Corporate consortia in hospitality section 1

Corporate Consortia in Hospitality SectionLet’s Get Started…

What Is Corporate Consortia in the Hospitality Sector• Consortia is a "rate negotiated between a hotel company and a

travel agency group.

• Viewership of these rates in the GDS by a TA or other GDS user is restricted and the rate may be booked only after entry of either the Agents or Client authorization code.

• Consortia’s have become a major player in the travel industry.

• Consortia’s is a conglomerate of travel agency members that have joined an organization and by doing this can now increase marketing to their customers by offering competitive rates at hotels worldwide. 

How Does a Corporate Consortia Works They are usually found using one global name (ABC Corporate Services), or continuing to keep their name, but using the relationship and tools of the program that they are members of. Each program has a list of requirements and fees to participate, but the standard requirements include:

• A minimum of 10% off the lowest single published rate (Rack or Corporate)

• Rate Parity

• Last room availability guarantee

• 10% commission to the Agent

• All rates quoted are to be guaranteed for the entire year starting from Jan 1 – Dec 31, unless otherwise noted.

ABC Global Services For more than 30 years, ABC Global Services has been the leading provider of travel-related products and services to the global travel agency and corporate communities.  ABC’s Premier Hotel Program is the industry leader, used by more than 7,900 agency locations in 67 countries and driving millions of room nights per year.  More information is available at www.abcglobal.travel.

• ABC Represents 70% corporate and 30% leisure business

• More than 30,000 hotels participate in ABC’s programs

• ABC agencies include: Altour International, Boeing Travel Management, Casto Travel, Frosch International, Garber Travel, Protravel International, Tzell Travel, Ultramar Travel Management and Valerie Wilson Travel.

• ABC also provides its hotel programs to prestigious agency networks including: ATPI, Lufthansa City Center, MAST, Nexion and Thomas Cook.

Considerations & Recommendation for Participation• located in a primary suburb or metro; Airport; Tertiary,

Secondary or Destination area(s)

• Business Travelers – although many programs book leisure travelers

• 60 or more guestrooms/suites recommended, preferred inside entrances, and featuring typical Business traveler expected amenities – HSIA, Cable TV, Iron/Board, Coffee Maker, Fridge etc.

• Minimum 2 Diamond AAA rated or equivalent and retain a QA Score of 475 up

• within a 5-10 mile radius of  major businesses,  government facilities, and Int’l or Regional Airports

• hotel’s competitors in the local market are with major brands

Benefits in participating

• Increased Bookings  • Increased Visibility  •  Increased Revenue  •  Marketing Opportunities

• Prominent GDS Display with Preferred Rate Codes provided by each Consortia in all 4 GDS

• On-line Hotel Directory Listings with Logo and up to 3 or more Photos

• Highlighted listing in printed directories distributed to Corporate Clients

• Listing in Online Hotel Portals for easy hotel/rate searching by Agent  with access to GDS

Article

The Emergence of Hotel Consortia as Transorganisational FormsAngela Roper (1995)

Methodology: - It consists of two levels: - Industry Level• It creates a holistic view of the UK hotel sector, its various participants and the

structures and behaviour within.• Used to identify & evaluate the key forces which were perceived to drive

competition in the industry.• Recognized that industrial forces are not only competitive, but the firms also

operate co-operatively. Strategic Group Level• Hotel consortia was considered to be a heterogeneous organisation (i.e., clubbing

different things together.)• Few dimensions indicated to the identification of the product-market scope for

each organisation as well as the formal administrative structure of an enterprise.

Sampling

• Designed to hold information regarding portfolios of sample hotel consortia.

• Allowed not only portfolio information to access efficiently but also data analysis in a relational manner.

• Use of relational database enabled the tracking of changes in membership characteristics

• Hotels which belonged to more than one consortium were termed “multiple members” whereas the hotels owned/operated by a hotel company were termed “corporate members”.

Conclusion

• In relation to the competitive components of the hotel sector, this investigation has shown that, for firms to compete, they must seek to achieve economies of scale (to minimize the bargaining power of both supplier and buyer groups).

• In addition, in order to gain demand stability, they must endeavor to access a broad market base.

• It can be surmised that, as the present conditions in the industry prevail, many firms, including hotel consortia will be unable to gain significant competitive advantage.

Case Study

Hotel Huntington Beach, California

Sabre Hotels RPF

Hotel Huntington Beach became a Sceptre client in the fourth quarter of 2009. The hotel had issues with the previous GDS provider in getting negotiated rates loaded correctly and overall sales initiatives were lacking.

Sceptre services implemented several initiatives with the hotel. The Director of Sales was provided the tools to begin capturing business and government travel segments. Sceptre implemented consortia marketing and loaded and mapped negotiated rates that the hotel has in their website booking tool and the GDS. This channel optimization allowed website booking of groups, special events and promotional opportunities.

Capturing Untapped Opportunities (Hotel Huntington Beach, California)Outcomes:

-The hotel saw a 15% increase in room night bookings for 4th quarter 2009 over 2008.

-Hotel Huntington Beach has also driven more revenue from website booking

-Increased room night bookings 15% in first 3 months

References

Thank You

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