Room for Savings: Optimizing Hotel Spend - Carlson

Understanding why travelers book out of policy is
key to improving compliance and identifying any
required adjustments to the program. According
to the CWT survey, travel managers and travelers
explain non-compliance in different ways. Travel
managers say the main reason for noncompliance
with preferred hotels is travelers’
personal preference. Surveyed travelers, on the
other hand, cite mainly practical reasons such
as no preferred hotel being available at the
relevant location or the hotel not meeting
travelers’ needs (Figure 104). In the latter case,
the main reason given is the distance from the
place of business (Figure 105).
Figure 104: Travel managers and travelers cite different reasons for booking outside the
preferred hotel program
+
-
Importance
Travel managers' view
Traveler’s personal
preference
Cheaper hotels outside
the program
Traveler’s lack of
awareness
Did not meet
traveler’s needs
Compliance not a high
management priority
Lack of reporting tools
to track non-compliance
TMC not strictly
enforcing the policy
Preferred hotel data
incorrectly loaded into GDS
Travelers' view
No preferred hotel at
the location
Did not meet
traveler’s needs
No rooms available
Did not choose the
hotel
Preferred hotel directory
serves as a guide only
Cheaper hotels outside
the program
Rooms available only
above authorized category
Other
Source: CWT Travel Management Institute
Based on surveys of travelers (5,016 responses) and travel managers (101 responses)