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A D V E R T I S I N G C O V E R
VOLUME 38 |OCTOBER 18, 2021 WWW.BUSINESSTRAVELNEWS.COM
Welcome back to the
skies, Road Warriors®
001_CW1_01BTN1018 1 10/13/21 11:19 AM
Building a more
sustainable airline
You can count on American to take you safely where you want and need to go while protecting the planet and leading the industry on the
path to decarbonization. We’re doing our part to build a more sustainable airline and reduce the environmental impact of business travel
including:
• Investing more than $24 billion in 600 new, more fuel efficient aircraft, giving us the youngest mainline fleet of any U.S. network airline
• Becoming an anchor partner of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and investing $100 million in a groundbreaking collaborative effort to
accelerate the clean energy technologies necessary for achieving a net zero economy by 2050
• Setting the standard as the first airline in North America to set a science based target for 2035 and committing to net zero carbon
emissions by 2050
• Joining our oneworld® Alliance partners in becoming the first and only alliance to set a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050
• Supporting the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition – and their Ambition Statement of 10% sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) by 2030
• Committing to buy 9 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Neste and up to 10 million gallons of SAF from Prometheus
• Pioneering a SAF certificate program in early 2021, working with our customers to reduce their Scope 3 emissions from air travel
• Offering new options to redeem Business Extra® reward points for high-quality carbon emissions offsets through our partnership with
Cool Effect
We know the effects of air travel on the environment are top of mind, and we’re here to help you reduce the impact of your travel
through insightful tools and innovative industry partnerships. From carbon emissions dashboards to verified carbon offset options, we’re
committed to working with you to minimize your (and our) carbon footprint.
Learn more at exploreamerican.com/globalsales/sustainability
American Airlines, Business Extra and the Flight Symbol are marks of American Airlines Inc.
oneworld is a mark of the oneworld Alliance, LLC. ©2021 American Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved.
002_CW2_02BTN1018 2 10/13/21 11:20 AM
VOLUME 38 | OCTOBER 18, 2021 WWW.BUSINESSTRAVELNEWS.COM
ON THE HORIZON TRANSPORTATION VOICES
Concur founder and Former Ford Motor Co. The corporate travel
former CEO Steve Singh chief executive Mark industry can lead in
helps roll out Spotnana, Fields joins Hertz as supporting physical and
a new corporate travel interim CEO as part neuro-diverse travelers,
tech startup with big of a post-bankruptcy says Fox World Travel’s
names and big plans. shakeup. George Kalka.
PAGE 3 PAGE 13 PAGE 20
TOP STORY BY DONNA M. AIROLDI
CHAINWIDE PANDEMIC BTN’S 2021 ANNUAL HOTEL SURVEY
PERFORMANCE RATINGS
ON AN ASCENDING SCALE OF 1 TO 5
Uncertainty Still Reigns
The 2021 edition of BTN’s annual Hotel Survey differs significantly from its
traditional coverage. Given the lack of business travel this year due to the pan-
1. HILTON 4.20 demic, this edition’s focus is not on individual hotel brand performance. In-
stead, the survey includes ratings on a chainwide level only, and on just four
Covid-19-related attributes. BTN also surveyed travel buyers as to the state and
2. MARRIOTT 4.15 future of their hotel programs, and found a desire to move past the pandemic,
back to a world of negotiated contracts and widely available amenities. But in
interviews with buyers, hotel executives and consultants, it’s clear that persis-
3. HYATT 4.12 tent labor shortages, shifting sourcing strategies, uneven tier performance and
the lack of anything like a complete picture of future demand have changed the
hotel landscape since the pre-Covid era, leaving a full return to normalcy still
4. IHG 4.11 in the distance.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 6
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 138 respondents
TMC PREPS PREPACKAGED CHAPTER 11 FILING What’s Inside 4 | On the Record
CWT’s CEO Leans Into 12 TRANSPORTATION
• U.S. airlines prepare employee vaccine mandates
American Airlines’
Neil Geurin (pic-
Recapitalization, Recovery • DOJ sues over American Airlines-JetBlue plans
14 PROCUREMENT
tured) and Amadeus’
Ludo Verheggen dis-
cuss each supplier’s
• Tripbam sees corporate hotel volume rising again NDC progress.
• Egencia launches AI-powered hotel rate cap tool
Travel management company CWT is preparing a ‘prepackaged’ Chapter 11
bankruptcy filing in the United States to push through a recently announced 16 GLOBAL
financial restructuring plan. • Australia to allow outbound international travel “We look at what we’re
The TMC said it is taking steps to implement its previously announced • Six carriers plan wide rollout of IATA’s Travel Pass
agreement with its financial partners “that will significantly strengthen our
doing with Amadeus and
financial position, provide substantial liquidity and reduce our debt by ap- 17 MEETINGS with NDC in general as
• New API targets meetings data quality
proximately 50 percent.”
• Meetings tech platform Troop scores $8M the foundation for how
The recapitalization plan would bring down
its debt load by nearly $900 million and pro- 18 MANAGEMENT
this is going to work for
vide nearly $350 million in new equity financ- • BCD Travel debuts payment and spend platform the next 10, 15 or 20
ing, according to CWT.
19 PAYMENT & TECHNOLOGY years in all likelihood.”
CWT in a statement said: “We plan to use
• Capital One acquires Lola
a ‘pre-packaged’ court-supervised process to
implement the agreement on an expedited ba- Don’t
know
sis in the coming weeks while we continue op- Increased
6 | Hotel Survey 7%
erating normally. We look forward to moving 21%
ahead as a fundamentally stronger [business].
“We already have overwhelming support Use of
CWT CEO Michelle McKinney
for the agreement from our financial stake- Extended-Stay
holders representing 100 percent of our bank Hotels Decreased
Frymire talks:
group and holders of over 90 percent of our 14%
• CWT’s recapitalization outstanding secured debt.”
BTN Group editorial director Elizabeth West
• The Carlsons’ exit No change
interviewed CEO Michelle McKinney Frymire
• CWT’s recovery Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 58%
CO N TI N U ED O N PAG E 14
paradigms 125 respondents
001_BTN_1018 1 10/13/21 1:09 PM
10TH ANNUAL
DECEMBER 6, 2021
THE ST. REGIS NEW YORK
Join 200 travel industry executives at the 10th Annual Business Travel Hall of
Fame induction ceremony and dinner as the BTN Group recognizes four of
the industry’s most influential executives who helped shape today’s business
travel landscape and created legacies of achievement. Celebrate and pay
tribute to those being inducted as they reflect on their accomplishments and
look towards the future of business travel.
The late Bill Tech (d. 2019),
David Kong, Michael Premo, Rita Visser, Director
former President and CEO
President and CEO of former President & of Global Travel
and Chairman Emeritus
BWH Hotel Group CEO of ARC Sourcing & Global
of Travel and Transport
Process Officer for
(now Corporate Travel
Oracle
Management N. America)
www.businesstravelhalloffame.com
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
PRESENTED BY PUBLISHERS OF
002_02BTN1018 2 10/13/21 11:21 AM
On the Horizon
Big Names, Big Aims:
The company currently has two travel man-
agement company partners and is working with
several others, and will launch with multiple
Startup Spotnana Debuts
partners across the expense, HR and duty-of-
care verticals.
While the platform-based service model is a
key aspect of Spotnana’s overall value proposi-
B Y A D A M P E R R OT TA tion, the company is equally focused on bun-
dling that tech into a full TMC service offering
for direct corporate clients—of which currently
Corporate travel startup Spotnana has emerged it has about 50 of various sizes—in order to
from stealth mode with the backing of some ma- serve as a model for how cutting-edge technol-
jor industry players, and the company is touting ogy can provide a superior offering for clients,
equally major plans to shake up the sector. according to Singh.
The brainchild of WTMC founder Sarosh “We want to set the bar of what the customer
Waghmar, Spotnana can act as a full travel man- experience ought to be,” said Singh. “You should
agement company for direct corporate clients, deliver to the customer the full range of choice
but also is offering its technology platform to that customer is entitled to … and align to how
support the operations of other TMCs and sup- customers want to consume technology.”
pliers, in an arrangement the company likened As Spotnana sees it, that means offering a full
to acting as an Amazon Web Services for the range of booking content from multiple sources
corporate travel industry. on a global scale, offered via a pay-per-use mod-
Among the boldface names involved in the el as opposed to a subscription fee. And while
New York-headquartered venture are Concur the company declined to disclose its per-trip
co-founder Steve Singh, who serves as Spot- cost, Singh said Spotnana would leverage the
nana chairman and is an investor in the compa- cost-effectiveness of its cloud-based tech stack
ny, along with veteran corporate travel innova-
tor Johnny Thorsen in the role of vice president
“We want to set and pass those savings along to customers.
Waghmar is no stranger to shaking up exist-
of partnerships. Former Concur sales chief Bill the bar of what ing travel industry frameworks. His previous
Tillman will head Spotnana’s efforts in that
area, while onetime American Express Global
the customer venture, WTMC, was largely built upon the
premise of upending the model of GDSs using
Business Travel COO Bill Brindle will serve as experience ought financial incentives to drive TMCs to book vol-
its vice president of travel operations
In an interview with BTN, Singh said he had
to be. You should ume through their channels, even if the content
available in that channel was not the best option
expected not to return to the travel sector after deliver to the for the client.
leaving SAP Concur in 2017 but was “reinvigo-
rated” by Waghmar’s vision for Spotnana, which
customer the full WTMC has ceased operations, with some of
its key clients moving on to relationships with
centers on uniting various aspects of the travel range of choice major TMCs. But that anti-status quo ethos still
process that traditionally had been fragmented
among disparate tech stacks and controlled by
that customer runs through Spotnana’s veins as well, Wagh-
mar told BTN.
multiple stakeholders with various motivations is entitled to “It’s not just time to change the technology, it’s
and incentives.
“Everything from the GDS layer, to the mid-
… and align to even time to change the entire business model,”
Waghmar noted—citing the reduced costs of
office … it’s all very fragmented. They have how customers cloud computing and advances in artificial intel-
different customer records, they have different
motivations,” said Singh. “Various TMCs have
want to consume ligence and machine learning as the key factors
that allow for Spotnana to offer an alternative
motivations to only deliver the content that they technology.” to the legacy infrastructure he said has hindered
want to preference, as opposed to what the cus- efficiency and misaligned priorities throughout
—SPOTNANA’S STEVE SINGH
tomer wants,” he added. the travel ecosystem.
Spotnana aims to bring harmony to those
competing priorities by leveraging the current Investors Back Next-Gen Travel Tech
generation of cloud-based network technology, At the moment, Spotnana has “around 120”
offering what Singh described as a “full range employees, Waghmar said, with the majority
of functionality a customer needs, that inte- in development roles as the company continues
grates content from any source, but yet is also to build out its platform, along with a growing
configurable.” sales and marketing team.
As for funding, Singh’s Madrona Venture
Looking for Clients Who Share a Vision Group recently joined with ICONIQ Capital to
That configurability is key to Spotnana’s use case lead a $34 million Series A round.
as tech architecture underpinning the operations “I’m incredibly pleased to work with an en-
of third-party TMCs and other suppliers, who trepreneur like Sarosh,” said Singh. “He has
can customize the platform to their own specific experience in the travel industry, but also is a
needs and add value tailored for their own target great technologist. You can’t just be a technolo-
audience via the system’s open-API model, Singh gist and you can’t just be a travel executive. You
noted. For instance, an air carrier can build a have to understand both domains, and that’s
more robust content display than is available in how you bring value to the customer.”
the GDS atop Spotnana’s platform, he added. — Elizabeth West contributed to this report.
www.businesstravelnews.com October 18, 2021 | Business Travel News | 3
003_BTN_1018 3 10/13/21 1:10 PM
On the Record
Amadeus: Bundles, Adop- NDC-driven products, Main Plus being the most
notable of those, a product available for a cus-
tomer so they can get access to a slightly better
tion Propel NDC Progress seat in the coach cabin, preferred boarding and
an extra bag. The idea as a test was that we have
corporate customers who today are buying all of
those things in disparate ways, jumping through
hoops to do that. What if we put it all together
Amadeus this month published a report and made it really easy for them to transact with?
dubbing 2021 as “the year of scaling” for We are big believers in testing and learning, and
the International Air Transport Association’s this year, running that out to see how it would
New Distribution Capability standard, citing go and work through the process of bringing this
airlines’ development and release of bundles into new channels every day, coming very soon
and travel management companies going to Amadeus as well. We found it’s an incredibly
live with NDC content. Amadeus director of popular product. We sell a ton of it, so we’re real-
global air content acceleration Ludo Verheg- ly happy with how it’s gone through the first year.
gen, along with American Airlines director
of distribution strategy Neil Geurin, recently WHAT WILL THE UPCOMING NEW SCHEMA FOR
spoke with BTN executive editor Michael NDC FROM IATA MEAN FOR PROGRESS?
B. Baker about the progress each has made Verheggen: What we all need to be conscious of
with NDC and what to expect when IATA re- is that we’ve been learning over the last few years
leases its newest schema for the standard. in our NDC journey. A lot of airlines started their
An edited transcript follows, read the full in- NDC journey in the 2017 version, others started
terview at businesstravelnews.com. in 2018 or 2019. Many of them started at a dif-
ferent point and with a different version, which
HOW HAS PROGRESS WITH NDC ADVANCED DUR- has created clear differences in the way they were
ING THE PANDEMIC? implemented and interpreted by the airlines or IT
Ludo Verheggen: We’re 100 percent committed providers behind it. With the new version, 21.3,
to drive NDC forward together with our partners all these learnings from the last four years are
in collaborating with the whole industry. We’re being used to create a newer, more complete and
very excited where we are today. With American, clearer version with clearer guidelines of how it
we started the rollout of NDC worldwide at the should be implemented.
beginning of this year, and we’re already live in
50 markets around the world. Over the next few WHERE ARE YOUR TMC PARTNERS ON THIS JOUR-
months, we’ll be going live in all of the Americas. NEY RIGHT NOW?
By the end of this year, we will make sure the Verheggen: Within our NDC-X program, we’ve
whole Amadeus travel agency community can at been working closely with all the large global
least get access to the NDC content so they can travel management companies from the begin-
start making their first steps as well. The more of Amadeus’ Ludo Verheggen (top) ning, so it’s been great to see the progress that
us who start making the first steps, the more we and American Airlines’ Neil has been made in that space over the last few
can really bring this to the volume that we like to Geurin discuss: years. For travel management companies, NDC
see and rebuild travel in a better way thanks to is bringing the biggest change, because the whole
that technology. • Progress toward NDC TMC environment and ecosystem is very tightly
critical mass integrated with the GDS world and all the pro-
Neil Geurin: We are spending a lot of time getting cesses the GDSs have been developing over the
ready for our corporate customers to come back, • More standardization last 30-odd years, with the EDIFACT standards.
starting late this year or early next year. What with a new schema That means for a TMC to become really efficient
I’ve been focused on in the distribution space for with NDC and be able to give the same level of
the last five years is to get to the point where we
• The NDC status of service all the corporate customers are used to,
never have to talk about NDC anymore, because TMCs it’s a huge undertaking for them. It was great to
it’s just distribution. It finally feels like, thanks see they joined the journey from the beginning
in a huge part to the work Amadeus has done, and especially was exciting that we are piloting
that 2022 will be the year where we don’t have with pretty much all of them, and all of them are
to talk about NDC anymore. It’s just the content really gearing up to be NDC-ready by the end of
that customers want, and it’s available to them in the year.
their channels. After that, what we talk about is
product. We are now finally on that path. Geurin: If we do our job well here and develop
products and services that customers like and
DID THE PANDEMIC ALTER YOUR COURSE? appreciate, that means they’ll be more satisfied,
Geurin: It’s been an unusual last year and a half which should lead to the whole ecosystem being
for us, but we’ve all had an opportunity to take happier, healthier and better partners going for-
some of this time and get ready for corporate ward. We open up new opportunities for part-
travel, which is going to come back. We look at nerships between travel management companies
what we’re doing with Amadeus and with NDC and airlines, between travel management compa-
in general as the foundation for how this is go- nies and booking tools and between travel man-
ing to work for the next 10, 15 or 20 years in all agement companies and their global distribution
likelihood. We announced earlier this year a few system partners.
4 | Business Travel News | October 18, 2021 www.businesstravelnews.com
004_BTN_1018 4 10/13/21 1:13 PM
CORPORATE TRAVELERS CAN MODIFY
THEIR BOOKINGS AT NO EXTRA COST.
Turkish Airlines Corporate Club members can cancel or
change their tickets without penalty. Therefore,
any work-related compulsory travel changes will not
financially affect our members.
005_05BTN1018 5 10/13/21 11:37 AM
BTN’s 2021
HOTEL SURVEY
Hilton Takes Top Honors
BY D O N N A M . A I R O L D I
The 2021 edition of BTN’s annual Hotel what was foundationally very high stan- the globe to make sure there was continuity
Report differs significantly from its tradi- dards and elevated them throughout the in how we serviced that. It became a 24/7
tional coverage. This edition’s focus is not entire stay,” he said. “Flexibility, cleanliness, response team to help with anything that
on brand performance, as there was too these are the things customers told us they came up, whether weather-related [such as
little business travel that took place the past needed us to focus on.” a hurricane] or other crisis.”
12 months, and some buyers did not feel For maintaining operations, Passanante Marriott took top marks for effective cli-
comfortable rating brands when booking said Hilton looked to its properties in Chi- ent communications during the pandemic
volumes were so low. Instead, the survey in- na to get an early perspective on the effect and second for its overall pandemic re-
cludes ratings on a chainwide level only, and Covid-19 had on the business and to gain sponse. The company’s SVP of global sales,
on just four Covid-19-related attributes.
Hilton Worldwide earned the top spot CHAINWIDE PERFORMANCE
among corporate travel buyers, followed by ON A SCALE FROM 1 TO 5 Hilton Marriott Hyatt IHG TOTAL
Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corp.
Overall Covid-19 response in implementing health and safety plans 4.48 4.41 4.36 4.24 4.37
and IHG Hotels & Resorts, all within a couple
hundredths of a point from each other. BWH Effective client communication during the pandemic 4.07 4.10 4.01 3.99 4.04
Hotel Group and Accor, while not making
the final cut due to lower usage rates among Corporate contracting management 3.99 3.94 4.01 4.07 4.00
survey participants, were close behind, and
Ability to maintain operational properties in key business locations 4.28 4.16 4.10 4.13 4.17
performed well in certain categories.
The survey asked travel buyers to rate TOTAL 4.20 4.15 4.12 4.11 4.15
chains on their overall Covid-19 response
in implementing health and safety plans— insights to manage through the crisis. “It Tammy Routh, said that staying in contact
the attribute in which all the hotel compa- required us to evolve how we managed our with every customer made the difference,
nies scored their highest marks—effective hotels,” he said, adding that engagement even though the company had significantly
client communications during the pan- and communication with key accounts was reduced its workforce. “People that for-
demic, corporate contracting management, important. “One thing we were able to do merly handled five accounts now handled
and their ability to maintain operational was shift resources internally to where the 20,” she said. “The direction I gave them
properties in key business locations. Hil- needs were.” was, ‘Every day you come into the office,
ton garnered the highest marks for two of An example of how Hilton did that was the the No. 1 priority is to stay in contact with
the four: its Covid-19 response and ability deployment of its catastrophic task force. your customers.’ ”
to maintain operations. “As crises unfolded, new needs emerged,” Routh said Marriott did that in two ways.
“We are really proud of the work we did,” Passanante said. “We moved resources, First, the company checked in on customers
said Hilton SVP of worldwide sales Frank doubling down on how we supported cata- personally. “We were all dealing with this,
Passanante. With Hilton CleanStay, its strophic events. We always had a desk, but and I didn’t want them to think we called
cleanliness and safety program, “we took we more than doubled that and followed only when asking for business,” she said.
METHODOLOGY: BTN emailed audience members responsible for corporate hotel buying decisions, and 138 participated Aug. 10-Sept. 17 in an online survey to rate hotel chain pandemic
performance during the previous 12 months. Buyers rated only the chains with which they have conducted business or hold a corporate contract on four pandemic-related attributes on an
ascending scale from one to five. Only chains with multiple brands were considered for this survey, and BTN reported results only for chains with significant respondent usage. BTN also
surveyed respondents about the evolution of their hotel program practices over the past 12 months as well as their go-forward strategies.
6 | Business Travel News | October 18, 2021 www.businesstravelnews.com
006_BTN_1018 6 10/13/21 1:05 PM
Ext. Stay,
The second was to stay apprised of clients’ both Hilton and Marriott scored below
stances on travel policies, return to office, Hyatt and IHG. “One thing we have heard
and group and meeting philosophies. “We loud and clear from customers is we need
Economy Led
took that information and then made deci- rate assurance,” Hilton’s Passanante said.
sions based on the customer voice. We kept “There are many unanswered questions on
the dialogue going weekly, in some cases markets and the volatility of some markets.
Pandemic,
more, so the customer felt that their voice 2020 proved that dynamic pricing models
mattered.” did provide a benefit to customers. We are
Best Western also scored well on its focused on providing rate assurance, and
But Field
pandemic response, and SVP and CMO dynamic is a key part of that answer. And
Dorothy Dowling credited the company’s delivering greater efficiency in what we
longtime commitment through its “I Care know is a tedious and challenging [request-
Leveling Off
Clean” program, launched in 2012. “We for-proposals] process, and resources across
created a foundational program and started the board are more constrained than ever.
deconstructing the guest room and public We are trying to listen and respond and get
spaces and really looked at where the high- it right.”
touch levels were from a customer point of Marriott once again offered to roll over
BY D O N N A M . A I R O L D I
view. … We created a cultural shift in the rates into 2022, and many buyers took that
commitment to cleanliness,” she said. Once offer, according to the company. But some
the pandemic hit, the company evolved the buyers noted that Marriott wasn’t willing to Compared with traditional hotel segments,
program further into “We Care Clean,” with negotiate RFPs this season. Routh countered the extended-stay segment performed well
an even more elevated level of cleaning pro- that the company “will always sell the way throughout the depths of the Covid-19 pan-
tocols, and the sales team focused on com- the customer wants to buy,” she said. “We demic, even though the comparisons are not
municating that to the buyer community. weren’t sure what the right thing to do was exact. The type of essential travelers who re-
For Accor, which according to SVP of sales for the pricing season, and we spent time mained on the road and some leisure guests
and distribution Markus Keller is the largest with the revenue management teams trying who began traveling again a year ago often
hotel operator in every geography except to figure out how to put forward something desired longer stays, wanted kitchens as many
North America and China, communications where everybody wins. And travel buyers restaurants in and near hotels had closed or
during the pandemic “came with challenges really do not know how much travel they had limited services, and sought extra space
and opportunities,” he said, adding that the will have. Our analysis and numbers prove for working or simply spreading out.
company was able to implement its All Safe that rolling over rates with rate protection Extended Stay America capitalized on its
hygiene and safety standards in more than is a winning value proposition for all par- pandemic success and agreed in March 2021
4,900 hotels worldwide, despite geographi- ties. And we would never want buyers to to be sold for about $6 billion, taking the
cal dispersion. In communicating those pro- be in the position where the retail rate is company private. Choice Hotels, which now
tocols, “in the early part of the crisis, we had better. … If a customer wanted a full RFP, counts four extended-stay brands in its port-
direct one-to-one communications with key of course we would honor that.” folio, has leaned into the segment, which as
customers, and wrote letters explaining what Hyatt was the only company to score of June 30 accounted for 10 percent of the
we were doing,” Keller said. “We conducted above a four in all four of the attributes company’s domestic rooms. Its WoodSpring
tens of thousands of phone calls, from head- rated, with its top score for its Covid-19 re- Suites brand reported occupancy levels at
quarters as well as in each region to their sponse. “It was everything we implemented, nearly 86 percent and 16 percent revenue-
respective client bases. We switched a lot of including hygiene managers on staff at every per-available-room growth during the sec-
our sales activities to virtual. … We shared property,” said Hyatt VP of global sales for ond quarter of 2021 compared with the same
what we were doing and how we were re- the Americas Gus Vonderheide. “We will period in 2019. In development activity for
opening hotels. We also shared not only in- continue to work with outside organiza- the period, Choice’s franchise contracts for
formation about ourselves but also what we tions to audit the properties on a regular ba- the segment grew nearly 60 percent.
observed globally in the markets where we sis, because we feel strongly that we could Economy extended-stay in particular year-
were present, and that was something that not do that ourselves. That’s not going away to-date through Aug. 31, 2021, had surpassed
[clients] appreciated as well.” in 2022. As business travel returns, it will its 2019 levels for all three key performance
IHG outscored its competitors for cor- be even more important than a year ago to indicators, according to The Highland Group.
porate contracting management. “We’ve show we are still living and breathing the The 2021 midscale tier was down mid-single-
focused on being nimble and responding to standards we set.” digit percentages for each metric—RevPAR,
the needs of our customers throughout the Vonderheide added that “it’s easy to say, occupancy and average daily rate—while
pandemic,” said IHG SVP of global sales ‘let’s get back to normal,’ but travelers will the upscale extended-stay segment contin-
Derek DeCross in an email. “We extended still be at different levels of comfort. Some ued to lag, with occupancy down 9 percent
rates and discounts from 2021 into 2022 to were ready a year ago. Some might not be from 2019 levels, ADR off 14.8 percent and
maintain flexibility for our customers who for another year. We need to talk to all of RevPAR down 22.5 percent.
are still uncertain about travel programs them. … We immediately believed that flex- As the recovery continues and travelers have
and budgets. We also implemented dynami- ibility and creativity would be key to getting become more comfortable with hotel stays in
cally priced products to provide customers through this.” The company offered differ- general, the segment’s growth has tapered,
with confidence that they had access to a ent pricing models and contract opportuni- and its overall performance shows occupancy
market-appropriate rate. This has been a ties that “we felt would be a good variety down 4.3 percent, ADR off 10.9 percent and
bright spot for both buyers and suppliers or a large enough variety to appeal to the a RevPAR decline of 14.7 percent compared
given resource and demand constraints. As masses,” he said. “Over the past year and a with 2019 year-to-date metrics.
a result, we’ve seen an increase in adoption half, I’m very proud of the comments we’ve
of dynamic rates across corporate verticals, heard from customers. It’s not a seller’s or Traditional Tier Performance
particularly in finance, retail and construc- buyer’s market; it’s a partner’s market. If Looking at the same period for the tradi-
tion/engineering.” ever there was a time to benefit from strong-
Contracting was the one category where ly being together, this is it.” CONT INUE D ON PAGE 11
www.businesstravelnews.com October 18, 2021 | Business Travel News | 7
7 | Business Travel News | October 15, 2018 www.businesstravelnews.com
007_BTN_1018 7 10/13/21 1:05 PM
2021 HOTEL SURVEY
Buyers Ready for Post-Covid Service,
Amenities and Negotiating
BY D O N N A M . A I R O L D I
As part of this year’s 2021 Hotel Report, them for years. layoffs the hotel companies conducted dur-
BTN surveyed 138 travel buyers as to the About 22 percent of buyer respondents ing the height of the pandemic, and the dif-
state and future of their hotel programs, planned to concentrate more on static ficulties they have had in rehiring workers.
and found a desire to move past the pan- rates and less on dynamic compared with “Some of the chains did really well,
demic, back to a world of negotiated con- the previous cycle. Just 15 percent were others did not,” Dery said. One company
tracts and widely available amenities. But “all-in” on static rates, and about 1 percent “had such a huge amount of people fur-
a return to normalcy isn’t that simple, and were using dynamic only. loughed, and it took so long to bring some
persistent labor shortages have left hotels Geography also may play a part in rate staff back that my account has suffered
unable to fully return to a pre-Covid era, strategy. “2021 saw a lot of contract roll- from a lack of attention. We now have a
and buyers still don’t have anywhere near overs,” said Accor SVP of sales and dis- new account manager with [them], but we
a complete picture of future demand. Still, tribution Markus Keller. “People were on lost all connection to the former relation-
as the recovery continues, both sides are furloughs on both the supply and demand ships we had.”
finding ways to work together to move for- sides. But people are coming back to the Hotel companies told BTN they are work-
ward. table and want a discussion on what rates ing hard to bring staff back. “It is getting
will be. There is a lot less rollover. That is better every day, every week, getting people
2022 RFP Trends, Rate Strategies particularly true for North America. Other back to work,” said Marriott International
Last year, some buyers opted to roll over regions, like Asia-Pacific, are more accept- SVP of global sales Tammy Routh. “We’re
their negotiated 2020 rates into 2021, ing of the rollover. It’s not all in the same getting to occupancies where we can bring
given uncertainty about future volume and place when it comes to the recovery.” people back and reopen the restaurants, all
chain representatives who were operat- Some sources noted that, depending on the facilities.”
ing with fewer resources and doing more the company and vertical, hotel programs Hyatt Hotels Corp. is looking to “open
work. For the current request-for-propos- are generally smaller than pre-pandemic. doors to new types of people,” said Hyatt
als season, “the situation appears to have That could be the case for S&P Global di- VP of global sales for the Americas Gus
stabilized quite a bit further, and the chains rector of global travel and meetings Ann Vonderheide. “We’re looking outside of
have caught up with some of the processes Dery’s program. She is holding off on an the normal hiring process to recruit talent
needed for dual-rate loading and flexibil- RFP until after the company completes a in ways we have not done in the past, and
ity,” said Goldspring Consulting partner merger with IHS Markit, which should it’s working well.” He added that Hyatt
Neil Hammond. “There’s a little more be- happen before the end of the year. also is getting involved earlier with hos-
yond, ‘Here’s the rollover, take it or leave “My strategy is to have a more strate- pitality schools, and not just interviewing
it,’ ” he said, adding that he’s seeing more gic program,” she said. “We’ll expand our candidates during their senior year. “We’re
chainwide agreements. footprint globally, as IHS Markit has of- getting to know these students earlier on
Survey results showed a little more than fices in more countries than we do. We are and getting them into the family sooner,”
half of buyers planned to roll over portions switching hotel consultants and solutions he said.
of their hotel program portfolios, but also to help with hotel engagements this year. Another concern among buyers was find-
negotiate key partnerships. Slightly more But I don’t think we’ll need 200 hotels, or ing market rates lower than their corporate
than one in five buyers planned to roll over multiple hotels in top destinations. We will rates, shared by 45 percent of respondents.
their entire portfolios, while nearly one in look at who our top 25 properties are and “If you have dynamic rates and you’re roll-
four planned to conduct a full RFP for the most likely try to get the top 10 a hybrid ing over, this won’t affect you,” said global
2022 season. rate, then the next tier will be dynamic travel manager Mira Rosenzweig, who
Those results are consistent with what with a discount and cap.” is co-chair of the Global Business Travel
Areka Consulting managing partner Louise Dery said it’s about making the program Association accommodations committee.
Miller has seen. “Some customers are at 40 fit to the purpose and having a smaller foot- “Where you have a static rate and don’t
percent to 50 percent of normal levels and print and less properties per destination. “I have a dynamic component in addition,
know where they are staying and going and do think the pandemic has really changed that is where you’re running into market
can feel comfortable negotiating,” she said. the landscape when it comes to hotel rates much less than what you had solidi-
“Others are traveling 10 percent or less [of sourcing. It may or may not come back in fied in the contract.”
previous volumes]. They are waiting to see a few years,” she said. “With reshopping In a somewhat related concern, more
where demand materializes and can prac- tools and better tools to track how often than one in three buyers also noted that
tice dynamic program management.” we are getting preferred rates, it’s changed supplier challenges included a lack of a
Indeed, nearly 62 percent of buyers re- the whole dynamic of hotel sourcing.” partnership approach to negotiations and
ported that they will push more agreements the overall price/value relationship.
to dynamic rates than in the previous cycle, Supplier and On-Site Challenges By far the biggest in-hotel challenges
with about 44 percent planning to use a Nearly 57 percent of buyer respondents were the availability of food and beverage
negotiated corporate rate as a cap for those identified the responsiveness of sales and options (75 percent) and adequate staffing
properties. This increase in using dynamic account management teams as the big- levels on-site, such as for the front desk
rates surely would please the hotel compa- gest supplier challenge they faced. This no
nies, many of which have been pushing for doubt is related to the many furloughs and CONT INUE D ON PAGE 10
8 | Business Travel News | October 18, 2021 www.businesstravelnews.com
008_BTN_1018 8 10/13/21 1:05 PMSUPPLIER CHALLENGES SERVICES & AMENITIES PRIORITIZATION
PAST 12 MONTHS COMPARED WITH PREVIOUS YEARS
No
Responsiveness of sales and Higher Lower change N/A
account management teams 57%
Cancellation policies 66% 5% 29% 0%
Lower market rates than Wi-Fi connectivity 33% 4% 63% 0%
corporate rates 45%
Breakfast 35% 6% 56% 2%
Partnership approach to
negotiations or contract/volume 34%
Parking 21% 3% 69% 6%
Overall price/value relationship 34% Fitness facilities and
wellness programs 14% 10% 69% 7%
Identifying operational locations
close to business needs 28% Securing transient 16% 4% 61% 19%
rates for meetings
Rate transparency (fees, service
charges and amenities) 27%
Including employee
leisure travel to 13% 4% 56% 27%
Quality data and reporting 16% count toward volume
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 129 respondents
commitments
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 94 respondents
ON-THE-GROUND SERVICE CHALLENGES HOTEL TIER SHIFTS
PAST 12 MONTHS COMPARED WITH 2019
Availability of F&B 75% Higher Lower
% of % of No
Adequate staffing levels onsite bookings bookings change
(responsiveness of front desk, 66% 10% 41% 49%
housekeeping, etc.) Luxury
Availability of fitness/spa/pool Upper-Upscale 31% 24% 45%
options/valet/parking 44%
Upscale 35% 16% 49%
Adequate business amenities
(business center, Wi-Fi, etc.) 29% Upper-Midscale 28% 22% 50%
Adequate execution of brand- Midscale 16% 24% 60%
standard health and safety 24%
Economy 5% 33% 62%
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 128 respondents
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 125 respondents
USE OF SERVICED APARTMENT/
SHORT-TERM RENTALS USE OF EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS RATE ROLLOVERS
BUYERS’ PLANS FOR 2022 RATES
Don’t know
Increased Don’t 52%
11% know
10% 7% Increased
21%
Decreased
22% Decreased
14%
No change
No change
56% 58% 24%
21%
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 125 respondents Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 125 respondents
STATIC RATE NEGOTIATING STRATEGY
Will push more agreements to dynamic rates than in the previous cycle 3%
but use a negotiated corporate rate as a cap for those properties 44%
Will concentrate more on static rates and less on dynamic rates than in
the previous cycle 22% Planning Conduct full Planning Will not
to roll over RFP to roll over have hotel
Will concentrate less on static rates and push more agreements to portions of entire relationships
dynamic rates than in the previous cycle 18% portfolio, portfolio for 2022
but also
Currently all-in on static rates and will not change 15% negotiate key
Currently all-in on dynamic rates and will not change partnerships
1%
Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 94 respondents Source: BTN 2021 Hotel Survey, 127 respondents
www.businesstravelnews.com October 18, 2021 | Business Travel News | 9
009_BTN_1018 9 10/13/21 1:05 PM2021 HOTEL SURVEY
CO N TI N U ED FRO M PAG E 8 will always be important, especially as some offer mobile check-in through its Bonvoy
guests are working from their hotel room. app, including more than 5,700 hotels in
and housekeeping (66 percent). “Parking is an interesting one because rental North America, Routh said. About 3,850
Housekeeping always is a key topic, and car usage has increased for some companies hotels in North America offer mobile key.
most hotel companies plan at least partially that don’t want to be using rideshare. Car “Globally, we are on track to offer mobile
to retain an on-demand option, even post- service has increased as well.” key at more than 5,200 hotels by the end of
pandemic, especially given the increase in But the top item that buyers identified as the year,” she added.
the cost of labor. having more priority in 2022 than before In addition to expanding digital check-
“Where some of the challenges hap- would be cancellation policies, noted by in and digital key, SVP of worldwide sales
pened, there was a disconnect from the in- two-thirds of respondents. “We’re seeing Frank Passanante said Hilton Worldwide
formation we received and what the expe- more flexibility with cancellation policies,” is expanding in-room technology, enabling
rience was on property,” said Travelsavers Rosenzweig said. “But I don’t know how guests to use their mobile devices through
SVP of hotel programs Samantha Jones. long that cancellation flexibility will last. the Hilton Honors app for certain aspects
She added that some full-service properties Those will come out in the RFP. Two to of their stay, including streaming media.
couldn’t service guests when the restau- three years ago, the cancellation policy was “Those technology-enabled hotels are ex-
rants weren’t open. “Midscale and econo- more 48 hours. Buyers are pushing for the panding, and the trajectory is that we will
my hotels did better because they always same day or 24 hours.” scale that in time,” he said.
offer free breakfast as a brand standard,” Goldspring’s Hammond agreed: “Buyers Contactless payment is another area of
she said. For one full-service hotel compa- are still holding firm on no erosion on the focus. Mobile payment is currently avail-
ny that focuses on the corporate traveler, cancellation period.” able at more than 2,500 Hilton hotels,
Jones said the experience was inconsistent “where guests can pay with their mobile
from hotel to hotel. Alternative Accommodation Usage phones and smart watches by tapping their
“Service is a hot topic, especially when Much ado has been made about how short- credit cards,” Passanante said.
you don’t know what you are going to get,” term rentals, or apartment-style accommo- Room service and F&B ordering also have
Jones said. “We are working with hotels dations, have been a success story during gone digital in many hotels. “Touchless is ab-
directly to say what is open and what isn’t the pandemic. Some leisure travelers now solutely part of the Covid recovery,” Hyatt’s
to help us to communicate to our travelers prefer these options for similar reasons ex- Vonderheide said. “You can now change the
what to expect before they arrive. It’s diffi- tended-stay properties gained in popular- TV with your device, or order room service
cult when booking for people who have not ity. But what about business travel? by downloading a code. We will continue to
traveled for a long time. They are expecting About 56 percent of respondents indi- look for ways to provide a sense of security
the pre-Covid experience. You have to set cated they would make no change to the and safety to customers, and a lot will be
expectations with travelers. But some peo- use of serviced apartments or short-term through technology.”
ple don’t care. They expect what they expect rentals in their programs. More than 22 Accor in October also announced direct
as a paying customer. It’s a tricky thing.” percent said they planned to decrease their booking for its meeting spaces in part-
usage. Just over 11 percent intended to nership with Groups360. The company’s
Service and Amenity increase their use in hotel programs. Ten GroupSync platform will replace Accor’s
Expectations percent were unsure. current meetings website for RFPs before
Nearly 44 percent of buyers found chal- Areka’s Miller, though, is seeing interest year-end. Beginning in 2022, customers
lenges with the availability of on-site ame- in those options rise. “Especially Airbnb for will be able to book meeting space in real
nities, such as the gym and pool. About 29 Work, superhosts and ones that have pro- time using GroupSync Engage, with instant
percent were concerned about properties tections,” she said. “I’m definitely seeing booking for guest rooms integrated in the
having adequate business amenities, such more interest in those. The travelers usually following months, Keller said. IHG, Hilton
as a business center and Wi-Fi. drive the choice. Until travelers get back on and Omni Hotels also added the GroupSync
When it comes to service and amenity the road, it’s hard to say. But buyers control Engage meetings feature earlier this year.
prioritization, 35 percent of buyers said only so much. Three to four years ago at a Best Western is in the early stages of some
breakfast would be a higher priority for conference, buyers were saying, ‘We don’t technology programs, said SVP and CMO
them in 2022 than in previous years. The allow Airbnb, not at all.’ Within a year, Dorothy Dowling. “We are very thoughtful
good news is hotel companies are begin- there was lots of usage of those because the with hoteliers in terms of investments to
ning to bring back fuller breakfast options, travelers did it anyway. That will happen make sure they will represent a long-term
including BWH Hotel Group, Marriott again. It’s just going to matter what is most solution and be livable in terms of the in-
and IHG Hotels & Resorts. “Breakfast has convenient for the user.” vestment they make,” she said.
one of the biggest impacts on satisfaction
scores, and Covid-19-related restrictions Increased Tech Use Sustainability, DE&I Importance
made it difficult for our hotels to meet tra- Mobile keys and contactless check-in and Sustainability and diversity, equity and in-
ditional expectations,” said IHG SVP of checkout already were growing in popular- clusion topics are increasing in importance
global sales Derek DeCross in an email. ity prior to the pandemic, but Covid-19 ac- to many buyers. “Buyers are extremely in-
“We’re working closely with owners to cre- celerated their acceptance and availability. terested in understanding those, and there
ate a range of safe, high-quality solutions Accor this year even introduced its first fully has been more focus from the buyers’ side
for guests that remain cost-effective for digital hotel room in the United Kingdom. on this,” Hammond said. “There certainly
our hotels.” “That hotel uses a number of technolo- has been more information provided on
A full one-third of respondents said Wi-Fi gies, and one is the Accor key, which is be- all those issues from the supplier side.
would be prioritized more for them than pre- ing deployed into different hotels for key- Nobody wants to get left behind on either
viously going forward, while 21 percent not- less entry into guest rooms,” said Accor’s of those topics. It remains to be seen how
ed that parking would be more important. Keller. “They can get the key in their smart- much those factors will ultimately impact
“Standard amenities are still being negoti- phone and head directly to their room.” buying decisions.”
ated,” Rosenzweig said, adding that Wi-Fi Nearly all of Marriott’s hotels globally S&P Global has a supplier diversity initia-
10 | Business Travel News | October 18, 2021 www.businesstravelnews.com
010_BTN_1018 10 10/13/21 1:05 PMtive underway, focusing on its top 100 sup- us to do as well. Companies are being asked year focused on sustainability and DE&I.
pliers. “Unfortunately, hotels do not fall into by their own supply chains to document Rosenzweig said GBTA is working to add
that bucket because of the low level of over- ESG, DE&I, and it makes sense in turn they new questions to its RFP template around
all spend,” Dery said. “That said, it doesn’t expect clients to do the same. We will have the topics as well. “We expect it to be avail-
mean we won’t add questions to the RFP to many new and more socially engaged travel- able for the 2023 RFP season,” she said.
start collecting the data. If we can put an ers, and they are very focused on these types “Everyone is coming out with net-zero tar-
icon on the online booking tool to show a of social initiatives.” get dates. Travel is one of the biggest con-
property has a level of DE&I or is using the Cvent Transient partnered with Ameri- tributors to carbon emissions. How do you
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) can Express Global Business Travel to control that without shutting down all of
acronym, it’s worth promoting and great for add 47 new questions to its RFP tool this your travel?”
CO N TI N U ED FRO M PAG E 7 31, had increased 10.6 percent over 2019. Av- of bookings for luxury properties since 2019,
erage upper-upscale and upscale rates still were while just more than 10 percent had a higher
tional tiers, the story is simiI’llar, with lower- lower than 2019, but just 8.7 percent and 10.2 percentage for this segment, not surprising con-
priced segments doing better than higher-priced percent, respectively. Among the three seg- sidering group business and high-end business
ones. The economy segment performed the ments, upper-upscale lagged the most, with oc- travel were nearly at a standstill during much of
best, with occupancy and RevPAR off just 2.5 cupancy down 36.4 percent for the period, and the pandemic.
percent each compared with 2019 and ADR es- RevPAR off by 41.9 percent. Still, buyers also reported that they have seen
sentially fully recovered, according to STR. These three segments are poised for a stronger a higher share of bookings for upper-upscale
The midscale segment also has shown a bounce-back as business travel begins to pick up and upscale properties since 2019, at 31 per-
strong recovery. Year-to-date as of Aug. 31, steam, and group business on the books—espe- cent and 35 percent, respectively. About 24
occupancy was at 93.3 percent of 2019 levels, cially for 2022—has rebounded, with multiple percent reported a lower share of bookings for
upper-upscale hotels, and 16 percent reported
U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE BY TIER YEAR-TO-DATE THROUGH AUG. 31, 2021 less for upscale properties.
Upper-midscale slightly favored a higher
Change Change Change booking share, at 28 percent, while about
Occupancy vs. 2019 ADR vs. 2019 RevPAR vs. 2019
22 percent of buyers reported a lower share
Luxury 49.6% -31.2% $335.31 10.6% $166.30 -24.0% than in 2019. Three in five respondents said
there had been no change in midscale book-
Upper upscale 47.1% -36.4% $172.17 -8.7% $81.09 -41.9%
ing shares, while a quarter saw fewer midscale
Upscale 58.2% -20.2% $129.78 -10.2% $75.57 -28.3% booking shares, and only 16 percent reported
an increase. After the luxury segment, economy
Upper midscale 60.8% -12.0% $112.27 -4.4% $68.22 -16.0%
showed the highest decrease of share of book-
Midscale 57.2% -6.7% $98.29 1.2% $56.24 -5.5% ings since 2019, at 33 percent.
In the beginning of the pandemic, much of
Economy 59.4% -2.5% $76.51 -0.1% $45.47 -2.5%
the essential travel was at properties in the
Extended stay 73.9% -4.3% $93.49 -10.9% $69.13 -14.7% three- to 3.5-star range rather than the four-
Sources: STR, The Highland Group
to 4.5-star range, said Goldspring Consult-
ing partner Neil Hammond. But those shifts
ADR had increased 1.2 percent, and RevPAR hotel companies reporting average group rates have almost recovered, he added. At the same
was down just 5.5 percent. BWH Hotel Group, that meet or exceed those for 2019. time, pricing pressure drove some four- to 4.5-
whose portfolio is about 60 percent midscale The unknown variable is the return to of- star properties down to almost three-star level
and includes the Best Western brand, has seen fices. The hotel industry had been counting on rates, Hammond said, making full-service ho-
RevPAR recover to about 90 percent of 2019 an autumn return to spur increased demand, tels more appealing than select service for the
levels year-to-date, and expects a full recovery particularly for the upper tiers. But many same price, which would explain the increase
in 2022. The company’s ADR has fully covered, companies that planned a September return in percentage of bookings for the upper tiers,
and occupancy is only about six points behind delayed that by a few months as the delta vari- aside from luxury.
2019 levels, according to the company. ant spread and Covid-19 cases rose. Further, in Global travel manager and co-chair of the
The upper-midscale tier has shown a slower recent weeks, some major companies, such as Global Business Travel Association accommo-
but steady recovery, with year-to-date occupan- PwC, announced they would offer employees dations committee Mira Rosenzweig agreed
cy levels as of Aug. 31 at nearly 61 percent, off full-time remote work. It remains to be seen that there is less tier shift happening now “be-
12 percent from the same period in 2019. ADR how this will affect business travel hotel de- cause service levels are returning,” she said.
recovered to nearly 96 percent of its previous mand going forward. “What I do see is more focus on the experi-
level, while RevPAR was still down about 16 ence of the traveler at the hotel,” she added. “If
percent from 2019 levels. Tier Shift in Hotel Bookings you are going to a name-brand hotel where it’s
Throughout the pandemic, upscale, upper- The 2021 BTN hotel survey found that travel the same and consistent everywhere you go ver-
upscale and luxury segments were hit the hard- buyers reported shifts in their booking patterns sus do you want a hotel where you have more
est, not least because those typically cater to by tiers. Just under 50 percent of buyers reported of an experience where you can feel like you are
business and corporate group travel, which no change in the share of bookings since 2019 in that city, I think those are the conversations
have been slower to recover than leisure. Those for the luxury, upper-upscale, upscale and upper- the travel managers are having with their travel-
segments also saw more hotel closures and par- midscale segments. The remaining half for each ers. It allows the travel manager to focus not so
tial closures. tier, however, showed interesting shifts. much on how many stars a hotel has, and more
The exception is for ADR. Rates in the luxury Coinciding with performance metrics, about on what does it actually bring in service level,
segment have fully recovered, and as of Aug. 41 percent of buyers reported a lower share product and experience.”
www.businesstravelnews.com October 18, 2021 | Business Travel News | 11
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