Increasingly, conditions already negotiated with a hotel can be underbid using daily discounts. This is important because the number of overnight stays is rising – just as are hotel prices.

It stands to reason that businesspeople must have the opportunity to sleep, shower and collect their thoughts at least once a day (and then at least for eight hours). But the question of how and where business travelers should be allowed to rest their weary heads is being handled more and more restrictively. Comfort and service are not nearly as important as they once were. Today, it is price that determines the choice of hotel: 83% of all travel managers orient themselves primarily to cost. Questions of hotel classification or certification, personal recommendations or travel regulations are clearly subordinate – finding only 35% agreement with these managers.

This is the result of the 2008 business travel analysis carried out by the Association of German Travel Management (VDR – Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement). The current study also shows that the number of overnight stays by employees of German companies increased 7% in 2007 to 56 million. With expenditures of nearly 12 billion euros annually – or statistically seen, 210 euros per night – hotel costs rose by circa 5.5% compared to 2006. Every fourth euro is spent on hotels, inns, boardinghouses, private rooms or overnight stays in conference and seminar houses.

Travel managers who want to decrease costs in this area have two main approaches:

First, reducing additional costs. Above all, this means that they no longer work with hotels that do not offer free Internet access. Or they provide traveling employees with UMTS cards so that they do not have to use local Internet service – which is usually fairly expensive. Additional hidden costs can be saved, for example, by negotiating that services such as parking are included in prices and not charged extra.

The second approach that many travel managers use is relying less on company conditions and looking for more economic daily discounts. Some hotels even combine fixed company arrangements with their own flexible daily prices. Those who control their volume of overnight stays can frequently negotiate additional discounts based on the best daily rate. The result: the original reductions can sometimes be underbid by 10 or even 15%.