The Essential Guide to Managing Hotel Spending for Business Travel

Now more than ever, management of travel spend is paramount, and hotel spending represents a significant portion of corporate travel budgets. In fact, for many of our customers, travel is the second or third highest controllable expense across the organisation. Recently, we expanded our research into our leading AirPlus Virtual Card product, to understand and ultimately dispel some of the myths of using Virtual Card as a centralised solution for hotel payment.

In this article, we intend to equip Travel Managers with the knowledge and tools necessary to optimise hotel spending effectively. By implementing strategic measures outlined in this guide, companies can achieve cost efficiency, budget control, and employee satisfaction while fulfilling their duty of care obligations and leveraging data-driven insights for continuous improvement. We hope it will help you unlock the full potential of hotel spend management for business success.

Cost Efficiency

Managing hotel spending for business ensures cost efficiency, allowing companies to allocate resources wisely. By negotiating favourable rates, identifying cost-effective accommodation, and monitoring expenses, Travel Managers an adjust budgets accordingly, resulting in savings that can be reinvested into other areas of the business.

Budget Control

Effective management of hotel spending enables Travel Managers to maintain better control over the overall travel budget. By setting clear guidelines and monitoring expenses, they can prevent overspending and ensure that expenditures align with the company's financial objectives.

Policy Compliance

Implementing hotel spending policies ensures that employees adhere to company guidelines and standards when booking accommodations. This helps prevent unwanted bookings, reduces the risk of fraud, and promotes transparency and accountability in expense management.

Negotiating Power

Consolidating hotel bookings through a centralised booking system gives companies greater negotiating power with hotel providers. By leveraging the volume of bookings, Travel Managers can negotiate preferential rates, discounts, and additional perks, ultimately maximising value for the organisation.

Duty of Care

Managing hotel spending goes hand in hand with ensuring the safety and well-being of employees during business travel. By vetting hotels for quality, security, and compliance with health and safety standards, Travel Managers can mitigate risks and fulfill their duty of care obligations to employees.

Data Analysis

Tracking hotel expenses provides valuable data that can be used to identify spending patterns, trends, and opportunities for optimisation. By analysing this data, Travel Managers can make informed decisions, implement targeted cost-saving measures, and identify areas where policy adjustments may be necessary.

Employee Satisfaction

Offering comfortable and convenient accommodations within budgetary constraints contributes to a positive travel experience for employees. By managing hotel spending effectively, Travel Managers can enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and morale, ultimately fostering a culture of well-being and support within the organisation.

Central to effective hotel spend-management is the utilisation of the AirPlus Virtual Card for payment.

Virtual Cards offer unparalleled convenience, security, and control and streamline the payment process, allowing Travel Managers to consolidate transactions, negotiate favourable rates, and enforce policy compliance seamlessly. With an AirPlus Virtual Card, companies can mitigate the risk of fraud, track expenses in real-time, and harness valuable data insights to optimise spending. Moreover, AirPlus Virtual Cards enhance employee satisfaction by facilitating hassle-free, centralised transactions and ensuring a seamless travel experience, and ensuring the employee is never out-of-pocket.

By embracing AirPlus Virtual Cards, businesses can unlock the full potential of hotel spending management, maximising value and comfort for every business trip.

Want to see some statistics? Take a look at our latest research into AirPlus Virtual Card use in 2023. In this report you will find a whole heap of exciting data including:

• The top 20 hotels to accept AirPlus Virtual Cards as payment in 2023 in Australia’s Capital Cities
• The top 20 hotels to accept AirPlus Virtual Cards as payment in 2023 in across Australia
• The 20 most popular hotels to accept AirPlus Virtual Cards as payment in 2023 in China’s top Tier cities
• The top 20 hotels to accept AirPlus Virtual Cards as payment in 2023 across Asia Pacific
• And more…

Click here to download your copy of our Virtual Card Data Report.