Department of the Year: 2019
With the start of this new year, the momentum and energy at Engine is stronger than ever. Before we charge ahead though, let's take time to reflect on the incredible contributions and achievements of our team throughout 2019.
It was a truly transformational year for us: we moved to a new and larger office, secured a $16 million Series A investment, and established a Board of Directors. Our team size grew from 46 to 120, while adding members to our Department of the Year — Supplier Relations!
Accomplishments this past year
The Supply team grew from 1 to 10 members, negotiated industry-leading discounts and rates with our 3rd party suppliers giving us access to rates and discounts that very few of our competitors get.
This team also created an industry-leading state government travel program, and grew our direct hotel relationships by adding 6 major hotel brands as strategic partners with discounts of 15% or higher, all while increasing our team size by almost 1000%!
New year, new team
Our new team now includes three divisions: relationship acquisition, strategic sourcing, and operations. The expansion of the team will allow us to focus on our clients' many needs simultaneously.
Tasked with working with our hotel partners at both a corporate management and local level, our relationship acquisition and management team provides strategic guidance for our hotel parents on pricing, marketing initiatives, and available corporate travel programs.
Our strategic sourcing team works with our hotel parents to fulfill group and extended requests. This team works directly with our hotel partners to ensure our clients receive the best experience, with the best contractual terms at the best price!
Finally, our new operations team works with our internal and external customers to ensure our travelers and hotel parents understand how to get the most out of their relationship with Engine.
We are organized and efficient hotel industry professionals. Our service-oriented nature pushes us to serve our clients passionately and optimistically. We are consistent in our processes and language. We are self-sufficient and look for opportunities and solutions rather than problems and roadblocks. Our goal is to save our clients time and energy while bringing them the best value in hotel options and leaving them with the peace of mind that all of their group booking and extended stay needs are taken care of start to finish.
Chelsea Lechner, Director of Strategic Sourcing
What's next?
In 2020, this team is looking forward to driving even deeper discounts. The forecast for Q1 2020 was just released, and it's expected to be the 4th quarter without growth in the US hotel industry. As a countercyclical business, Engine has the opportunity for tremendous growth in 2020. We will continue to create stronger relationships with our suppliers and our travelers.
Congratulations to the Supplier Relations team— we're so proud of you!
If you want to work for this dynamic team or others, check out our open positions on the Engine Careers Page.
