US: Choice Hotels has announced a new focus on the corporate travel market.
Choice, which owns the fast-growing WoodSpring Suites extended stay brand, will launch a US-wide advertising campaign this month which is “specially designed to reinforce its commitment as a prime destination for both business and leisure travellers”.
Choice has committed approximately $725 million to its Cambria brand, which is designed for “the time-starved, modern business traveller”.
The Comfort and Sleep Inn brands have more than doubled their business travel revenue growth in the first quarter of 2019, and Choice anticipates having more than 300 WoodSpring hotels open and serving extended-stay guests around the United States by the end of next year.
Choice has also been savvy by making investments into “best-in-class technology infrastructure designed to help the franchises under its umbrella capture government and corporate customers”.
It is the first hotel company to offer Virtual Pay functionality on its consumer-facing digital presence, which allows corporate travel managers to book reservations while eliminating the need for travellers to have corporate credit cards.
In addition, Choice’s Group Management Platform simplifies the process of planning and booking group travel by allowing guests to make reservations for groups, review details easily, select different payment options, confirm reservations, send customised emails and make room modifications at any time.
Choice also has an automated solution to ensure rate parity, which helps hotel owners maximise room occupancy from federal and military travellers by meeting or beating their own per diem guidelines. </p
