The Debate
HOTEL RATE SQUATTERS MUST BE EVICTED
Buyers have to absorb the cost of rate auditing by their TMCs to ensure only preferred hotels are being booked. Read on for three views on how to circumvent unscrupulous rate squatting
THE HOTELIER Russell Green, Director of Corporate Sales, UK & Ireland, IHG Squatting has enough negative connotations without hotels giving further meaning to it. We strongly discourage our hotels from loading rates onto programmes where they’ve already been declined – but it would be naïve to suggest it doesn’t happen. Guests are at the heart of our business. Their experience – from making the initial booking through to checking out – should be a positive one. And the same thing goes for company travel managers. Flying under the radar undermines a company’s corporate hotel programme and the supplier’s place on it. I encourage companies to regularly conduct rate audits as they’re a
good way to tackle the issue and minimise the impact on travel programmes. While they’re not necessarily a deterrent, they are a way to validate and support hotels who have done the right thing. In my view, if a hotel submits a robust business case as part of the RFP process, and its value to travel management and traveller is strong, then it should expect a positive result. However, if the hotel’s fit with the company's programme is tenuous – the wrong location, out of budget, classification, rate cap etc – then it shouldn’t be a surprise to the hotel that a decline is the most likely outcome. Hotels assuming a rate audit won’t take place
run the very real risk of being blacklisted by buyers. I can't think of many occasions when a travel manager hasn’t carried out their threat
to de-list and / or blacklist a hotel or hotels if they’re found to be squatting. As travel managers continue to consolidate
their programmes by reducing their preferred partners, there is a reasonable expectation among those accepted hotels that their market share will grow. As hoteliers, we need to feel confident that unauthorised hotels cannot negatively impact that opportunity to grow market share and not undermine travel management's relationship with its suppliers. My advice to travel managers and their travel management companies is to consistently apply their rules to all hotels. Doing so helps maintain the integrity of their corporate hotel programme and sends a signal that rate squatting won’t be tolerated.
20 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88