In the complex realm of corporate travel, guest experience can have a critical impact on shaping the positive outcomes derived from business travels. Facilitating a seamless and comfortable accommodation experience therefore plays a pivotal role in ensuring the sustained happiness and productivity of travellers.
When it comes to group accommodation management, there are a range of factors to consider throughout the end-to-end process if you want to see a valuable return on your project. The challenges associated with catering to traveller preferences, last-minute changes and the securing of accommodation for groups during busy periods require a delicate balance of communication, flexibility and strategic forward planning. With this in mind, you may find it useful to partner with a serviced accommodation management company who specialises in group projects to support your strategy.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the nuances associated with group accommodation management you’ll need to consider, exploring the common hurdles faced by corporate bookers and uncovering 5 strategies to consider for enhancing guest experience..
1. Prioritise personalisation
It’s critical to remember that business travellers do not come with the same set of expectations or interests. That’s why catering to the unique traveller preferences within your group can have a game-changing impact on overall guest experience.
Gone are the days where companies would use simple demographics to determine accommodation recommendations—the successful group accommodation programme today dives into the behavioural and psychographic elements that make a guest tick. Is the traveller an avid Yogi? A social butterfly? A sustainability champion? Taking this approach will ensure chosen accommodation options will align with the specific needs and comfort levels of each guest, promoting a comfortable and therefore productive trip.
Synergy recommends:
Your consideration here should be choice. During your search, look for an accommodation provider who can provide a wide-range of options— from co-living to wheelchair friendly serviced apartments, to sustainable hotels and lifestyle aparthotels. Or better yet, choose a provider who can deep dive into your guest preferences on your behalf and recommend suitable options which align with your goals. A co-living option for a group of interns—where team building, and culture creation should be prioritised— may not be suitable for a group of executives with a jam-packed agenda for example.
2. Ensure guest experience remains consistent overall
Picture this: you’re on a group trip in Mumbai with some co-workers—you’re placed in a deluxe hotel room, but one of your colleagues is placed in the penthouse suite. Naturally, you may feel a little hard done by and possibly even undervalued by your employer. As a travel manager, this is a situation you want to avert before it happens.
By promoting a sense of equity within the group trip, you will eliminate potential disparities in guest experience, which will set the scene for a positive and cohesive team environment.
Moreover, consistency in guest experience also simplifies the booking, reporting and optimisation of the group travel programme, making it easier for the buyer company to demonstrate its success to internal stakeholders.
Synergy recommends:
To get this right, you’ll need to be proactive. Achieving a consistent guest experience will require much planning ahead to pre-book accommodations and ensure the availability of preferable options for the entire group trip. If you leave things to the last minute, it’s likely you could be left with scarce accommodation options, sky high prices and the risk of individuals having to stay at different locations—which will impact on team building and collaboration.
Engaging a consultative accommodation manager who knows the market well, can anticipate dips in supply and provide tailored recommendations, will help guide you in securing serviced accommodations in good time. The result is your guests will experience a consistent product that has been vetted and offers a safe place to stay.
3. Seek flexibility and speed
The importance of flexibility and speed in group accommodation management cannot be overstated as changing schedules and unforeseen circumstances come into play.
Between travel delays, changes in personal circumstances, project delays (and most recently the outbreak of war and a global pandemic) it’s paramount to be able to pivot—and fast.
Synergy recommends:
Here, you’ll want to focus on agility. Look to work with an accommodation provider who has resources in each of your key locations, and can address any last minute requirements to your corporate travel programme without delay.
In group accommodation management, you may find it useful to engage an accommodation management company, like Synergy, who can provide a dedicated single point of contact for managing any queries relating to group travel. These types of companies will streamline processes and speed up communication in both usual and crisis management situations, enabling swift solutions in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
4. Don’t underestimate the importance of pre- and post- check-in care
Incorporating wellness checks both pre- and post- guest check-in is fundamental to any successful group accommodation programme. By touching base with your travellers regularly, you’ll be able to head off any challenges they might face at the onset of their stay, thus reducing any distractions disrupting the achievement of travel objectives.
Beyond this, there is so much more that can be done to enhance the guest experience from the very beginning. Incorporating elements such as 24/7/365 guest support, for example, will support group traveller experiences by ensuring guests feel confident they’re looked after at all times. The use of cultural support such as welcome events, educational city guides and inspirational destination videos can help familiarise teams with their new surroundings, and even create an element of excitement for the trip ahead.
Synergy recommends:
Your focus here should therefore be about leveraging a partner who has local knowledge and presence in the location you are sending your group. Look to work with a group accommodation management provider who knows your key location like the back of their hand and can provide an unforgettable welcome experience.
You should also seek an accommodation provider who requires property partners and housekeeping teams to conduct vigilant apartment vetting. For example, at Synergy we require our supplier partners to conduct stringent health, safety and security checklists in order to keep guests safe and catch any service challenges before they happen.
5. Promote ease with flexible payment methods
When dealing with multiple business travellers, it’s likely multiple payment options will be required to simplify business travel processes and satisfy unique traveller preferences. For example, corporate clients may prefer the flexibility to opt for consolidated billing, while on the other hand, the business traveller themselves might prefer the convenience of credit card payments.
Synergy recommends:
To get this right, you should seek convenience and inclusivity. While this may sound simple, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to get it wrong. The key is to work with a provider who can make it easy for your groups to book using their preferred payment method.
Don’t forget to consider the demographics of your travelling groups. A group of interns likely won’t have a corporate credit card and may prefer the invoice route, whereas senior managers may prefer to use a credit card. The availability of multiple payment methods not only enhances and simplifies user experience, but also expands the accessibility of accommodations to a broader range of travellers, promoting inclusivity and convenience.
How Synergy Can Help
At Synergy, we specialise in the end-to-end management of group serviced accommodation programmes wherever our clients need us to be, and for however long. Last year, Synergy:
- Welcomed over 6,000 group guests
- Booked 500,000 group room nights
- Achieved 98% guest satisfaction
Our goal is to collaborate with you to understand your group business travel, mobility or HR objectives and tailor our award-winning services to your overarching organisational goals.
Simplify your group accommodation programme through Synergy via:
- Access to over 165,000 fully vetted serviced apartments, spanning 85+ countries and 2,000 cities
- Best available market rates
- Access to a dedicated single point of contact, specialising in groups
- Flexible terms
- Multiple payment options
- Wellness add-
Ready to learn more about how Synergy can enhance your accommodation programme? Tell us what you need and our local teams will be happy to support you.
