The new way to sell hotel rooms to business travelers

Hotel groups are betting that offering more personalized options through direct channels will attract business travelers and corporate clients

Some hotel executives believe they can attract more business travelers to book directly by offering exclusive deals that aren't available through third-party platforms. To achieve this, they are focusing on technology upgrades to deliver unique offers.

Key takeaways

• Attribute-based booking is similar to the "Build a Bear" concept, where travelers can select specific room features - such as a queen-size bed or corner room - a la carte. They bundle their choices to get a personalized rate;
• For business travel, hotel groups are developing versions of attribute-based booking tailored to frequent travelers. If successful, this approach could significantly reduce distribution costs for hotels;
• Hotel executives argue that the attribute-based booking platforms they are creating will enable companies to better understand their travel spend compared to traditional intermediary systems;
• However, the transition faces challenges, including the lack of industry-wide standards for attribute-based booking.

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