ASK THE EXPERTS
WORDS CATHERINE CHETWYND
STAR BOOKINGS A
S TRAVEL BUYERS broaden the pool from which they draw hotels into their programme, forming relationships with hotel groups rather than
individual properties, the feasibility of auditing properties is increasingly diminished. So what can be done? Buyers are able to limit negotiations to only those hotels that meet closely defined criteria, and use third-party suppliers to perform audits on their behalf. TMCs, meanwhile, will check out the hotels they recommend to clients; after all, the TMC’s reputation rests on the standards of those suppliers. In addition, corporates can ask specialists, such as risk management organisations and dedicated hotel audit companies, to provide services, where required. In short, auditing is becoming more fragmented and decentralised.
As corporates move away from the annual hotel RFP towards dynamic rates and further outsource the process by using third party providers to get the best rates, so the one-to-one relationship with a hotel might disappear, with the exception of a few properties where a company has a large volume of business. As a result, buyers do not know at
the beginning of the year where their volume will go and so cannot audit hotels; their audit requirements should be in agreement with the third-party platform providers. Much of the audit process is about liability and responsibility, which is why Airbnb should not be part of a corporate lodging programme – the accountability is with a local host, who is a member of the public, not a
BBT asks a travel buyer, a TMC and a consultant how travel buyers can be confident their hotel programmes are audited
BENJAMIN PARK, INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND TRAVEL, PAREXEL INTERNATIONAL
company, and Airbnb does not take responsibility for the stay. No-one can visit every hotel in their programme to do a site inspection, but it’s important that an employer has briefed travellers about risk. Employees that have a bad experience share this on platforms such as Tripadvisor or social networks, so hotels with a poor reputation have difficulty making a profit; the market regulates itself. Numerous standards have been set for an audit and many companies still sell these services, which are essential, but as the market changes from owning a direct relationship with a hotel to chain relationships or more reliance on platforms, companies are conducting audits in a more decentralised way.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
2018
buyingbusinesstravel.com
THE BUYER
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