Carlson Wagonlit Travel has introduced a hotel review site for its clients which will feature comments on properties from the company’s business travellers.
The site, called CWT Hotel Intel, is intended to operate like a private Trip Advisor and it will only be accessible to the client’s employees who will also be the only ones able to post reviews.
Business travellers will receive an automatic email asking for them to comment on hotel stays immediately after they return from a trip. They will be able to give the hotel a rating and post reviews which can be read by colleagues.
The site will also include information on the hotels’ room availability and facilities as well as details of its negotiated rates including whether breakfast, wifi and parking are included.
“The development of CWT Hotel Intel is very much aligned with the current trends we’re seeing in the industry – travellers increasingly use peer group information to make decisions,” said Patrice Simon, innovation leader at CWT.
“Using our knowledge of how travellers use social networks for their leisure travel, we developed this exciting travel site that allows business travellers to share valuable information with their peers in a way that supports compliance with a company’s travel policy.”
CWT is working with travel review company Vinivi on the project which has been trialled with French cosmetics firm L’Oreal.
Corinne Delbreil, travel, meetings and events manager for L’Oreal global procurement, said: “Our goal was relatively simple – we wanted to increase our negotiation power with hotels and improve the satisfaction of our travellers.
“So far, we are extremely happy – we know that we are providing our travellers with the best choice possible, based on their feedback.
“In just a few clicks our travellers know what hotel their colleagues have recommended, if the hotel is available and which services are included within the negotiated rate.”