The TMC says Rest Assured will give clients access to exclusive rates at ‘thousands’ of hotels around the world and across all booking channels, including mobile.
In addition, a new Hotel Rate Guarantee ensures users get the lowest hotel rates at the time of booking while rebooking technology will identify and rebook at lower rates where appropriate.
The new solution also incorporates wider geographical coverage and enhanced functionality for Virtual Payment Expert, its payment and reconciliation solution powered by Conferma Pay.
With regards to content, clients can access properties from a range of sources including booking.com, Expedia and WWStay, with more than six million non-hotel listings such as homes and apartments.
The solution aims to solve a number of issues highlighted in GBT’s Hotel Traveller 360 research, including the perennial problem of out-of-policy bookings.
Its research found that among UK business travellers, 78% book outside preferred channels in the belief they can save their company money while 62% say they can find a better rate elsewhere.
Globally, 68% of business travellers said they booked elsewhere for better hotel choices.
Among UK-based travellers, the most popular off-programme booking channels were booking.com (45%) and Expedia (19%), while 45% also book direct with the hotel or wider group.
“Travellers want to do the right thing for their companies, and the research shows there is an opportunity to redirect the good intentions of out-of-policy bookers by proactively addressing common misconceptions about getting a better price, choice or experience elsewhere,” says Wes Bergstrom, GBT’s Vice President, Hotel Strategy.
