How a communications plan helped bridge misconceptions and improve compliance
Halving hotel room leakage among travellers in 5 months
A professional services firm wanted to increase compliance and encourage their employees to use hotels that were part of the company’s hotel program. Travellers, on the other hand, believed that they were able to get better rates by booking directly with a hotel or through an online travel agency. This disjoint caused inefficiencies in the client’s booking process, reduced the hotel spend with preferred vendors, and compromised safety policies as travel managers could not track their staff’s whereabouts in the event of an emergency.
The Solution
Recognising that this issue can be solved with a cohesive communications effort, CWT worked with the client to develop a plan to educate and dispel misconceptions. This included face-to-face meetings and online training sessions with both travellers and travel bookers, as well as a useful FAQ document as a reference guide.
The training topics focused on helping travellers understand their company’s travel policy better, and the reasons why they should adhere to it.
- The value of the hotel program, including cheaper rates for the company as a whole and add-ons such as complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi
- Benefits of booking through CWT including visibility of travellers in the case of an emergency and reduced transaction fees when booking hotel and air in one transaction
Support from key stakeholders from within helped drive the project and ensure buy-in from travellers and travel bookers.
The Results
In just five months, we managed to halve the number of people who booked hotels outside of the program – from 73% to 38%. This in turn increased the client’s occupancy with preferred partners by 480 nights per month, thus contributing to increased traveller safety and an improved hotel program for the client.
