RoomIt by CWT, the global hotel distribution division of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and SiteMinder, the global hotel guest acquisition platform, announced a strategic partnership in the corporate travel distribution chain. The two companies are teaming up to integrate their services and provide hotels with additional access to RoomIt travellers under Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s corporate travel programmes umbrella.
The new partnership will give eligible SiteMinder hotel customers access to RoomIt premium business travellers by offering more choice. “RoomIt is committed to connecting hotels to business travellers and business travellers to the right rooms. We are pleased to fulfill this commitment together with SiteMinder. Hotels want more rooms booked and business travellers want more choice; it’s a win-win,” says Yon Abad, vice president Suppliers at RoomIt by CWT. As the business travel landscape changes, the lines continue to blur on what business travellers look for when booking business trips, making the demand for more choice a table stake for corporate hotel programmes. In fact, according to new research by RoomIt and GBTA, 60 per cent of business travellers report they most often stay at upscale or higher properties, opening up a highly-lucrative market for hotels.
SiteMinder’s managing director, Mike Ford, says, “The hotel industry is witnessing an unprecedented rise of direct connections, be that to guests or, now, a travel management company. This partnership is about rewriting the rules to provide hotels choice as they look to tap into the booming corporate travel market.” The connection is being piloted to SiteMinder’s hotel enterprise customers in the UK and Italy, and expected to be offered to other SiteMinder hotel customers globally later this year. To be eligible, the properties of hotel groups and chains must currently be centrally located in a business travel destination, have more than 10 rooms, and provide amenities and services that cater for business travellers, including last room availability, in-room WiFi and same-day cancellations.