How We Pick Our Hotels
We book thousands of room nights in every major market in the U.S. by working with hotel brands of all shapes and sizes— from local inns and boutique hotels to large, national chains.
In 2019, our Supplier Relations team grew our direct hotel relationships by adding 6 major hotel brands as strategic partners with discounts of 15% or higher. Learn more about how we pick these partnerships and what it means for our members.
Hotel partnerships
Engine partners with hotels by working with them on the property, brand, and corporate levels. Whether we approach the hotels or they reach out to our Supplier Relations team for partnership opportunities, the goal is the same– to find great options for our members and make sure we are connecting the right travelers to the best properties that meet their needs.
Often, these needs are industry-based. For example, traveling nurses will need extended-stay properties along with all the amenities required for being away from home for weeks at a time.
We are continually looking for new partnerships to enhance our member travel experience and savings, while at the same time looking ahead to new industries and types of travel to source for our growing membership.
How hotels partner with us
Our team of hotel experts commits to creating a mutually beneficial partnership with each of our hotel partners. We help travelers unlock and understand the hotel world, and we help hotels amplify their brand message to Engine members.
We enroll new properties by negotiating terms at a variety of levels. First, we ask the property to complete a Request for Proposal. When we have the completed RFP, we work with the hotel, brand, or management company on how to connect to our platform. Once connected, our new hotel partners can receive direct bookings from our members.
Benefits of becoming a partner with Engine
There are several benefits of partnering with us at Engine, the most obvious being the 25,000 plus businesses we assist with their corporate travel programs.
We have several new rate plans rolling out in 2020 that will help members dial in on hotels that we have identified as matches to their industry needs and a leisure rate plan to accompany our HE Rewards and Perk Accounts.
Also, we offer in-depth reporting to our partners to assist with rate setting, market variables, and updates on member requests. As a tech company that specializes in hotels, the Supplier Relations team is made up of industry experts who offer hoteliers unique insights on hospitality trends and innovations.
If we are working with an entire hotel brand or management company’s portfolio, we also offer a preferred partnership opportunity. This gives our hotel partners the ability to work with our marketing team on cross-promotional projects and events as well as giving their properties more visibility on the platform.
Evaluation of hotels in our inventory
We seek to work with hotels that maintain the same high standards that we do in all key categories of the hospitality industry. For hotels to participate, we require that properties connect to the appropriate Global Distribution System.
Member satisfaction and safety are our top priorities, and we make every effort to guarantee we bring in partners that share these values.
Click here to learn more about how Engine can make booking and managing business travel lodging simpler.