Most travelers who work for large corporations are used to enjoying extremely low rates at the world’s largest hotel chains. The discount varies significantly depending on the chain, the specific property, the period of the year and the contract with the corporation. Typically, corporate discount rates range from 10% off to 70% off. Sometimes, having access to the corporate contract at a hotel chain not only gives you access to a deeply discounted rate, but also other benefits, such as free Internet connection, room upgrade, free breakfast, access to the hotel’s business lounge, hotel or late check out. Also, the other important benefits of corporate rates over other types of promotions have to do with the cancellation policy: corporate rates can generally be canceled before 6 p.m. is quite reasonable). On the other hand, if you want a decent rate at a hotel and you’re not entitled to a corporate rate, you’ll stick with pay-in-advance rates, which typically don’t provide any refunds in the event of cancellation.
Large corporations are very good at negotiating fantastic corporate rates which are generally chain-wide: this means that any hotel in that specific chain will provide you with a certain level of discount, although the level of discount may vary from property to property. Because the discounts are deep and based on the number of rooms sold each year using a specific corporate code, the large corporations that have these contracts pressure all of their employees, vendors, contractors, and consultants to use those corporate codes. . The more rooms sold under the corporate code, the better discount the corporate travel team can negotiate for the following year. Employees can also generally use corporate rates for personal travel and vacations (as long as the bills are not spent or charged to the company), and in some cases, family members have access to the same rates .
For hotel chains, offering deep discounts to corporations allows the hotel chain to have higher occupancy rates and allows many people to book rooms directly with the hotel (or using the hotel’s website) instead of using websites like Expedia, Orbitz or Booking.com. They charge the hotel very high commissions. Corporate rates are not available on most booking websites and you are forced to use the hotel’s website by applying the corporate code in the booking search form. This is not a detail for the hotel, because they push you to their own website and away from travel websites that charge them commissions of 10% to 25% on each reservation made. So, at the end of the day, everyone gets a pretty good deal: you get a low rate, the corporation gets another near sale using your corporate code and thus a nice discount next year, and the hotel save money because you book directly on their website. In addition, if it is the corporation itself that pays directly or indirectly for your stay, the corporation that owns the corporate contract with the hotel chain enjoys the savings just like your employer, client or supplier.
As a corporate traveler and seasoned corporate deal negotiator, I always advise my friends and colleagues to be aware of the corporate rates that they might have access to as employees, consultants, contractors, clients or vendors of large corporations. The benefits are great for everyone and people should not be shy about taking advantage of the opportunity.
This blog is about corporate travel and teaches people how to get access to corporate discounts for hotels they may be eligible for but don’t know about. I’ve met many employees and clients of large corporations who are entitled to great hotel rates but don’t use them because they don’t even know they exist or don’t have access to the corporate codes to access the rates.
Safe journey!