Page 11 - CTM Travel Matters magazine
P. 11
TRAVEL TRENDS | 11
hotel experience. Some have been Buyers tend to do the same, CTMs PREFERRED HOTEL
tempted away by Airbnb so launches patronising a mix of non-chain hotels PROGRAMME
of late have been focussed on lifestyle in their hotel programmes to meet
brands. demand. No one hotel group, it seems, This is an Invitation-only
satisfies every corporates’ needs. programme with hotels and
Examples are Starwood’s W, Tru by apartment providers to help
Hilton, Glo from Best Western and three One industry observer flags up that strengthen our offering to our
from Marriott, namely Edition, AC Hotels greater choice and brand selection clients. It is designed to focus on
and Moxy. within chains may mean less overall CTMs top 50 cities and includes
choice and the “potential squeezing out competitive CTM rates, LRA, free
More importantly, what does all of independents etc plus the pressure WIFI and – in some hotels - other
the ownership changes and market for chain-wide deals over individual client benefits such as breakfast,
consolidation mean for hotel buyers, rates per property”. The same observer early check in, late check out, and
particularly with the 2017 RFP season makes a plea for hotels to update their space-available room upgrades.
upon us? details in the systems.
Hotel chains include global
Two large chains - Marriott and “It is hugely frustrating to corporate partners Accor and IHG, the Doyle
Starwood - that once competed with buyers when the properties they need Collection (hotels in London,
each other are now in the same camp. to consider for their programmes are no Washington and Dublin), Principal
Could that reduce competition and longer accessible. Hayley Hotels (hotels across the
translate to higher rates? UK), De Vere Venues who offer
“It is vitally important that hotels additional benefits for our groups
The merger could mean chain-wide make sure every channel is updated and MICE clients, London-based
agreements, as the merged group will immediately and lines of communication 4 & 5-star Grange Hotels, Jury’s
be able to satisfy more of a corporate’s with their corporate customers are not Inn hotels in most UK city centres,
annual volumes worldwide. One positive dropped at any time, and particularly Millennium Resorts & Hotels
scenario is that buyers could move during the hectic RFP ‘season’.” globally and trendy boutique chain
market share and benefit from increased Citizen M. Other key hotels in top
discounts. There could be ramifications for the cities include the deluxe Kempinski,
members of Starwood and Marriott’s Jumeriah, Oberoi and Taj Hotels.
Buyers looking for a wider luxury loyalty programmes as between them
offering will benefit from the Marriott they have 75 million members to look For something more quirky and
Starwood deal as W, St Regis and Le after. Will the number of benefits be cut independent, we have hotels such
Meridien are now part of the group, back as more members vie for reward as Batty Langley’s, hidden away
sitting alongside Marriott’s Ritz-Carlton stays across the group’s luxury portfolio in fashionable Shoreditch, The
and Edition brands. Before the deal, of properties? Will qualification rules Sir Savigny in Berlin, the historic
Marriott’s strength lay in the no-frills be tightened to ensure the group has Cafe Royal in Piccadilly and the
sector, with Fairfield Inn and Courtyard enough capacity available to satisfy Viceroy New York with its rooftop
by Marriott brands. demand for rewards? bar offering amazing views across
Manhattan.
And if any buyers are looking to Time will tell but it’s wise for buyers
downtrade and are a regular FRHI to be alert to these market changes and
customer, which is exclusively a luxury hopefully be able to exploit them.
hotel operator with 150 hotels, then they
can now negotiate with any of parent Raffles SIngapore - FRIH Group
group Accor’s mid-market brands such
as Ibis, Mercure and Novotel.
In turn, Accor only had Sofitel as its
only luxury brand and can now offer
buyers an extended luxury offering with
Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel, and in
more geographical markets including
Canada and North America.
One caveat is that hotels do not like
to rely on too many large clients and
prefer to mix them with a larger number
of smaller clients wanting bookings on
different days of the week. This sales
strategy allows them to spread their
risks should one large client pull out.
Accor’s UK MD Thomas Dubae said:
“Our strategy is to have a good spread
of clients.”
DID YOU KNOW? ...the Marriott-Starwood deal has created a group with 30 brands,
over 5,500 hotels and over one million hotel beds
www.travelctm.co.uk
hotel experience. Some have been Buyers tend to do the same, CTMs PREFERRED HOTEL
tempted away by Airbnb so launches patronising a mix of non-chain hotels PROGRAMME
of late have been focussed on lifestyle in their hotel programmes to meet
brands. demand. No one hotel group, it seems, This is an Invitation-only
satisfies every corporates’ needs. programme with hotels and
Examples are Starwood’s W, Tru by apartment providers to help
Hilton, Glo from Best Western and three One industry observer flags up that strengthen our offering to our
from Marriott, namely Edition, AC Hotels greater choice and brand selection clients. It is designed to focus on
and Moxy. within chains may mean less overall CTMs top 50 cities and includes
choice and the “potential squeezing out competitive CTM rates, LRA, free
More importantly, what does all of independents etc plus the pressure WIFI and – in some hotels - other
the ownership changes and market for chain-wide deals over individual client benefits such as breakfast,
consolidation mean for hotel buyers, rates per property”. The same observer early check in, late check out, and
particularly with the 2017 RFP season makes a plea for hotels to update their space-available room upgrades.
upon us? details in the systems.
Hotel chains include global
Two large chains - Marriott and “It is hugely frustrating to corporate partners Accor and IHG, the Doyle
Starwood - that once competed with buyers when the properties they need Collection (hotels in London,
each other are now in the same camp. to consider for their programmes are no Washington and Dublin), Principal
Could that reduce competition and longer accessible. Hayley Hotels (hotels across the
translate to higher rates? UK), De Vere Venues who offer
“It is vitally important that hotels additional benefits for our groups
The merger could mean chain-wide make sure every channel is updated and MICE clients, London-based
agreements, as the merged group will immediately and lines of communication 4 & 5-star Grange Hotels, Jury’s
be able to satisfy more of a corporate’s with their corporate customers are not Inn hotels in most UK city centres,
annual volumes worldwide. One positive dropped at any time, and particularly Millennium Resorts & Hotels
scenario is that buyers could move during the hectic RFP ‘season’.” globally and trendy boutique chain
market share and benefit from increased Citizen M. Other key hotels in top
discounts. There could be ramifications for the cities include the deluxe Kempinski,
members of Starwood and Marriott’s Jumeriah, Oberoi and Taj Hotels.
Buyers looking for a wider luxury loyalty programmes as between them
offering will benefit from the Marriott they have 75 million members to look For something more quirky and
Starwood deal as W, St Regis and Le after. Will the number of benefits be cut independent, we have hotels such
Meridien are now part of the group, back as more members vie for reward as Batty Langley’s, hidden away
sitting alongside Marriott’s Ritz-Carlton stays across the group’s luxury portfolio in fashionable Shoreditch, The
and Edition brands. Before the deal, of properties? Will qualification rules Sir Savigny in Berlin, the historic
Marriott’s strength lay in the no-frills be tightened to ensure the group has Cafe Royal in Piccadilly and the
sector, with Fairfield Inn and Courtyard enough capacity available to satisfy Viceroy New York with its rooftop
by Marriott brands. demand for rewards? bar offering amazing views across
Manhattan.
And if any buyers are looking to Time will tell but it’s wise for buyers
downtrade and are a regular FRHI to be alert to these market changes and
customer, which is exclusively a luxury hopefully be able to exploit them.
hotel operator with 150 hotels, then they
can now negotiate with any of parent Raffles SIngapore - FRIH Group
group Accor’s mid-market brands such
as Ibis, Mercure and Novotel.
In turn, Accor only had Sofitel as its
only luxury brand and can now offer
buyers an extended luxury offering with
Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel, and in
more geographical markets including
Canada and North America.
One caveat is that hotels do not like
to rely on too many large clients and
prefer to mix them with a larger number
of smaller clients wanting bookings on
different days of the week. This sales
strategy allows them to spread their
risks should one large client pull out.
Accor’s UK MD Thomas Dubae said:
“Our strategy is to have a good spread
of clients.”
DID YOU KNOW? ...the Marriott-Starwood deal has created a group with 30 brands,
over 5,500 hotels and over one million hotel beds
www.travelctm.co.uk
