How Combined Transport saved $111,000 and improved employee retention

Industry
Transportation
Headquarters
Medord, OR
Company size
~ employees

About

The U.S.-based transportation and logistics company, Combined Transport, is a provider of flatbed, heavy, and specialized trucking services in 48 states and Canada. With more than 400+ trucks in service and drivers who are on the road for 12+ weeks at a time, many of Combined Transport’s drivers sleep in their cabs. However, if a truck needs to be serviced or a driver needs a hotel room, the company’s 24/7 internal call center is on standby to book a reservation that fits their needs.

Industry

Transportation

Headquarters

Medord, OR

Company size

~ employees

Results at a Glance

$111K+

saved on hotel rooms

$111K+

saved on hotel rooms

$111K+

saved on hotel rooms

$111K+

saved on hotel rooms

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

$2,000+

in savings with Engine Rewards

""

“Little things like not having the $500 hold on your credit card for incidentals go a long way.”

Nick C.
Combined Transport

The problem

Prior to finding Engine, Combined Transport struggled to find a booking solution that could solve their challenges.

Their previous solution had a complicated pricing structure with various fees, making it difficult for the company to track expenses and understand exactly what they were spending on each room night.

Some fees were billed after the fact and separately from the reservations, making budgeting and reporting cumbersome. They needed a simple solution with transparent pricing that made it easy to track spending and reconcile billing—which led them to Engine.

Using less intuitive platforms and inefficient booking processes, Combined Transport’s call center was spending extra time reserving rooms for drivers.

Before Engine, Combined Transport’s drivers would have to use personal credit cards for incidental expenses. They also sometimes had to pay for their rooms on their own cards and expense them afterward if the call center was unable to book on their behalf. This was both stressful and time-consuming for their busy drivers.

The solution

Engine provides Combined Transport with an intuitive, streamlined booking platform free from annual membership fees, minimums, or contracts. Plus, Engine’s robust search tools have helped cut down the time needed to book each reservation.

Now, when drivers call into the call center, representatives can use Engine’s map tool to quickly identify hotels around the driver’s service shop and easily view and compare rates.

“I need well-priced hotels that will be my driver’s temporary home away from home if their truck needs work,” said Nick C., Operations Manager. “Engine has made it easy to find and to book them.

“There’s no fighting with hotels, faxing credit cards, email authorizations, or any of these other problems that we have experienced in the past. It’s one click, book, done.” 



Nick also believes that Engine has helped contribute to the company’s driver success and retention through their use of Engine’s Direct Bill and Incidentals Coverage program – a huge win in an industry that is experiencing driver shortages.



Now, Engine covers paying for both hotels and incidentals up front, removing the need for drivers to use a personal credit card in any circumstance.

“There’s no fighting with hotels, faxing credit cards, email authorizations, or any of these other problems that we have experienced in the past. It’s one click, book, done.”

— Nick C. Operations Transport
Get started for free

With Engine

No items found.

All business travel, one Engine

By clicking “Sign up for free,” you agree to Engines Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
An illustration of a car
Hotel illustration
Incidentals covered
No membership fees
A luggage
A plane
Consolidated billing
No Contracts
No contracts
Luggages

Frequently asked questions

We’re glad you asked!

Hotels want to reach business travelers while companies with traveling workforces want the best rates they can get.

Our platform brings everyone together to radically simplify trip management and give everyone exactly what they want. By booking with Hotel Engine, you and your company will save substantially in both time and money.

By providing great value to our hotel partners, we get great rates. That means we can take a small cut of each booking — enough to cover 24/7 Member Support and continually re-invest in new technology — and still offer deals to our members that are up to 60% less than the online public travel sites. That’s why we can keep Hotel Engine free to join and use.

No membership fees, no contracts, and no minimum spend.

We want our members to have plenty of options when booking lodging. Our platform currently offers 750,000+ properties worldwide.

You'll find just about every hotel in the U.S. on our platform. If you don't see a specific hotel when you search, it's likely because the hotel is fully booked during your dates. In those rare cases, we'll show you nearby comparable properties with availability during your travel dates.

We’re in the business of radically simplifying trip management for everyone, and we believe great hotel rates should be accessible to everyone, too.

That’s why Hotel Engine is free to join and use — no membership fees, no contracts, no minimum required spend, no catch.

Click here to learn more about our pricing.

Individual hotel properties set their own cancellation policies, which are clearly displayed during the booking process (you’ll see whether the room is refundable, and the last date you can cancel and receive your money back). After booking, you can find cancellation policy information in the “Important Information” section of your confirmation page.

If you need to keep travel plans flexible, there are two great options available.

  1. You can select the Flex option during the booking process. Flex allows you to cancel any reservation up until noon the day of arrival or cut a trip short mid-stay and get refunded — regardless of the hotel’s cancellation policy.
  2. If your company signs up for FlexPro, every traveler is fully covered with our highest degree of flexibility. With an annual plan, FlexPro costs $2,000 ($167/mo) covering everyone in your company. If you want to go month-to-month, Flexpro costs $200 - again, covering everyone in your company.