Building a corporate hotel programme
Hotels are often the largest part of travel spend after flights, and the part with the most variation. A hotel programme sets which hotels travellers use in each city, at what rates and to what standards, so travellers stay somewhere safe and suitable and finance knows what to expect.
Rate types explained
Choose the right type for each city.
| Rate type | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiated corporate rate | A fixed or discounted rate agreed for the year. | Cities with frequent stays. |
| Dynamic discount | A percentage off the hotel’s daily rate. | Cities where prices swing with demand. |
| Best available rate | The public rate on the day. | Cities with few stays. |
| Group or event rate | A block of rooms for an event at an agreed rate. | Conferences and fairs. |
Start with where people actually stay
List the cities with the most room nights over the past year. For each, choose two or three hotels near where travellers work, in different price bands, that meet your safety and quality standards.
- Top cities by room nights
- Two or three hotels per city
- Location close to offices, plants or venues
Set minimum standards
Standards should cover safety (fire and security procedures, 24-hour reception), location, internet, and accessibility. For higher-risk destinations, your security team may approve specific hotels only.
Make the programme the easy choice
Travellers use the programme when it is easy: hotels shown first in booking, rates loaded, and a simple reason code when they choose something else. Track compliance by city and fix the reasons people book outside it.
Review every year
Review room nights, rates paid, traveller feedback and incidents each year. Drop hotels that are not used or not liked, and add cities that have grown.
How Go Global puts it into practice
Data
Room nights by city reviewed.
Select
Hotels chosen per city.
Rates
Rate types agreed.
Load
Programme shown first in booking.
Review
Annual review of use and feedback.
Corporate hotel programme: questions
How many hotels per city?
Usually two or three, at different price points, near where travellers work.
What is a dynamic discount?
A percentage off the hotel’s daily rate, useful where prices change a lot.
How do we get travellers to use the programme?
Show programme hotels first, keep booking simple and ask for a reason when travellers choose another hotel.
Negotiating with hotels
Hotels negotiate on expected room nights, so bring data: last year’s nights by city and month, and your forecast. Ask for inclusions such as breakfast, internet and flexible cancellation, which often matter more to travellers than a small rate difference.
Long stays and project teams
Project teams and engineers who stay for weeks need different arrangements: serviced apartments or long-stay rates, laundry, and transport to site. Agree these separately from the standard programme.
Domestic hotel lists
For companies with field staff across Pakistan, a standing list of approved hotels in each city, with a nightly limit, removes guesswork for travellers and approvers alike, and supports duty of care in cities where location matters.
Planning a travel policy?
Tell us who is travelling, when and why. We reply with a plan, the visa route and a quote. Go Global has handled 100,000+ trips, and our team works 24/7 for travellers on the road. Email insights@goglobal.pk or WhatsApp 0320-4111222.