5 Ways Businesses Can Avail of Corporate Rates on Hotel Booking

The cost of accommodation contributes significantly to the business travel budget of a company. It can also be why the corporate travel expenses exceed this budget, thus making it essential to look for ways to curb these rising costs. Getting corporate hotel booking rates is an excellent way to arrest this increasing expenditure. So, find out the 5 ways these special discounted rates can help businesses in controlling costs on hotel booking:

Businesses often face challenges when it comes to hotel bookings or group booking hotels. However, the major problem is saving expenditure when booking hotels for employees embarking on business trips to achieve important business goals. If, however, your company relies heavily on business travel, this challenge has the potential to become problematic and cause severe damage to the company’s finances. 

Corporate hotel discounts can ensure significant savings. Individual deals might not seem to make a substantial impact; however, over a year, these add up to incur notable savings. Making a profit is the priority of every business, regardless of how big or small they are. Hence, making the most of corporate rates is the financially right decision to make. So, how do these corporate rates work?

How to Get Corporate Rates at Hotels?

Hotel corporate rates for small business are not a far-fetched dream. It is possible to get corporate rates irrespective of the company's size. We have listed out the steps for getting discounted rates at hotels-

• •  Companies have to negotiate corporate hotel rates with hotel suppliers in advance based on the frequency of their employees' trips. 
• •  Once these rates have been negotiated, your company's employees can make the most of discounted rates on their hotel accommodations. In some cases, employees are required to use their corporate code in the coupons section to make corporate hotel bookings.
• •  Upon sharing their identification, employees will be eligible to avail of the negotiated rates on their hotel stays.
• •  The terms and validity of these discounts, however, depend upon what was negotiated between the hotel chain and the company.
• •  In some instances, these discounted rates can even be availed by employees travelling for personal reasons, depending on company policy.

Other than making savings on the business travel of the company's employees, corporate rates can enable businesses to keep their expenditures under control and within the travel policy. Furthermore, these rates might even be accompanied by additional perks like-

• •  Flexible bookings with cancellations and date changes.
• •  Reward points on hotel booking.
• •  Add on benefits like free meals or a complimentary stay.

Thus, corporate rates can add a lot to business travel hotel booking of your company. So, here are some of the most prominent tips to effortlessly get the benefits of corporate rates and cut costs on business hotels booking:

Research should be the first step to getting the best hotel rates. It is best to shop around and check out the offerings of different corporate hotel booking companies. Always take the time to explore what is available in the market. Compare and check with various hotels and see which one best meets your requirements with respect to the rates, offers, and amenities offered. Based on this research, you will be better prepared to negotiate the best corporate deal for your employee's business travel.

Another way to avail of corporate booking hotel rates is to negotiate with hotel chains in locations where your employees stay most frequently on their corporate travel. Identifying a specific hotel that meets all your employees' business travel needs and consolidating all future bookings with them can get you exclusive rates and added benefits. It is a profitable option for both parties involved since the hotel gets bulk sales, and the concession on the bookings attracts repeat guests as well as referrals. Additionally, you can get better discounted rates on group hotel booking when you tactfully negotiate. However, this needs excellent negotiation skills and might not work for all companies, especially for those whose employees travel across locations or not that frequently.

If direct negotiations with a hotel chain does not yield the best corporate rates, a specialized travel management platform excels at offering the benefits of discounted corporate rates to a company. Additionally, they offer advanced technology that enables businesses to access an inventory through their search interface, thus offering better rates. myBiz is one such TMC that provides the largest inventory of hotels alongside the technology that helps choose the best rates for hotel booking for corporate. It also saves time otherwise spent on looking for the best deals apart from helping businesses incur savings on every booking.

Often business travellers try to book hotels in advance to be well prepared for their business objectives. However, it is also likely that you might be able to find attractive last-minute rates on corporate hotels. These hotel rates are much more lucrative than the ones booked months in advance. Hotels tend to allow room cancellations 24-48 hours in advance, giving you enough time to shop for better deals before your employees depart for their business trip. The reason behind this is that hotels do not want empty rooms, so they often try to manipulate the rates as the day approaches to ensure that they can earn something rather than nothing. 

This approach, however, does not always work, and it might be too much of a hassle to depend on it to get the best rates on business travel.

How you pay for your individual or group booking in hotel makes a lot of difference. Most business qualify for a business credit card offered by credit card providers. These cards come with cashback and reward points, alongside additional perks, every time the employees use them. Payments made for hotel stays using such cards can bring company hotel discounts, complimentary stays or additional benefits like free meals. These incentives can be counted as profit and contribute to higher savings on individual or group booking hotel. Even though these cards come at a cost, if used frequently, they make up for it. Similarly, loyalty programs are another way to reap benefits, corporate discounts and free stays. 

Even though negotiating directly with a hotel or trying to get last-minute discounts are viable ways to enjoy discounted rates on individual or group booking in hotel, they are not effective at all times. Instead, the right travel management company can ensure overall savings, control and transparency on your company's business travel. myBiz is one online booking platform that offers all three along with giving access to the largest inventory of corporate hotels to choose from. It can also take away the hassle of managing multiple bookings by offering fully automated self-booking features that ensure efficiency and savings with best-in-class corporate rates. So, Join us now!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is a corporate booking hotel rate?

Ans. A corporate hotel booking rate is a reduced price that the hotels offer after negotiating directly with the business or with a TMC to provide discounted rates to business travellers.

Q2. Are corporate rates available on group booking hotels?

Ans. Yes, hotels offer discounted rates even on group bookings owing to the bulk sales.

Q3. Is a corporate code necessary to avail of negotiated rates on corporate booking hotel?

Ans. Yes, in most cases, employees have to show the corporate code to avail of the discounted rates or enter it while making online bookings.

Q4. What is an extended stay discount on business hotels?

Ans. If an employee stays for more than 5 nights, they can ask for an extended stay discount on their hotel stay.

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