New Consulting Service, Software: Amex Aids Hotel Programs

American Express Consulting Services Group now is offering a new set of hotel consulting services for large companies as well as a software product for travel buyers who put together their own programs.

Amex designed Hotel Program Solutions, its comprehensive menu of analysis, RFP management, and hotel guide production services, for firms that send out 150 or more hotel requests for proposals a year, said Eric Altschul, vice president of American Express Consulting Services Group. Hotel Program Solutions enables companies to make the right purchasing decision by, for example, offering benchmarks such as the amount of rates charged by other properties in a particular category in a location, he said. As part of the RFP process, Amex will provide analysis on quantifying the savings at a particular property and the limitations caused by trends in the industry.

With Hotel Program Solutions, American Express will let companies opt for the complete package or pick from the menu, an option that wasn't available to companies using Amex's hotel consulting services in the past. The service is available to any firm, even those that don't use American Express as their preferred travel agency.

For companies that want help managing their own hotel program, Amex has introduced a software product called Hotel Expert. It provides instructions on how to formulate hotel RFPs and solicitation letters, evaluate rates and other related topics. Users also can input customized data into the program. The product costs $350 until Aug. 1, when the price goes to $500.

Amex also has published a guide, called "How To Develop Your Own Hotel Corporate Program." Designed for smaller companies, it outlines how they can manage and implement a preferred-hotel program, including tips on negotiating and reducing hotel costs. The brochure costs $30; it can be bought in conjunction with Hotel Expert for $365 until Aug. 1.

"The hotel industry has gotten more complicated in the way properties deal with companies," Altschul said. "Companies large and small are asking for more solutions to help them manage their program more efficiently."

The Amex enhancements are in step with a trend on the part of large corporate travel agencies to broaden and refine their hotel-program consulting services. For example, Carlson Wagonlit revamped its hotel program in January, offering a menu of comprehensive services, including an in-house electronic RFP product and an online hotel directory. The hotel guide lists only Carlson Wagonlit's rates, but sometime later this year clients will be able to have it customized to include their own negotiated rates, said Barbara Renner, manager of hotel programs.

In the beginning of June, BTI Americas, which expanded its hotel consulting services a year ago, rolled out an upgraded version of Inquiry, its electronic hotel guide, after forming a partnership with Official Airlines Guides. Using OAG's database, the guide includes maps and data on airports, airline affinity programs, city events and more than 40,000 hotels, in addition to the 5,000 previously listed properties with which BTI has special rates. The product will be updated quarterly and interfaces with BTI's Portico Travel Planning software.

In putting together its offering, American Express has partnered with JBH Travel Audit Inc., based in Denver, to handle RFP processing utilizing JBH's Hotel RFP Solution product. It contains a database listing hotel-specific information, making it easy for hotels to verify or update data, and it covers distribution of RFPs to targeted hotels.

Travel managers receive software that enables them to access Amex's recommendations on each returned proposal online. They also can view the status of each RFP. JBH also is putting together printed preferred-hotel directories for companies, should they choose this option.

"JBH does the RFP processing, data collection and production of the hotel guide, while we do the consulting analysis and negotiating piece," said Altschul.

For its part, Amex has refined its analytical capabilities, through upgrades to its in-house computer software, in an effort to improve and expand its hotel consulting expertise. It also has hired two additional consultants, enabling the consulting group to serve many more Fortune 500 companies than it has previously. In the past, "we could handle 12 to 15 clients a year," said Altschul. "We didn't have the software to handle the additional demand, and we had to turn people away. Now we can offer more support to more clients."

While American Express's "processes are very good, it's costly," said consultant Carol Salcito, president of Stamford, Conn.-based Management Alternatives. And "if you're using one agency, why go to another" to manage your hotel program, she added, noting that all corporate travel agencies provide these types of services.

The most difficult process in overseeing a hotel program is compliance, said Cynthia Perper, director of corporate travel services at Colgate-Palmolive, in New York. "Analyzing RFPs isn't hard," she said. "But getting people to book through a central source so they get a record and discount is." Of far more value than RFP forms and negotiating advice would be tools that help travel managers better monitor hotel-program compliance, she said. Her suggestion on one way to do this: Provide a breakout of hotel expenses on corporate credit cards.