8 minute read
BooKinG TooLS
ASCOTT Apartments is accredited by ISAAP.
Edyn properties are CSC (Common Sense Compliance) and ISAAP compliant, coffee shops in Locke properties are providing a takeaway service and the brand has introduced the option for guests to order boxes that provide recipes and ingredients.
Also ISAAP accredited is Frasers Hospitality in EMEA, and the organisation has engaged SGS for inspection, verification, testing and certification in its 140 properties in 70 cities.
UK buildings have also been declared Safe To Trade, a standard certified by Shield Safety Group, which promises four standards, including “to instil employee and consumer confidence that the business has gone above and beyond the Government guidance”. In addition, each property has a Cleanliness Champion to monitor adherence to standards; Staycity’s Hygiene Champion ensures best practice and similarly, Adagio’s ambassador.
MORE THAN A MAGAZINE
Bringing you essential business travel content across print, digital and social media platforms
SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
to our magazine and online newsletter thebusinesstravelmag.com/subscribe Follow us on twitter @thebiztravmag and on Linkedin at The Business Travel Magazine
Best practice
House of Fisher and PREMIER SUITES have chosen Visit England’s Good To Go and AA’s Covid-19 Confident, while PREMIER SUITES also subscribes to ISAAP standards. PREMIER and other providers have clear and strict procedures if staff or guests display symptoms of Covid-19, involving staff training, communication and advice.
Working with Cleveland Clinic, Ecolab and Diversey, IHG has developed new cleanliness protocols for the pandemic age. “Our properties are working to best practice Covid-specific training and operating procedures, aligned to regularly monitored advice from global health bodies,” says Managing Director Europe, Karin Sheppard.
Mobile check-in/out will become a brand standard in the Americas for IHG early next year and it is now piloting mobile-enabled in-room dining orders, real-time Pay-WithPoints and Guest Requests.
On the back of Synergy's nine-point Synergy Cares programme comes SynergySMART (Simple Mobile Apartment Reporting Technology), an automated platform allowing the group's global inventory to track and record the execution of protocols and track adherence. The platform is mobile responsive and provides local auto-date, time stamp and geolocation, plus integration with supplier partner inspection forms.
Kurtis Murphy, Head Partner Account Manager EMEA for SilverDoor, said the
All Cheval employees wear PPE and guests may choose to have their apartment cleaned or do it themselves”
group recognises and welcomes a number of external accreditations currently on the market but formally recommends Common Sense Compliance and Quality in Tourism.
“They went beyond just being Covid-19 and hygiene safe and looked into all aspects of compliance and quality assurance, including gas safety, electrical safety and public liability insurance," he says.
Gary Hurst, CEO and Founder of MYSA, says Covid hygiene measures are also likely to come under scrutiny as part of the new ISO31030 coming later in 2021. "This will set a new benchmark for traveller health, safety, security and wellbeing and will require many buyers to re-evaluate reassurances from operators on which standards are being met and how," he explains. "The ISO has lots of potential implications both for the serviced accommodation sector and for corporate travel as a whole."
Arlington House Apartments
arlingtonhouse.co.uk + 44 20 7629 0021
Located in the heart of St. James’s London, with many apartments overlooking the tranquil and leafy St. James’s Park. Location, space and comfort underline what Arlington House can offer. Whether for a few nights or a longer stay this is the ideal location. For best deals book direct or check out our website.
wilde ediNburgh
The right platform
New tools are making it easier to incorporate serviced apartments into corporate programmes
One positive from the Covid
crisis is the astonishing rate at which technology has been developed to support handsfree check-in and check-out, payment, communication and more. In addition, booking tools for serviced apartments – long the thorn in the booker’s side – are beginning to shape up.
New kid on the virtual block is SITU Live Global Network, giving live online booking for travel buyers through a tool that can be integrated into corporate accommodation programmes. Suppliers can connect inventory, availability and pricing to SITU via platforms such as SiteMinder.
“In addition to our intuitive technology, our customers are also very keen on the vetting and quality process we have put in place across our supply chain to ensure we are supporting and meeting their duty of care obligations when it comes to booking accommodation for their employees,” says Managing Director Phil Stapleton.
Also operating in real time is Suite Hub, a booking platform that gives access to serviced apartment accommodation worldwide, using Microsoft technology. Suppliers can see live market intelligence applicable to each quote before it is closed and submitted to the booker. This might include existing options on the quote from competitors, lowest cost option, the type of accommodation, location, etc. Email notifications are triggered when key updates come in, such as new options added or reduced price offers that come in below their own.
“We also show data such as what previous bookings were – type, length, price, etc. – to assist providers; and we will give a snapshot of the logged-in provider’s history, all with a view to assisting them and giving them the advantage in competing for the business,” says Managing Director Gary Moore.
Direct line
The uncertainty of the current climate means guests now want more reassurance and this has prompted operators to reduce reliance on OTAs. “They are focusing on direct booking, which gives more control over pricing, discounts and guest communication,” says CEO of res:harmonics Giles Horwitch-Smith. “Where they are using OTAs, they have been highlighting important elements such as cleanliness, space to work and high speed internet.
“Blending lengths of stay is a great way to deal with the ups and downs of markets and challenges like Covid-19 but it can be difficult to implement without a tech focus. We have updated our software and enhanced our platform integrations; for example, adding real estate connections to channel management and pricing partners, to make length of stay diversification easier for suppliers.”
Res:harmonics' channel management returns bookings from all channels in real time and suppliers can vary rates by length of stay and booking terms, choose which properties can be booked online and take payments online.
MYSA connects buyers direct with sellers. “Crucially, travel managers gain 100% transparency of each step to mitigate any risk associated with Covid-19 and use that information to decide which properties are suitable for their programme,” says founder Gary Hurst. “Each corporate client can finetune the technology to meet their internal processes and efficiently manage their programme.” Hurst highlights the advantage of directly procured, noncommissionable rates from operators, who pay a small booking fee to MYSA.
Changing spaces
New to the serviced apartment market and providing another way to attract bookings at a time when they can be scarce is Occupyd, an online marketplace that connects businesses and individuals “searching for work space with companies that are looking to monetise their extra capacity”. For serviced apartments seeking business to fill some gaps, this could be a good way to get it.
The site is designed for ease of use and providers load details of the property, images and price. For larger organisations, Occupyd will take care of that for them.
“The average price is £100 a day, which is revenue they would not have otherwise earned, and spaces range from commercial kitchens or hairdressers’ chairs and to event space,” says founder Callum McPherson. At present there are no listing fees and the company takes commission on bookings.
Operators’ booking engines are also becoming more sophisticated and it is now possible to book up to four months’ stay directly on the Adagio website, an option the brand notes is becoming increasingly popular with buyers.
roomzzz
Keeping it simple
From June to November 2020, Cheval’s average booking lead time fell by 50% to an average of 28 days and reservations made via mobile devices were up by 23% to 32%.
“With many agencies and TMCs no longer operating at full capacity, added to a significant drop in demand, competition for business in the marketplace is fierce and Cheval has had to maintain a strict and consistent approach to rate parity and commission levels, particularly as multiple approaches are often made for the same enquiry,” says Cheval Collection CEO George Westwell.
National Corporate Housing's bookings tool can be personalised for corporates, with customised reporting and data to help manage travellers and support traveller tracking. The edyn Corporate Travel Portal provides a one-stop shop to book and modify business travel arrangements with live booking, easy modifications and group requests. Frasers is looking at offering pre-check-in confirmations to reduce time spent in reception.
SilverDoor’s Orbi now hosts live inventory through integration with seven channel managers, bringing greater distribution capability and making available tens of thousands of apartments worldwide. Also new to Orbi and OrbiRelo are visibility of apartment spend and the creation of bespoke reports from existing and past bookings, quotes and billing. The tools can also highlight preferred properties and locations, spend caps against pre-set nightly rates and allow traveller tracking.
“SilverDoor integrations with Conferma Pay and SAP Concur also make booking accommodation and paying online quicker and less timeconsuming to administrate,” says Pauline Houston, Vice President of Business Development.
A Considered Combination of Product, Technology and Service
