Hotels hold pricing power in corporate negotiations

New research from the Global Business Travel Association shows hoteliers currently hold more power in negotiations than buyers

In a survey of corporate travel managers in the U.S., Canada and Europe, 55% said they're having a hard time finding favorable hotel rates through the request-for-proposals process, compared to 39% who said they are struggling with airline pricing.

Key takeaways

• European hotels are proving particularly pricey from a corporate buyer's perspective, with 75% of Europe-based buyers saying it's "somewhat difficult" to "very difficult" to find favorable rate. Nearly half of North American respondents - 47% - said the same;
• While the survey was based on buyers' experiences from 2022, a majority of travel managers expect the current environment to persist for at least the next two years;
• The GBTA pointed to a number of factors including inflation, a wave of "buyer-friendly" deals ending, more sophisticated or hardline negotiating tactics for hotels, and overall less reliance on business travel for hotels as leisure demand spikes.

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