11+ Hotel RFP Tools to Help You Book Business Lodging

As a travel manager or coordinator, you likely use RFPs to find the best possible deals on bulk rooms and event spaces.

Travel is, after all, a big business.

According to the Global Business Travel Association, 1.3 million business trips are taken in the US every single day.

It’s projected that global travel costs are expected to climb up to somewhere in the ballpark of $1.7 trillion by 2022.

(Plus, did you know that, collectively, travelers worldwide spend roughly $35,700 per second?)

That’s a lot of excitement …

Excitement that’s piling up on your desk, waiting for you to put together endless stacks of RFPs that you may never get adequate responses to.

You probably know all too well that the RFP process isn’t always efficient.

But hear us out …

What if there was a software tool that could speed up the entire request-for-proposal process?

Well, you may be pleased to know that there are some pretty good options.

In this post, you’re going to learn about some of the best RFP tools on the market (along with the best hotel RFP tool available to planners like you).

Table of Contents

1. How Do RFP Tools Fit into the Corporate Hotel Procurement Process?
2. RFP Tool Options for the Hospitality Industry
3. An Alternative to Traditional RFP Tools

How Do RFP Tools Fit into the Corporate Hotel Procurement Process?

If you’re at the point where you’re looking for RFP tools, then you likely already know how these tools fit into the travel booking process.

But simply put:

If you’re booking a meeting space for a corporate event or a room block for a traveling team, you’ll need to submit a request for proposal to hoteliers in the area, letting them know your space and amenities requirements.

In return, they’ll send a proposal letting you know whether they can provide those accommodations and how much they’ll cost.

RFPs are a pretty time-intensive process.

If you do all the work by hand, you may be sending dozens (or, more likely for larger companies, hundreds) of them out every month.

Why Use an RFP Tool?

Hotel RFP software makes finding the right hotel bookings a lot easier.

Some tools can also connect you directly with hotel sales teams, which will speed up the booking process and help you secure accommodations faster.

Learn how our Group Bookings service can help you save up to 60% on hotel rooms.

11+ RFP Tool Options for the Hospitality Industry

RFPs are used in many industries.

With that being said, not all RFP tools can be used to book hotel rooms or event spaces. Not all RFP software works for businesses in the hospitality industry.

And even within the hospitality industry, not all RFP tools are built for the booking side of the equation.

That’s why we’ve created this list — to help travel buyers, corporate travel managers, and operations managers who use RFPs in their job.

Here’s a list of software solutions that will help you with your lodging RFPs.

1. Aventri Venue Connect

Aventri Venue Connect is a free, easy-to-use RFP resource that’s designed to help meeting planners find great hotels for their events. You can use it to quickly send RFPs to hotels all around the world.

Now, with that being said, there’s a minimum threshold of ten guest rooms on peak if you want to make use of this software.

But if you’re looking for a free option that’ll let you find venues, get bids, and book spaces, Venue Connect just may be the option to consider.

2. ConventionPlanit.com

ConventionPlanit.com is a search directory RFP portal that’s been serving meeting professionals since 2003.

The portal was designed to empower planners with time-saving tools and all kinds of industry resources and services.

They offer a hotel program search marketplace, an RFP valet, real-time meeting group offers and discounts, and guides/templates that you can use to help you navigate the RFP process.

3. Global Business Travel Association

GBTA isn’t so much an RFP tool as much as a resource.

It’s an association whose goal is to be “the leading source of business travel knowledge worldwide.“​

They offer education, information, networking opportunities, and much, much more. GBTA is an awesome resource for anyone needing to book any sort of hotel group or guest experience within the hospitality industry.

One of the best resources available on the GBTA website is a full range of RFP templates. They offer templates for hotel RFPs, but they also offer templates for airline RFPs, car rental RFPs, and more.

4. RFP 360

RFP 360 designs and develops software that helps procurement teams to request information, engage vendors, collaborate with colleagues, and evaluate responses.

They’re committed to helping procurement teams cut through all of the inefficiency and wasted time that takes place in unstructured RFP campaigns.

The unique thing about RFP 360 is that they help to manage both the issuing and responding aspects of the process. This makes everything easier and more streamlined.

5. Precoro

Precoro is a full-fledged procurement software program designed to save you time and money — especially if you run a small to medium-sized business.

Prospecting, creating a request for proposal, submitting it to different vendors, and handling follow-up is easy with Precoro, but it also does so much more than that.

Here are some of the tasks Precoro can help you streamline:

• Purchase requests
• Purchase orders
• Project approvals
• Budget management
• Reporting
• Integrations (with QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, and more)
• Inventory

You can even book a free demo to see how it works.

Related: The Best Travel Management Software by Service

6. ProcurePort

ProcurePort is an “intuitive cloud-based web application platform” that makes “any complex procurement process a breeze.”

They connect buyers with suppliers through a variety of strategic sourcing tools.

This software allows you to do so many things in one place:

• Create RFPs
• Compare quotes
• Collect supplier information
• Track your expenditures
• Manage contracts
• Handle invoicing and payments

They’ll also schedule you a free demo.

7. Prokuria

With its user-friendly-interface and collaboration-based functionality, Prokuria makes sourcing and supplier management easy and efficient.

Create RFPs, run reverse auctions, and use the dynamic message center to manage incoming proposals.

Prokuria also offers a private, secure website where suppliers can promptly and easily reply to RFPs.

This makes the process incredibly simple, giving you better chances for higher value procurement deals.

8. Catapult

Catapult gives you a dynamic, unique approach to the RFP process, saving you time and money.

They accomplish this by automating the RFP process with a suite of tools that give you access to a bunch of resources:

• Task lists
• Assignments
• Progress indicators
• Automated workflows
• Content management tools
• Improved RFP processes

You also get dynamic RFP setup tools, templates, progress trackers, quick responses, and 24/7 customer support.

9. Workday

Workday is a cloud-native system that gives you HR, finance, planning, and analysis tools rolled into one.

This platform is used by major corporations in healthcare, agriculture, and other industries. It’s a major tool in the HR field.

To be honest, if all you’re looking for is an RFP tool, then Workday is probably unnecessary. While it does offer some RFP resources, the software is actually far more comprehensive than that.

And unless you’re literally in the market for a totally new HR platform, Workday might be overkill. But, you can take a look at some of their RFP resources, including their RFP Guide PDF, featuring several templates.

10. Acquirell

Acquirell is a “strategic procurement technologies suite solution tailored to small and mid-size businesses.” ​

If you’re looking to hold sourcing events, reduce purchasing costs, and take control of your procurement processes in general, Acquirel might be the solution for you. It’s a functional, easy-to-use solution with an intuitive interface and a bunch of tools to help you get started.

This software’s learning curve is super simple — any tech-savvy person can master these tools in a day. If simplicity is something you crave, this might be an option to consider.

11. AgreeDeal

If you’re tired of comparing RFPs by hand, then AgreeDeal is designed for you.

As a cloud-based solution, it requires no installation.

You can be up and running in five minutes.

They already offer a suite of RFP tools. But being a new company, they’re still constantly adding to their RFP resources.

Plus, they’re super affordable. You can even try it out for free.

Alternative to Traditional RFP Tools: Engine

The big issue with RFPs is that they’re just so darn time consuming.

But here’s the good news – Engine can take over the entire process for you – from sourcing all the way to reconciliation.

There are a few significant advantages to letting us take the reins on your company’s RFPs.

1. It Doesn’t Cost You Anything

Signing up and creating an account doesn’t cost you a dime:

• No sign-up fees
• No annual fees
• No small-print contracts
• No chaos
• No risk!

There’s literally no catch. Once you sign up, you can submit a group bookings request for any reservation over 9 rooms or 30 days, and our team can manage sourcing the hotels, nailing down the details and ensuring your team has a fantastic stay.

If we can help you save money on quality accommodations, we see it as a win.

2. Access to Over 700,000 Potential Hotel Options

We work with over 700,000 hotel partners to broker amazing deals between hoteliers and business travelers.

Our partners are made up of leading hotel brands:

• Hilton
• Wyndham
• IHG
• Extended Stay America
• Cambria Hotels
• Best Western

Join for free and gain access to all of our entire partner network!

3. Save Time And Money

Our members can save up to 60% on business lodging rates wherever they stay.

With us handling all of the lengthy back-and-forth, you can also cut back on your time investment.

It’s the best of both worlds: faster and less expensive.

4. Earn Rewards for Additional Savings

Our Hotel Loyalty Program gives you the power to accrue points on select hotels and rooms.

Plus, you’ll still get to earn HE Reward points on every single booking.

Yep. That’s double points.

5. Our Project Services Team Can Do It All

Why manage the RFP process alone when you could partner with powerful industry experts?

At HE, it’s in our best interest to save you money.

That’s why we maintain a full project services team to help businesses like yours with hospitality procurement challenges.

You save time and money. Our partners get a shot at your business. It’s a win/win/win business model.

(Hint: that’s why it works so well).

Here are some other articles you might find helpful:

Trip Risk Assessments Guide | Productivity Hacks for Travel Managers | How to Find the Best Hotel for the Value

Conclusion

Well, there you have it:

Twelve awesome RFP tools to help you with every step of the RFP/hospitality procurement process.

But also…

Five reasons why we believe that Engine may actually be your best bet.

We may be a bit biased, but we believe that our services can get you the best deals on event spaces and blocks of rooms with much less stress and wasted time.

At any rate, we hope that this post has been a useful resource.

And please don’t hesitate to contact us if there’s anything else we can do for you.

Learn more about Engine:

Features | Pricing | Group Bookings | Partners | Join for Free

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