Most buyers expect hotel
rates to increase in 2012, and few expect their hotel volume to drop next year,
according to an AirPlus International June-July survey of
101 corporate travel buyers in Europe and North America.
Just under half of those surveyed
said they expect their negotiated hotel rates to increase between 1 percent and
5 percent, and an additional 8 percent said they expect increases between 5
percent and 10 percent. Almost a quarter, however, said they expect to negotiated
rates for 2012 to decrease from this year's levels.
Hotel executives and
analysts have told buyers to expect percentage increases in the mid-to-high single
digits for next year.
Meanwhile, just under half
of respondents to the AirPlus poll said they expect their organizations' total
room nights to increase in 2012 versus this year, and about the same amount
said they expect budgeted hotel expenses to increase. Less than 10 percent said
they expect their hotel volume to decrease, although nearly 20 percent said
they plan to lower their spending on hotels in 2012.
Buyers in the study also
outlined their strategies for negotiations. A little more than a third said
they plan to maintain relationships with their preferred hotel suppliers even
if that meant bearing rate increases, while about a quarter said they would be
willing to change suppliers if it resulted in lower rates. Only about 7 percent
said they planned to explore dynamic pricing models.