TRIPBAM, – August 12, 2018 – announced a new rating system and hotel auditing as part of its new TRIPBAM Hotel Intelligence offering. The announcement was made at GBTA Convention 2018 in San Diego, California as part of the convention’s annual Media Day.
TRIPBAM’s New Rating System of Hotels and Brands
The new scoring system will rate individual hotels as well as brands/chains on a scale from A to F based on the following metrics:
Actual Discounts Achieved Compared to Market Rate
TRIPBAM’s Lowest Qualified Rate (LQR™) is used as the benchmark rate, or the rate the traveler would have paid if a negotiated discount was not available. The actual savings is the difference between the lowest LQR (between the time of booking and check-in) and the original rate booked. TRIPBAM does not use comparisons to the BAR rate because such comparisons falsely inflate the savings percentage.
Availability of Negotiated Rates
This metric, summarizing the percentage of time the negotiated rate is secured by travelers, is available at the Chain, Brand, and individual property levels. Travel managers may negotiate great rates, but find they are only able a small percentage of the time. Therefore, these negotiated rates are of little value.
How Often the Negotiated Rate Was the Contracted Rate
This is a measurement of how often a rate is booked at a contracted property above the rate stated in the agreement. This may occur where the client’s rate for a standard room is “sold out”, and the hotel provides a higher rate for a room not listed in the agreement.
By using these metrics and grades, clients can better measure overall program, hotel, and chain-wide performance and compare them to a competitive set of similar companies. The travel manager can then adjust their hotel program, by taking actions such as replacing poor performing hotels with higher performing hotels.
Adjustments based on data available to users will allow travel managers to drive greater savings and increased compliance for their hotel programs. Long-term, dynamic discount agreements can be signed as hotels commit to achieving an A status as measured by TRIPBAM’s independent grading system. The value of chainwide discounts can be accurately measured and combined with property level discounts for the optimal mix.
The hotel grading system is available as part of the new TRIPBAM Hotel Intelligence offering for clients. Hotel Intelligence is available to all TRIPBAM clients for free in 2018 and at an upgraded subscription cost starting in 2019.
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