RFPs
Better by request
A well-thought out RFP strategy that encompasses stakeholders and software can make life better for buyers and suppliers alike
By CATHERINE CHETWYND T
HE ELECTRONIC REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL – known as the eRFP – used to be pilloried by suppliers because it did not allow communication with
those putting out the bid. Now, however, it has become de rigueur and is punctuated with meetings, usually at the beginning and end of the process. The eRFP allows buyers to reach their
entire hotel database in one go, embracing chain hotels on the global distribution system as well as independent properties. They can send out an invitation, indicate what they expect by way of a response, and
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enter the requisite number of rounds of negotiations, closing date and the deadline for loading rates. Jan Jacobsen, global travel manager at insurance giant AIG, says eRFPs are es- sential to his programme. “The upside of eRFPs is that we have a clean negotiation process and everything is documented in one place.” But isn’t there an advantage to negotiat-
ing preferred rates with individual hote- liers? No, says Jacobsen. “The value doesn’t compensate for the overview and control you have with electronic RFPs.” This applies to air, hotels and travel manage- ment companies (TMCs). AIG has 64,000
employees, 25,000 frequent travellers and 927 hotels in the programme. The Ford Motor Company utilises eRFPs,
largely for hotels, where having a mature programme and high compliance (86-87 per cent) helps. “I think that is quite rare but it means hotels are probably engaged with Ford, because they know that if we select their hotel, they will receive the business we have committed,” says Stephen Swift, Ford’s corporate travel and international relocation manager for the EMEA region. “In London, for example, we have tens of thousands of room nights and they know they will get a percentage share of that.”
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