Navigating the Business Travel Boom: Embracing Digital Solutions

As the hospitality world anticipates a surge in business travel in 2024, hotels and hospitality operating groups will need innovative solutions to manage the highest demand since 2019, especially for their group sales teams. New and innovative digital tools are designed to do just that—help hotels stay ahead—allowing on-property teams to collect payments, take care of their customers, and optimize the customer experience, from first sales call to final payment.

Projected Surge in Business Travel

Business travel is projected to hit 1.4 trillion in 2024, thanks to a surge in group and business travel. This resurgence is likely to present hotels with unique challenges and opportunities. Staying ahead is difficult enough simply by trying to maintain staff levels, so using digital tools that save time and boost efficiency will be important in all aspects of the sales process.

Digital Tools to Support Changing Market Conditions

With the surge in business travel in 2024, managing the boost in demand will be vital to growing revenue and increasing group spend at hotels. Increased business travel will result in a boost in group sales, room blocks, and corporate events—events that all require contract negotiations and client management. On-property teams are going to need digital tools specifically designed to not only manage this surge but also create time savings and enhance operational efficiencies.

According to a study on sustainability by Prof. David Bendig via Forbes, "Companies that have a strong strategic focus on digital technologies tend to have a greater ability to adapt to changing market conditions, as well as to identify and exploit opportunities for innovation." Digital tools can consistently be improved, and shaped to how a team works, allowing hotels and their teams to keep up during rapidly changing environments.

How Hotels Use ROH to Support the Demand

ROH empowers group sales and AR teams to manage all of their contract-driven revenue. Sales teams can send contracts and invoices in just a few clicks, get paid in days, schedule automated invoice delivery (set it and forget it), and collect cards on file to manage post-event charges. Finance teams can see top-level financial reports at a glance and keep fewer payments out of aging—80% of payments made through ROH are either on time or early.

Additionally, ROH’s digital tools offer branded, user-friendly interfaces for customers, simplifying the process of paying invoices and signing contracts. A seamless customer experience saves time and lift for hotel teams, and pulls through an elevated experience from sale to payment.

With more people expected to travel for work in 2024, hotels will face new challenges and opportunities. ROH’s digital tools are here to help hotels manage more customers and make the work of hotel teams easier, allowing them to focus more on the overall client experience. These tools are easy for hotels to use, and provide a branded, mobile experience for clients, allowing them to sign contracts and pay invoices within hours, and from the comfort of their phone. Digital tools in times of growth that allow hotels to do more with less are key to growth, team efficiency, and client satisfaction.