A reluctance by business travellers to adopt dynamic hotel pricing has forced Accor to re-think its corporate rate scheme with fixed rate contracts now firmly back on the negotiating table.
The hotel group has introduced what it called a Flexible Corporate Pricing Solution which offers fixed rates on rooms booked up to seven to 14 days in advance with dynamic pricing for reservations closer to arrival.
Corporations have struggled to get to grips with dynamic pricing, despite it being pushed by hotel group, with many firms still preferring the certainty of fixed rates.
Accor said the new structure, nutted out in collaboration with travel management companies, procurement managers and hotels, gives business travellers the "best of both worlds".
"While the hotel industry, like the airline industry, has moved significantly towards a variable or dynamic pricing model over the past decade, there are still many companies who like the idea of fixed rates," Accor Australia director of sales and distribution Henrik Berglind said. "The issue though is that with many corporate destinations booked out, often days in advance, some companies with only fixed rate structures are finding it increasingly difficult to secure bookings when and where they need them most."
The new structure provides fixed rates for bookings in advance but with "real time savings in low demand periods and discounted variable rates closer to the actual date of stay."
Berglind admitted that since the GFC companies have wanted fixed rates so they can "budget better". The new scheme rewards those who can get employees to book in advance, he said.
But a "discounted variable rate", which reflects the pricing at the time, will cater for those who need to book late.
