"Ineffective management" Amex claims
Companies are losing $500m a year through failing to manage their hotel programmes properly, American Express Business Travel claimed today (July 10).
It said missed savings included:
- 22% of hotel bookings going outside company travel policy
- nearly 40% of air bookings for overnight trips had no hotel reservation
- Mid-sized companies were losing the chance to save 10-15% on their hotel rates by not using a preferred supplier programme.
The travel management company (TMC) said it was now offering a free "hotel programme assessment" which would see whether corporates were paying the right price and spending the right way for hotels.
Amex said it was also offering two new expanded hotel management solutions: Complete Suite by Preferred Extras and Hotel eXpert, which are both aimed at providing companies with tailored programmes.
Hervé Sedky, Amex's vp and general manager of global advisory services, corporate meeting solutions and global business partnerships, said: "Most companies currently are not fully realising the benefits of a well sourced hotel programme.
"Negotiating discounted hotel rates is only one aspect of strategically managing this T&E category.
"Companies also need to focus more on improving traveller compliance, ensuring discounted rates are loaded correctly and offered at the point of sale and confirming travel is aligned with business goals."
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