AS CORPORATES MOVE TOWARDS DYNAMIC RATES, SO THE ONE-TO-ONE RELATIONSHIP WITH A HOTEL MIGHT DISAPPEAR
THE TMC
PAULINE HOUSTON, SENIOR GLOBAL DIRECTOR – HOTEL STRATEGY & SALES, AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL
Hotel auditing appears only occasionally in RFPs, and clients generally expect hotels in our programme to meet the required safety and security standard. In low-risk geographies, buyers stick to key locations, known brands and hotels with good security standards. However, in high-risk areas additional steps should be taken to ensure traveller safety, which can include the involvement of risk management specialists and may include site inspections before accepting hotels into their programmes. They will also have pre- trip checks to ensure that travellers do not use high-risk accommodation. Given the large portfolio of hotels that we offer clients – one million properties – it would be a challenge to inspect every single hotel for security. To eliminate high-risk properties, we use the GBTA’s standard hotel RFP, which contains a host of security questions that
highlight any issues of concern, and we will not book hotels for clients in high-risk locations or properties where security concerns have been identified. Airbnb has introduced additional security checks on its business-ready property listings, which were already subject to routine safety and security checks. Although Amex GBT is not legally
responsible for ensuring travellers stay at properties that meet health and safety standards, we take steps to promote traveller duty-of-care. First, our supplier relationship team focuses on advocating providers that have a reputation for outstanding service and excellent standards of care. Second, all our products and services support our clients’ duty- of-care policies by promoting their preferred properties to travellers. Finally, our global sanctions compliance system blocks high-risk content, as appropriate, to protect our clients and travellers.
MICHELLE TAFT, CONSULTANT, APENSIA Buyers are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety and security of the traveller, especially in sectors where travellers are visiting high-risk areas. They are keen to understand what processes a TMC has in place for vetting hotels and how they work with their supply chain to ensure safety procedures are in place. A hotel rate programme, where an organisation will select preferred hotels in key locations or a few hotel chains to cover multiple locations, would produce a certain amount of information on health and safety, and the TMC could do a physical check on those hotels because there aren’t that many to manage. Now, however, they are aggregating content from multiple channels, including sites such as booking. com and Expedia.
It is down to companies’ policies to decide how they ensure people are staying in appropriate properties. A policy might state that travellers should stay in a 3-star hotel, at minimum, because certain standards are guaranteed, but this does not cover safety and security, which is paramount for vulnerable travellers or those visiting high-risk areas. You could take an audit to multiple levels from a basic paper audit to something in-depth. There are companies that offer a vetting service and, in some cases, do an on-site inspection. Where they have an individual inspection, hotels can ask for accreditation. However, this comes at a cost, which could deter some properties. I would like to see the equivalent of star
ratings for safety and security. It would help buyers and travellers make informed decisions and encourage higher safety standards across the board.
buyingbusinesstravel.com
2018
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
57
THE CONSULTANT
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 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123
