Archive for the ‘Workforce Travel’ Category
More Travel Spend and Fewer Trips Expected for 2013
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
According to the Global Business Travel Association in a report released Tuesday, U.S. business travel spending is expected to rise 4.6 percent in 2013 to $266.7 billion. However, the report predicts a 1.1 percent drop in trip volume. That suggests a higher average cost per trip than in 2012, indicating that companies will spend more real dollars on business trips.
While business travel spending slowed through the end of 2012 as companies postponed big spending decisions until after the U.S. presidential election and fiscal cliff debate, but is expected to rebound in 2013. According to the association, group travel will be a major contributor to the increase in spending in 2013 with annual growth around 5.2 percent this year following a 1.3 percent increase in 2012.
“While companies will approach the first half of the year with some caution, pent-up demand to get back on the road should hopefully fuel accelerating growth in business travel spending through the end of 2013,” according to a statement attributed to GBTA executive director Michael McCormick.
Technology will continue to be the traveler’s best friend in 2013, with mobile/WiFi connectivity and a growing range of business travel apps making travel smoother and more productive. Also, while unmanaged travel programs may tempt some companies with a low-control culture, the real risks to employee safety, and cost optimization must be carefully considered.
Getting a handle on business travel in 2013 will have long-term benefits as well since for 2014 the GBTA forecast total U.S. business travel spending to jump 7.3 percent on a 1.7 percent increase in trip volume, also.
“While, many companies will spend more, but travel less this year, many of CLC Lodging’s customers just simply don’t have that option since their business depends on travel,” said Tim Downs, President of CLC Lodging.
Unsure where to start? With savings of 20-40% on hotels nationwide and in Canada, Hotel locater Apps, and other online tools and reporting options, CLC Lodging provides the service and metrics to improve your travel policy and bottom line. Go to www.clclodging.com for more information today.
Posted in Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Hotel Rates Rising in 2012
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Hotels are having a record-breaking year – according to Ed Watkins from Lodging Hospitality. According to analyses performed on publicly traded lodging companies, overall revenue per available room (RevPAR) has shown gains at major chains anywhere from 6.8 to 11%. RevPAR is a performance metric in the hotel industry, which is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s average daily room rate by its occupancy rate.
Get control of your rising hotel rates with a hotel lodging program.
This isn’t the only indicator that business travelers will continue to see higher hotel rates and challenging rate negotiations. Business Travel News showed the same results in their 2012 Business Travel Survey. According to Advito, a unit of BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management company, corporate rates are up in the U.S. 5 to 6% and anywhere from 2 to 20% internationally. David Jonas writes that:
“Limited new supply and overall industry performance that is outpacing the general economy, hotel executives said they expect corporate negotiated rates to continue rising.”
What does this mean for the business owner? Is it inevitable that companies must budget more for business lodging and have less room for negotiation? Not necessarily. Informed business owners are looking for money-saving solutions. One option is to use a hotel lodging program for their workforce travel needs. Some lodging programs can get room rates more than 20% below market – significantly lowering workforce travel costs. In addition to better room rates, these smart companies also save on operational costs with efficient processes that reduce time spent on lodging and increase travel policy compliance.
Don’t know where to start? Consider CLC Lodging’s Workforce Travel Solutions. CLC purchased over 10 million room nights last year. That translates to $500,000,000 of negotiating power in your corner. Don’t hesitate – contact CLC today.
Tags: business travel discounts, corporate hotel discounts, corporate hotel rates, Workforce Travel
Posted in CLC Workforce Lodging, Money-Saving Tips, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Idling Rigs? Expect High Costs.
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Are your drivers still sleeping in their rigs? You may want to reconsider. Getting a hotel night might be a double-win—the driver sleeps better and the company saves money. Studies show that a typical long-haul tractor trailer idles approximately 1,830 hours per year – consuming up to 1.2 gallons per hour. The economics of rig vs. hotel are easy to calculate:
- 1.2 gallons of diesel per hour of idle time for 10 hours
- 12 gallons of diesel at $4.20 a gallon = $50.40
- Add another $5.40 – the average cost of engine wear, oil consumption and estimated maintenance for 10 hours
- Total cost of idling for one night is $55.80 + parking fees and costs for using truck stop facilities
Idling can negatively impact your company's bottom line.
Safety, health issues, pay load and environmental impact should also be considered when deciding between idling and a hotel.
- Truck lots leave something to be desired when it comes to personal safety.
- Inhaling exhaust from multiple rigs probably isn’t good for your drivers’ health or your insurance premiums.
- Switching out sleepers could positively affect your company’s bottom line. Bigger payload = bigger revenue.
- Some states won’t allow trucks to idle due to emission laws.
CLC Lodging’s CheckINN Card can save your workforce travelers 20% – 40% off the lowest published rate every time they sleep in a CLC network hotel. CLC is able to offer customers lower rates because it negotiates 11,000,000 hotel room nights every year. Last night, CLC customers stayed in thousands of hotels across the country for less than $55!
Tired of managing contracts and reconciling folios? CLC handles all the billing and checks for accuracy. Your company will longer have to deal with direct bills, cash advances or issuing company credit cards to pay for hotel rooms.
CLC’s trucking customers are saving money, reducing wear-and-tear on their vehicles and sleeping sounder with CLC’s CheckINN Card. See how I-Supply benefited by switching to CLC Lodging.
Tags: CheckINN card, CLC Workforce Lodging, hotel savings card program, save on hotels
Posted in Money-Saving Tips, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
How Your Company Can Pay Lower Hotel Rates
Monday, March 26th, 2012
If your company has regular workforce travel, be prepared for what’s predicted for hotel prices for the next several years. A new hotel industry report from PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) this month indicates increased occupancy and continuing rising rates.
According to PKF-HR, here are the specifics that likely will impact your company travel budget unless you’re taking advantage of a low-cost lodging solution like CheckINN Direct:
- 4.1 percent gain in average daily room rates
- 1.6 percent occupancy increase
- 5.8 percent gain in room revenue for hotels
Then there’s the news from Smith Travel Research, which PKF-HR says found that the number of hotel rooms purchased by guests in 2011 set a new record. With demand outpacing new hotel construction, PKF-HR says that “U.S. hoteliers have never enjoyed such an extended period of favorable market conditions.”
Will Your Company Pay More?
It all adds up to companies with regular workforce travel being squeezed. Unless your company quickly adapts with a new lodging strategy, it’s likely your travelers will pay more and it could be harder to find hotel rooms.
There is a simple way to start paying lower corporate lodging rates. Your company can sign up for CheckINN Direct, the hotel savings card solution from CLC Lodging. Find out how it works, sign up online or by phone and you can start saving tonight.
Save Money on Workforce Lodging
With CLC’s CheckINN Card, your company immediately gets rates that are up to 20-40 percent off hotels’ lowest published rates. That’s less than your company typically can negotiate on its own – and it’s definitely lower than what you’ll find on the Internet.
Great savings are why CheckINN Direct customers tell us, “At one hotel, I had negotiated a rate of $100 a night. Your rate is $55 plus tax. That’s really noticeable.”
Think it is too good to be true? Well, more than 50,000 small and independent companies already have signed up for CheckINN Direct so they can take advantage of the same low, negotiated rates typically available only to much larger companies.
Tags: CheckINN Direct, hotel and motel discounts, motel discounts, save on hotels
Posted in CLC Workforce Lodging, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Discount Hotel Prices Beat Super Bowl Rates
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
If your company’s workforce travels took you anywhere near Indianapolis last weekend, you know what we’re talking about when we say the hotel business was booming!
Like an occupancy rate of 95.5% for Friday & Saturday nights alone, representing 60,500 rooms sold around the region. And how much was the average daily rate for those rooms? How about $294.55?
That’s according to Hotel News Now, which reported that the Super Bowl boosted hotel prices up 338.1% from the same days last year.
Now that the football extravaganza is over, CheckINN Direct members can find plenty of workforce lodging in the CLC Hotel Network that’s priced for your business travel budget. We’re talking member rates in the $30-$90 a night range for Indianapolis for the rest of this week (and every week), depending which participating network hotel your employees choose.
You can expect similar savings of 20-40% off hotels’ lowest published rates in any of the more than 10,000 hotels you can choose across the country (Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada, Super 8, Motel 6 and other familiar brands and leading independents are included.)
Find out how much you can save with CheckINN Direct no matter where your company travels take you this year.
Tags: CheckINN Direct, CLC Lodging, corp lodging, Corporate Lodging Consultants, corporate lodging discounts, corporate travel, discount hotel rates, hotel discounts for business travelers, Super bowl, Workforce Travel
Posted in Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Save on Hotel Costs as Gas Prices Climb Higher
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Hold on to your wallets – USA Today reported today that gas likely will get back up to about $4 per gallon or more by this summer. Some oil industry experts predict even higher prices in some parts of the country.
Better make sure you’re saving on your workforce lodging with CheckINN Direct to soften the hit on your company travel budget.
What You’re Paying for Gas Across The Country
Today’s figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that gas prices went up all across the country in the past week. It also is up from where it was a year ago at this time, also in every region of the U.S. The nationwide average is a dime higher than it was two weeks ago and a hike of 35 cents from a year ago.
Better News for Diesel Fuel
Diesel fuel hasn’t risen quite as much although its nationwide average is $3.85, up just 0.006 from a week ago. While diesel prices show an increase in most regions of the U.S., there was a slight downward trend in the Lower Atlantic, Gulf Coast and West Coast states outside of California.
Save 20-40% On Hotel Rooms
CheckINN Direct can help you beat the higher costs of fuel as well as the higher hotel rates your employees will be seeing on the road this year. When you sign up for the program, you pay rates that are 20-40% less than hotels’ Lowest Published Rates.
Your company gets the protection of deeply discounted rates that are backed by a Lowest Rate Guarantee. Check out how it can work for you, and know that there are never any contracts or minimum usage requirements.
Tags: business travel discounts, cheap hotels, CheckINN Direct, CLC Lodging, corporate hotel rates, corporate lodging card, hotel discounts, workforce travelers
Posted in CLC Workforce Lodging, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Turn Your Smartphone into Hotel Remote Control
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Here’s an exciting new innovation for workforce travelers (almost as good as CheckINN Direct saving you 20-40% off hotels). Now a new smartphone app lets you control the TV remote in some hotel rooms when you’re traveling for business.
That’s great news for frequent company travelers who may consider in-room remotes as germ magnets.
USA Today reports that travelers staying in hotels that get in-room TV entertainment from LodgeNet can use its free app for iPhones, iPads and Androids.
Here’s how it works:
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Download the app, called LodgeNet Mobile, from your mobile device app store
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Follow the directions on how to link to a specific hotel TV
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Use the app to control free TV channels, pay-per-view movies and on-demand TV shows
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Pay-per-view selections can be charged to your hotel bill or you pay for them separately with the app
Download Before Traveling
Be aware that before you hit the road, you may need to download the app via a computer since its size makes it too large to immediately download on an iPhone, for example.
Currently, LodgeNet has updated its TV systems in about 2,000 hotels for its new app, so it may take awhile before you can put it into practice at your specific workforce lodging. But since LodgeNet can be found in around 500,000 hotel rooms, the app eventually will be useful in many more locations.
You’ll also find that adult-only selections aren’t accessible through the app. But in addition to channel surfing, you can use it to control the TV volume, program guide and TV menu.
Just another convenience for workforce travelers – just like CheckINN Direct from CLC Lodging. When you’re a CheckINN Direct member, your business travel is discounted at more than 10,000 hotels across the U.S. and Canada.
Tags: business travel, CheckINN card, CheckINN Direct, clc card, CLC Lodging, corporate travel discounts, economy hotel rates, hotel bargains, hotel discounts, workforce lodging, Workforce Travel
Posted in Tips for Workforce Travelers, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Fight Higher Hotel Prices in 2012 With A Lodging Strategy
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
If your company has drivers, crews, installers, field reps and others who hit the road regularly for their jobs, this is the year you’re going to need a lodging strategy. Based on some key hotel industry reports released today, it’s going to be the only way to stay competitive.
The PwC U.S. Lodging Industry Forecast predicts these trends for 2012:
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Higher demand
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Rising room rates
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Occupancy at levels not seen since 2007
PwC sees occupancy levels going up to 60.9% this year, the highest since 2007.
Meanwhile, Hotel News Now reported today that STR said U.S. hotels ended 2011 with increases in all three key performance indicators:
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Occupancy rose 4.4% to 60.1%
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Average daily rate was up 3.7% to $101.64
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Revenue per available room was up 8.2% to $61.06
Smart companies will put their travel volume to work for them to negotiate low room rates. They also will stay on top of their lodging spend to ensure employees are staying in hotels that meet company travel budget guidelines.
Or, make it easy and put your workforce lodging in CheckINN Direct’s hands. It’s a no-contract lodging program that saves you 20-40% on hotels’ lowest published rates, no matter whether you have 1 or 1,000 travelers. Find out more.
Tags: business travel deals, CheckINN Direct, CLC Lodging, Corporate Lodging Consultants, corporate travel, discount hotel rates, hotel discounts, lodging discounts
Posted in CLC Workforce Lodging, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
How to Cut Your Company Costs for Hotel Stays
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Many of the small business cost-cutting fundamentals that Jim Blasingame writes about in his Small Business Advocate blog this week can be applied to how CheckINN Direct can improve your company’s lodging administration this year.
For example, this one: “Outsourcing is a best practice. Call a planning meeting and ask this question about every task in your operation: “Must this be done in-house?” Everything that does not directly “touch” a customer is a noncore competency and a candidate for outsourcing.”
If your staff is spending too much time finding hotels, negotiating rates and managing hotel receipts for your employees on the road, simplify the tasks with CheckINN Direct. Signing up lets you, in effect, outsource much of your company lodging administration efforts, but without a contract or minimum use requirement.
Its online directory features more than 10,000 hotels and provides member rates that are pre-negotiated to save your company 20-40% off hotels’ lowest published rates. Plus, once you put the CheckINN Card in your travelers’ hands, every lodging invoice is posted to your online account, saving lots of time and hassles when you’re doing expense reconciliation.
Another suggestion from Blasingame’s list: “Employees spend most of your cash. Ask them to identify ways to find efficiencies and maximize margins. Install these into the new year’s budget and operation.”
CheckINN Direct cuts your cash outlay by directing your travelers to cost-effective lodging that meets your company travel budget. With more than 10,000 participating hotel locations, your travelers may find they can stay in the same hotels they’re currently using, but will pay significantly less. The hotel room is billed to the credit card you register when you sign up for CheckINN Direct, cutting your per diem expenses.
Get more insights from all of Blasingame’s small business tips, and consider whether your business is making the most of its cash this year. CheckINN Direct can get you going in the right direction. Find out how it works.
Tags: CheckINN Direct, CLC Lodging, discounts on hotels and motels, hotel deals, save money on business travel
Posted in CLC Workforce Lodging, Workforce Travel | No Comments »
Fight Back Against Higher Hotel Costs for Business Travel
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Workforce travelers can expect rising prices and occupancy at U.S. hotels this year. That’s the indication from early reports as the New Year gets under way.
Based on actual hotel bookings from Q4 2011 through Q3 2012, here’s the outlook that was released this week from TravelClick’s December 2011 North American Hospitality Review:
“Hotels will continue to see strong growth in 2012, primarily driven by rate increases and strong, steady demand for hotel rooms” … “The business travel segment continues to be strong and group business shows slow but positive occupancy gains. Overall occupancy has consistently improved over the past 26 consecutive months and as demand begins to plateau, hotels need to increase rates to leverage increasing demand and maximize revenue.”
Sounds like companies with workforce travel will be smart to get ahead of the curve. Let the CLC Lodging Savings Card save you 20-40% on hotels’ Lowest Published Rates – every time your employees stay in a hotel.
Tags: CheckINN card, CheckINN Direct, CLC Lodging, corporate hotel rates, corporate lodging, economy hotels for business travel, hotel and motel discounts
Posted in Workforce Travel | No Comments »
