Hotel ABRs are rising; three ways you can respond

Hotel rates continue their upwards march – at least for now. At Amex GBT, we’ve seen Average Booked Rates (ABRs) steadily increase in the first half of this year. With a strong summer season now underway, we don’t expect to see any relief of prices over the next couple of months. Hotel rates could well soften in the closing months of 2023 if the waves of leisure and group-driven travel lose momentum.

So, what can you do now to help mitigate the impact of fast-rising rates on your hotel program. At GBC, we’re advising clients to attack the issue in three ways.

• Get your travellers to book earlier. We’ve seen a marked increase in booking lead times suggesting that smart travellers are already modifying their behaviour and booking earlier to get availability on their preferred accommodation.
• Review and revise the required advance booking period requirement in your travel policy to secure availability at preferred properties, and make last minute trips an exception.
• Rate volatility underlines the wisdom of continually monitor and manage your hotel program on an ongoing basis, with more frequent and dynamic data reviews.

The accommodation sector has moved on from the upheavals of the great travel shutdown – but it’s not clear the industry has found its ‘new normal.’ In this shifting landscape, you need an agile hotel programme to get the right accommodation, at the right price. Get in touch to discover how the GBC hotel specialists can help you.