10 Ways To Save Time and Money on Your Fleet’s Hotel Bookings
One third of business travel remains unmanaged, meaning companies have no centralized platform for reservations. To be exact, 32.4% of corporate travel managers said their company didn’t have a corporate travel agency or platform to help with booking hotels, etc. And according to Skift’s State of Business Travel report, another 24% of respondents didn’t even know if their company worked with any sort of travel platform. Unfortunately, this means that more than half of businesses in the U.S. are missing out on significant savings. Not only in dollars, but in hours. Most people understand that managed travel solutions can save you money on bookings. But, they also offer almost unlimited opportunities to save on what’s quite possibly your most priceless asset (especially when running a transportation company): time. Let’s explore 10 ways a managed lodging solution can help you save both time and money for your transportation company:1. Get pre-negotiated savings on roomsThe average business trip costs $1,268. Traveling to New York City? You’re looking at an even steeper bill at $1,633 per trip. Though the trip itself may be non-negotiable, the rate you pay for lodging is not. Corporate lodging solutions have collective bargaining power, which is essentially the business travel equivalent of power in numbers. This allows you to snag exclusive discounts for every stay without having to shop around, saving you money every time you have a traveler on the road who needs a hotel room. Related: 7+ Truck Friendly Hotel Chains
2. Implement a more streamlined booking process
When it comes time to book hotel rooms for your team, you’ll have countless platforms at your fingertips. But options aren’t always a good thing. Between variations in rate and availability, you might be on the fast-track to analysis paralysis. The right corporate lodging solution can save you time by streamlining the booking process. Not only can they present you a great rate at the outset, but they also speed things up when it comes time to make a booking through features like an intuitive interface (sans the annoying pop-ups and advertisements you might get on consumer booking sites). Better yet? You can take advantage of this convenience by choosing a platform built for businesses with no booking fees, contracts or minimums like Engine.
3. Support on complex group bookings
Booking travel for one person can feel complicated. But booking extended stays, multiple stays or stays or a large group? That kind of planning can get out-of-hand in a hurry, especially if your lodging process is currently unmanaged. With an Engine, you can spare yourself the stress by leaning on the Project Services Team. Engine’s Project Services team will handle the sourcing, booking, and billing process for any stays larger than 9 rooms or longer than 30 days, completely for free. Companies can delegate their most complex group bookings so they can spend more time on other important facets of the business.
4. Big hotel inventory
Don’t sweat over finding a hotel. Though you might feel like crossing your fingers and toes every time you search for lodging along a rural route, a corporate lodging solution can take the guesswork out of your search. Some corporate lodging solutions partner with a large network of hotels across the country and even around the world. Tap into their pre-vetted network of lodging options so that you can book with the confidence that you’re staying on route and on budget. Again, services like Engine have special filters tailored to the needs of transportation companies, so you can narrow your options faster to find the perfect stay every time.
5. Save money on cancellation and fees
When it comes to transportation and logistics, change is the one constant. If floods wash out the highway, wildfires make your pit stops impassable, or any other unforeseen complication arises, you need the flexibility to change and even cancel bookings on the go. Though hotels understandably don’t always welcome cancellations, some corporate lodging solutions can make them easier on your budget. They’ll have already negotiated cancellation terms more favorable than those that are publicly available. All of these policies and fees are also clearly posted, sparing you any surprises down the road.
6. Save time booking rooms
When it comes to transportation and logistics, time is, quite literally, money. Your time is valuable, but so is any time your travelers lose on the road. Not to mention, time spent on travel is time taken away from perfecting your transportation and logistics strategy. With no hassle bookings, corporate lodging solutions can give you that time back. Skip the research and the negotiating on every booking, and instead select from a set of pre-vetted hotels along your route. You’ll be surprised at the amount of time you’ll get back in your day—and the magic you can work with it.
7. Manage reservations in less time
Booking a hotel can take time. But managing your reservations can be just as time consuming. Whether you need to cancel or modify a booking, or even just add amenities to a stay, making changes to an existing reservation is a process. Ditch spending time on hold and delegate to a member support team instead. Some lodging solutions lean on customer service representatives to manage reservations so you don’t have to. Call them up 24 hours a day (and often without a wait time) and they can handle any lodging modifications you need.
8. Save time on reporting
Sifting through paper receipts or even analyzing spreadsheets can get overwhelming. Whether you manage one traveler or 100, you’ll have countless lodging expenses to verify and report on. Corporate lodging solutions help you take control of your T&E by automating the most time-consuming aspects of reporting. Many corporate lodging solutions have personalized dashboards so you can take a quick look at your expenses. You can also take advantage of real-time insights to keep track of travel activity like total usage, spend, and user activity. You can even add specific job codes to each reservation to help in the reconciliation process. Better yet, with the click of a button, many of these insights can be rolled into a polished report that’s ready for your company execs.
9. Set and assign travel policies for individual travelers
You can save a lot of time by allowing your travelers to book their own lodging. But that can also create a lot of headaches if you don’t have the proper tools; travelers may not be as budget-aware as you are, especially if they have their own company card. Though it might feel like you have to either make all the bookings yourself or give up the reins on your T&E, you actually can have both. With Engine, you can assign travel policies for your travelers. This allows you to set a spending limit for each traveler and they will only be able to book rooms within certain parameters, keeping the booking process off your plate while ensuring your travelers don’t blow the budget.
10. Earn double the rewards points
Hotel chain loyalty points are the gold at the end of the business travel rainbow. With Engine, you can double-dip. Keep earning the hotel chain loyalty points your employer and your employees love, then double-up on Engine Rewards at the same time. When it comes time to cash in, you’ll be surprised at just how much you can save.
What’s the best managed lodging platform for transportation companies?
Hotel bookings shouldn’t be a time-suck. Try Engine instead. Transportation companies need the flexibility to change bookings on the go, real-time reporting to ensure they’re staying on route and on budget, as well as solid savings every step of the way, and Engine offers all this and more. The platform is also completely free to use, with no contracts, minimums, or annual fees.Sign up for your free account today to go full steam ahead towards more efficient and affordable lodging management.
