Hotel Sales Blog

The Dilemma of Attracting Corporate Transient for Independent and Boutique Hotels

Especially in urban settings, boutique hotels struggle with mid week corporate at this time of year when leisure mid week is non existent.

The large franchises have not only their frequent guest programs but also national accounts that feed many of their hotels at reduced rates. Then there are the large consortia that won’t even issue an RFP to a smaller hotel!

These are usually large companies with a volume of business travel. Faced with trying to steal share from these which entails more effort than the results are worth, what strategies can smaller independent and boutique hotels deploy?

Look at the flip side of the typical source of corporate travel for the franchise hotels.

Unmanaged coporate travel by small and medium sized businesses that book their own travel account for 56% of all corporate travel according to a research study by Forrester and Best Western.

Think about it. These small to meduium sized companies don’t have enough volume to negotiate significant discounts like the big guys. But they like everyone else would like a place where they are appreciated and can get issues addressed.

What about a full court press blitz, eblasts, direct mail, sales calls, reception, for every small to medium sized business in the market. Let them know that ‘their small business is big business to you!’ and you will give them the name and contact info of a live human at the hotel that they can contact if they have an issue!

I worked with a hotel once that had no major demand generators within 3 miles of the hotel — only small to medium sized businesses.

We went afer them. After about six months, we were driving a higher ADR than the comp set, getting roughly the same occupancy levels mid week as the franchises and had a stunning REVPAR!

Also, sign up for Expdia’s VIP program that caters to these unmanagaged business travelers.

(I’ve got to get a grip on the length of my titles!)