How to Save Time and Hassle on Group Trips

There are many scenarios that call for mobilizing a large group: A business retreat, a conference, completing an offsite job or getting a specialized team in place for a project. Sometimes admin teams have plenty of time to coordinate the necessary hotel arrangements, but they often need to be done fast — and when juggling long guest lists and potentially staggered arrivals and departures, it’s always a hassle.

If this is a situation your company frequently faces, we’ve got great news for you. You can outsource this entire process to Engine’s Groups team!

Covering hotel arrangements for large groups, extended stays or otherwise complex bookings like recurring stays, this white-glove service can take care of all the details from beginning to end.

Let’s take a closer look at how Engine can make your most tedious and time-consuming bookings virtually effortless.

(This post is part of our simplicity series, highlighting our top features for simplifying your business travel. Check out our earlier post on simplifying your hotel billing process here.)

Request and review options

When you know you have an upcoming business need for a large or complicated hotel booking, simply log on to Engine and fill out a quick form to start your request.

When your form is received, the team will jump into action, reviewing hotels in the area to determine suitable options and even proactively reaching out to secure negotiated rates. The team will consider location and price as well as desired amenities, which can range from free parking or pet-friendly rooms to meeting spaces and audiovisual equipment.

You’ll be notified when a list of options is ready for you. At this point, simply sign back in and take your pick! You can review all of the properties the team prepared for you and with a few clicks, move forward with your booking at your desired hotel.

Hand off all the details

From here, simply provide the guest list and any other pertinent details, and the team will finalize your booking. This process includes contract review and negotiation to secure favorable terms for your business, and making sure that the hotel is aware of and ready to accommodate any special needs your group may have.

When all the details are taken care of, you’ll be sent a digital agreement to sign (which can even be done from your mobile device), and you’ll receive your confirmation that the trip is good to go.

Discover how to make group hotel booking ridiculously simple.

Download for Free

Round-the-clock support and change management

Issues often arise with business travel — flights get delayed, workers get sick and need to cancel trips, guests lose their keys and get locked out of their rooms in the middle of the night. And when you work with Engine, you don’t have to worry about any of it.

Your dedicated Project Manager will handle any changes to your booking when travelers need to come and go, and Member Support is available 24/7 for unexpected problems whenever they happen. Any time of day, any day of the week, our helpful US-based team is just a phone call or chat message away.

Reconciliation done for you

When your booking is complete, there’s no need to track down receipts from every guest and reconcile stacks of paperwork. The Groups team will handle this step too, checking for accuracy and sending you a simple invoice when it’s all complete. If you frequently have groups traveling, apply for Direct Bill and your payments can be even easier — all placed on a line of credit from Engine to free up your company accounts.

Track it all from one tab

The Groups tab on your Engine dashboard gives you visibility on all of your special bookings — past, current and pending. Review and select hotel options, track the status of open requests, and access important details about past bookings to keep everything organized and easy.

Ready to simplify your group bookings?

We’re ready to help! This service is available to anyone — simply fill out our request form to get started.

Already an Engine member? Log on and check out the Groups tab to see how we’ve further simplified and improved the process of booking and managing group travel.

‍