The New Normal - Exploring the Channel Shift in Business Transient Bookings

One of the major shifts in the way reservations are booked in the post-pandemic era is in corporate. While Kalibri Labs has always monitored bookings across seven different channels and 20 rate categories, corporate has been of special interest to us and to our clients over the past three years.

In 2019, 37% of corporate bookings were made through the GDS channel, and 43.8% booked through Brand.com. During the years of the pandemic, the percentage of corporate bookings via Brand.com increased to as much as 59%, and as we’ve continued to watch the trend, it is extending into the first quarter of 2023. 

What does this mean for hoteliers, especially headed into the 2024 RFP and business case season?

The new normal of corporate bookings means it is imperative to have insight into all booking channels and not just GDS vs. non-GDS. It will be critical to understand how corporate bookings are coming into your hotel and how you can leverage the power of loyalty programs, dynamic rates, and other offerings to encourage the return of corporate business.

Kalibri Labs offers insight into thousands of named corporate accounts across all booking channels dating back to 2015, as well as exclusive loyalty contribution metrics. Use Hummingbird^PXM to easily answer questions like:

• What NEW accounts are producing in the comp set or submarket that did not produce in 2019? 
• For large accounts in 2019, are they back on track to 2019 production? 
• Are there any new accounts that stand out in 2023 or 2022 for the comp set or submarket? 
• What accounts can we capitalize on using our loyalty program?
  • For independents and small chains: what are the top accounts with non-loyal business we can pursue?