Standard Hotel E-RFP Is A Cooperative Data Solution
<B>Standard Hotel E-RFP Is A Cooperative Data Solution</B>
The ability to forge better deals and sell the properties in the hotel program to travelers is a mutual goal of both the corporate travel manager and the hotelier. Since successfully achieving this goal is based, in part, upon the information in the request for proposals, it then makes sense to pursue a mutual solution to efficiently exchange RFP information.
In 1993, the National Business Travel Association hotel committee published the first standard hotel RFP based on extensive feedback and suggestions from the industry. This was the first time that the questions on the hotel RFP were organized in a standard format so that both corporate travel managers and hoteliers were consistently working off the same document. Every conceivable question that came to mind was included on the form to ensure that a comprehensive standard was available. The result was 420 fields of information on a six-page form divided in two sections: a six-part property profile (request for information) and two pages of property pricing (RFP). In addition, a "short form" was created by condensing selected fields from the long form onto two pages.
Three years later, in 1996, the hotel committee introduced the electronic file specifications that defined the fields of the standard hotel RFP in terms of an ASCII, comma, quote, delimited file format. With this addition, corporate travel managers and hoteliers both had the means to use electronic data exchange to transfer the information contained in the standard hotel RFP without reams of paper. The property profile information easily is stored in a hotel database and available to populate forms or files for corporate bids year after year. Now, hotels and travel management companies could ensure consistency of the static information in the RFP files. Corporate travel managers, on the other hand, could download the files into the spreadsheet or database application of their choice and manipulate the data as they pleased. Since the data used standard definitions and formats, direct comparisons in queries and reports were possible. For both sides, electronic data exchange of RFPs improved the process by eliminating paper, reducing demand for resources and increasing efficiency.
In 1997, third-party vendors began to develop basic browsers or viewers that conformed to the standard hotel RFP format, as well as offering RFP outsourcing services. This allowed travel managers to outsource as much or as little of the process as they desired. The third-party vendors began selling software to perform the process in-house, in addition to offering to handle anything from bid solicitation and data collection, to database development and query/report generation, all the way through negotiation and property selection.
As the above chronology indicates, adoption of the NBTA standard and electronic file specs by all parties involved in the hotel RFP process will increase everybody's efficiency and will result in better, more informed decisions on both sides. Better decisions should lead to stronger partnerships and a higher incidence of win-win scenarios.
From the corporate point of view, the ability to compare "apples to apples" is invaluable and makes the negotiation and decision process easier. For example, I know that RFP field 375, blackdates, is defined as "those time periods in which the hotel has rooms available for sale but not at the company negotiated rate due to an area or citywide convention or event." When considering two properties for acceptance into the preferred program, all else being equal, the property with fewer dates listed in this field is usually more attractive. Thus, by having a standard definition for this field, I am able to differentiate competing bids based on the response to this question, and eliminate confusion over the availability of the company negotiated rate during certain days during the year. The hotels accepted into the preferred program and I are in agreement over which dates during the year the negotiated rates are not available and we are able to jointly market the property to travelers accordingly. Again, the ability to automatically populate my database with standard RFP fields, such as blackdates, allows me to perform this analysis.
Moreover, electronic data exchange allows travel managers to eliminate data entry and spend less time populating their RFP database and more time analyzing their data and conducting negotiations.
On the hotelier side, the standard hotel RFP permits hotels or hotel chains to maintain a single database of property profile information used to fulfill all RFP requests. Of course, pricing will always vary for each client, but the fact that more than 250 fields of information remain essentially static and only require occasional updating, reduces staff time, eliminates both errors and the problem of dealing with multiple forms and formats.
In the years since the standard hotel RFP was first introduced, the top two complaints have been: There are too many or not enough fields. For those travel managers who think there are too many fields, the solution is to not use or download all 420 fields, but instead to only use the fields that are needed. This is easily and efficiently accomplished using the electronic data exchange process.
The fact that travel managers request the standard hotel RFP and that hotels can routinely provide all 420 fields does not mean that they are obligated to use all the fields. In fact, it would be the rare company that actually looks at and uses all 420 fields.
Remember, the fields on the form are a reflection of what data the industry indicated was needed by someone, somewhere. The hotel committee annually reviews the RFP and solicits feedback from the industry to update and refine the standard. The RFP is intended to be dynamic and will be updated as the industry and the RFP process evolves. The committee welcomes any and all feedback and suggestions. If the data required is company specific, i.e., it would not apply to any other company, then adding the request in a short addendum is the answer. Most hotels can accommodate requests for short addendums in addition to the standard hotel RFP.
The standard hotel RFP offers the industry a mutual solution to efficiently exchange RFP data in a standardized format. Every year, more companies and hoteliers adopt the standard hotel RFP; the more entities that make this commitment, the easier it will become for the entire industry.
To learn more about the standard hotel RFP, attend the NBTA hotel committee's two RFP sessions in Los Angeles on Tues., Aug. 1. The Electronic Hotel RFP: Back to Basics, will be a hands-on introductory session aimed at demystifying the transfer process of the NBTA standard hotel RFI/RFP fields from hotels to hotel buyers. Hotel buyers will learn step-by-step how to import the RFP text file into a database.
Electronic RFP 2000: The Next Step­Data Analysis, is a follow-up to the first session and is designed for travel buyers and suppliers who want to leverage the electronic hotel RFP for optimum results. The session will focus on how buyers analyze data obtained through the electronic RFP process and arrive at decisions. Suppliers and buyers will have the opportunity to share perspectives in order to achieve a better understanding of the RFP process.
<I>Rick Wakida is chairman of NBTA's hotel committee and a travel analyst and technology manager contractor for AirTouch Communications Inc., based in San Francisco.