In an age of unprecedented choice, searching for a suitable hotel in a particular location will return hundreds, if not thousands, of results.
Manually reviewing all these options is just not feasible in the fast-paced world of corporate travel management – but without comprehensive cross-checks, it’s inevitable that opportunities for better deals are being missed.
Hotel rate re-shopping tools have been around for years but often remain underutilised, poorly managed or just plain misunderstood; yet, for TMCs and their customers, a robust re-shopping service can be a total game changer when it comes to delivering savings, streamlining operations and refining business strategies.
With so much to gain, it’s worth examining the more common misconceptions and dispelling some myths…
MYTH #1:
Hotel rate re-shopping is difficult to implement
Maybe the technical aspect seems like too big a task to even approach. Or perhaps you already have some experience with rate re-shopping tools – building an in-house tool with limited resources, for instance, or trying to shoehorn a one-size-fits-all solution into your existing workflow – that has clouded your view.
Not all rate re-shopping tools are the same and it pays to examine your options. Solutions designed for TMCs should integrate seamlessly in your tech stack, without the need for workarounds or massive amounts of development. And working with a specialised provider should mean that the technical heavy lifting is done for you
– you just need to define your re-shopping objectives.THE RATE OPTIMISER WAY:
With HotelHub’s Rate Optimiser, you can be up and re-shopping in a matter of days. To get started, just specify the price threshold sought (i.e. minimum $20 saving), set up a simple rule at market level (i.e. only seek like-for-like offers) and assign a recipient to monitor email alerts. Once the savings start coming in, your HotelHub team will support you to refine and scale your rule configurations to make the most of the opportunities available.
MYTH #2:
Rate re-shopping means extra work for agents
It’s all very well that savings are being detected, but now someone needs to review the new rate, process the re-booking, ensure the old booking is cancelled and make sure records are up to date, right?
Well, that may be the case for some hotel re-shopping tools, but many do much more than just looking for a cheaper rate. Modern solutions for TMCs utilise automation to handle re-bookings, cancellations and back-end admin without any intervention – meaning you can deliver savings to your clients while agents remain focused on customer experience.
THE RATE OPTIMISER WAY:
Whether you’re looking for a completely hands-off experience or prefer a level of agent oversight, Rate Optimiser offers two types of automated workflow. Our No-Touch workflow gives you seamless re-booking without any manual intervention to ensure better rates are never missed, while the Low-Touch workflow allows real-time oversight of offers with a streamlined two-step process to finalise re-booking. And with Rate Optimiser’s rule-based engine, there’s no need to choose between the two – you can set your own parameters to determine which process is triggered.
MYTH #3:
Re-shopping tools can only access limited content
Multi-source content is a hot topic in corporate accommodation management: travellers want it and TMCs are continuously striving to provide it. But once you’ve got those bookings coming in from multiple, curated content sources, is it really worth investing in re-shopping if it can only check a limited pool of rates?
If the solution you’re working with only has access to limited content, then the answer to that question probably depends on the content available; however, with a contemporary re-shopping tool, TMCs shouldn’t have that dilemma. If you can connect that content to your booking tool, you can connect it to a re-shopping tool, allowing you to cast the widest net for better rates.
THE RATE OPTIMISER WAY:
Independent and agnostic, Rate Optimiser can re-shop from any content source a TMC chooses to connect. Not only that, but Rate Optimiser’s rule engine gives you the option to drive re-bookings to and from specific content providers as required, allowing TMCs and their customers to take advantage of more commercially valuable rates.
MYTH #4:
We already have a well-managed accommodation programme so we won’t make savings
You’ve put the hard work in: sourcing appropriate hotel content, negotiating the best rates with suppliers and ensuring it’s all accessible in the relevant booking platforms along with any client-preferred rates – surely the chances of finding better rates that deliver the same value are slim?
Undoubtedly, TMCs do a great job at finding the best rate at the time of booking, but with the dynamic nature of hotel pricing nowadays, there’s a good chance that a better rate will come along before the traveller checks in. Rate re-shopping should be seen as a supplemental process that reinforces your best rate-guarantee, catching any new rate offers after booking. Not only that, but robust re-shopping tools should be able to offer real-time insights to how your negotiated rates are performing compared to others available, strengthening your position when it comes to RFP season.
THE RATE OPTIMISER WAY:
On average, customers who are using Rate Optimiser in conjunction with HotelHub’s innovative content management and booking tools, find savings for 20% of bookings. With an average reduction of $90 (USD) per booking, the savings can quickly stack up: for every 100,000 bookings, that’s a $1.8 million saving.
MYTH #5:
A cheaper rate means a worse room, fewer inclusions or losing hotel chain loyalty benefits.
For TMCs and corporates, just getting travellers to book hotels within the official programme can be challenging. If they then discover the king-bed executive room they booked with breakfast included and club lounge access has been downgraded to a standard room with a single bed and no inclusions, they’ll be even more reluctant to go through the company channels, mitigating any savings made.
Sure, if saving money is all that matters, any re-shopping tool can strip away the extras to find a room at a cheaper rate, but a solution designed for TMCs should allow for the delicate balance between cost savings and traveller experience. A well-rounded re-shopping solution allows TMCs to configure rules to dictate what is or isn’t acceptable in a savings opportunity and gives them the control to customise those parameters for different clients depending on their preferences, ensuring the re-shopping process delivers a net positive experience.
THE RATE OPTIMISER WAY:
From ensuring only like-for-like rates can be re-booked to excluding specific VIP customers or accessible room bookings from being re-shopped, Rate Optimiser gives TMCs the flexibility to customise rules that define what a “better” rate looks like and tailor outcomes at a global or granular level. Meanwhile, advanced AI and machine learning are used to identify and adapt to traveller preferences, driving savings opportunities that keep customers coming back.
