for example, but you don’t get that normally,” says Gold.
Rocco Forte Hotels tailors
packages to client requirement. “If someone is doing a huge number of presentations that require a big media feed, internet is a particularly important element,” says brand managing director Richard Power. “If they are staying at our Manchester hotel and the office is just the other side of the bridge, they could go to the office for breakfast. There is a lot of give and take.”
At Relais & Chateaux property Chewton Glen in the New Forest, “one of the things we major on is the things that are included: wifi, water, business services and even our service charge,” says managing director Andrew Stembridge. “We want to make sure guests don’t end up with a huge bill of extras. Corporates object to that – it grates.” Elsewhere, UAE group Rotana provides free internet access to Club Rotana Executive guests, corporate clients and those booking on Rotana’s website. Nick van Marken is global head of Deloitte’s travel and hospitality advisory practice. He says: “Wifi should be treated as a utility in the same way as water and electricity. Why expect anyone to pay extra for accessing the internet? It can have a disproportionate impact on the experience because people think it is penny-pinching. The industry