Corporate hotel programs: How to maximize savings and efficiency

Hotel stays account for approximately one-third of an organization’s overall travel budget—making them one of the most significant areas for potential savings. Yet, without strategic partnerships, automated rate monitoring, and a clear understanding of travel patterns, businesses often leave thousands of dollars on the table.  

According to Stacie Prusha, Christopherson's supplier relations director, the key to optimizing savings begins with knowing your top markets and where your travelers actually prefer to stay.

“Knowing your top markets is critical,” said Prusha. “Your top markets might be where your headquarters are, but they could also be where your office locations are or where large annual events are held. Know what it is today and how it could shift tomorrow.”

But simply identifying key locations isn’t enough. Travel managers must also make sure that their preferred properties align with traveler behavior—because a discounted rate at a hotel no one books is not a savings at all.

“If you’re negotiating Hyatts all day, and your travelers are booking Hiltons, no one is winning,” Prusha pointed out. “Having preferred locations really does help your program goals. Consolidating spend drives volume, which increases negotiating power—and ensures your employees receive the best experience at hotels that know your organization.”

The power of preferred partnerships

Strategic hotel partnerships offer more than just better rates. They also:

• Enhance traveler experience and duty of care

• Drive brand consistency

• Provide leverage for chain-wide agreements

When negotiating, Prusha encourages travel managers to consider more than just nightly rates. Key factors include:

• Last room availability (LRA): Ensures your negotiated rate is honored even if only one room remains.

• Flexible cancellation policies: Critical for dynamic travel plans.

• Added amenities: Parking, breakfast, or onsite dining discounts reduce total cost.

• Hotel prepayment processes: Prevent check-in delays and improve traveler satisfaction

In a recent case, Christopherson’s consulting team helped a client struggling with hotel prepayment issues.

“We had a client that was struggling with hotel prepayment issues,” Prusha recalled. “We worked with them directly to get a reconfirmation process in place. By doing that, it alleviated those payment issues. The hotels knew that the payment was going to be there. The employees who arrived after a long day of travel weren't struggling with the front desk trying to get checked in because no card was on file. It was fantastic.”

Rate auditing and automation: A game-changer for savings

Managing hotel rates is an ongoing challenge. If not regularly audited, negotiated discounts can disappear due to errors, expired rates, or blackout dates.

Christopherson’s hotel sourcing automation simplifies this by:

• Continuously analyzes booking data

• Generates RFPs when hotels hit booking thresholds

• Sends and manages hotel negotiations on your behalf

• Loads and audits rates in the GDS and tools like Concur

• Flags discrepancies or misapplied blackout dates

For time-strapped travel teams, outsourcing hotel sourcing can yield significant ROI. Clients using this service report an average 6x return in the first year.

One client saved $11,000 at a single property simply by identifying it as a top market and securing a negotiated rate.

Another saved $74,000 in one year on a $1.2M hotel spend.

Rate Assurance: Always paying the best price

To further reduce hotel costs without additional effort, Christopherson offers Rate Assurance, an AI-powered system that ensures you never overpay for a hotel room. Once a room is booked, the system re-shops the reservation multiple times a day. If a lower rate appears for the same hotel, room type, cancellation policy, and amenities—and it meets a $21 savings threshold—the tool automatically rebooks. Travelers are notified with an updated itinerary, making the process seamless.

“You book the rate that you see, and Rate Assurance will rebook it at a lower rate if and when it finds it,” Prusha explained. “So, it really takes a lot of the stress off the travel manager.”

Matt Cameron, Christopherson’s chief consulting officer, emphasized the scale of potential savings.

“To date, the lowest ROI is 62%, and one booking saved more than 700%,” he said. “Most CFOs would jump at that kind of return.”

He continued, “Last year, our negotiated rates different programs saved 7.6 million across our accounts,” he said. “So, this is going to be a great year as we add that valuable program to the existing program that our clients already have.”

Leveraging pre-negotiated rates

For companies without the volume to negotiate their own rates, Christopherson clients can access:

• BCD rates: Preferential rates through a global travel consortium.

• Andavo rates: Negotiated in top markets based on client booking trends.

These rates appear in the GDS and online booking tools, expanding access to savings for all clients.

Avoiding missed savings

Even the best-negotiated program can underperform if bookings happen outside approved channels. Prusha warns that:

• Data leakage from third-party sites like Expedia reduces visibility and negotiation leverage.

• Missing audit cycles can result in lost savings or unflagged errors.

• Underused preferred hotels dilute your ability to renegotiate mid-year.

“If your travelers book twice as many nights as forecasted, don’t wait until next year to renegotiate. Use that leverage now,” Prusha emphasized.

Final takeaways

Corporate travel programs are evolving, with data-driven insights and automation leading the charge. By leveraging preferred partnerships, automation tools, and rate assurance, companies can cut costs, improve traveler experiences, and secure compliance. For travel managers looking to optimize their hotel programs, the takeaway is clear:

• Know your data: Use reporting tools like Domo and Prime to identify top markets and trends.

• Negotiate smartly: Align properties with booking behavior and pursue value-added amenities.

• Automate wisely: Let sourcing automation and rate assurance work in the background to save time and money.

• Lean on your TMC: Don’t go it alone—Christopherson offers a variety of services to support busy teams

As companies look ahead, corporate travel programs must embrace technology-driven solutions to stay competitive. Those who do will unlock significant cost savings while providing a superior experience for their travelers.

Want to explore how your program could benefit from our end-to-end hotel solution? Let’s talk.

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