Getting travellers to book their hotel at the same time as their flight

Why it’s important to boost your hotel attachment rate

Travel industry professionals use the phrase “hotel attachment rate” to describe the percentage of air reservations where the traveller books their accommodation at the same time.

Attachment rates are often below 50 per cent, with travellers booking their hotel at a later date or separately through consumer websites. This causes two problems:

• Price Travellers often end up paying more and also you miss out on spend data to strengthen discount negotiations with suppliers.

• Duty of care If travellers have booked independently, you can’t find them in an emergency.

Here are five steps that will help you boost your hotel attachment rate.

Step 1 – Analyse your data

Ask your TMC for your hotel attachment rate statistics to see how much of a problem you have. Look for trends, such as which departments or individuals have low attachment rates, or if it is a particular issue when travelling to certain destinations.

Step 2 – Review your hotel programme

A low hotel attachment rate could be a red flag that there is a serious defect which needs addressing in your programme. Is your TMC or booking tool offering the wrong kind of hotel, or rates that are higher than travellers can find on public websites? Is the TMC forgetting to offer a hotel booking, or is the booking tool difficult too complicated to use for a combined air and hotel booking? Ask your key travellers to tell you what is turning them away.

Step 3 – Check your travel policy

Make sure the rules are clear that travellers are expected to book their hotel at the same time as they book their flight.

Step 4 – Explore how technology can help you

Ask your TMC and your booking tool provider what tech solutions they have to help you. For example, some TMCs automatically send customised hotel recommendations to travellers who book a flight without a hotel attachment. Recommendations can be based on information like the traveller’s booking history, properties in the preferred hotel accommodation programme, and which hotels are rated highest in customer surveys.

Step 5 – Communicate with your travellers

Send your travellers a message to explain why they should book their flight and hotel simultaneously. Explain not only why the company benefits but why they benefit too: booking the hotel straight away reduces the risk of the hotel they want being full if they leave it until later, and they can be looked after in an emergency because the company knows where they are staying.