An Insider's Guide to Better Hotel Bookings

Don’t waste days on masterminding, negotiating, and booking team travel.

The problem right now? There’s a huge breakdown in comms between corporate planners and hotels: it’s tough to get on the same page. 

That means you’re frustrated, budgets get ignored, and the employee experience suffers.

But Kelley Thompson, our Head of Growth, knows the solution. 

In this edition of The Gathering Ground, she shares how to get better rates, make hidden fees disappear, and change a contentious hotel-HR relationship into a collaborative dream.

Our Itinerary

🔑 Unlock hotel relationships 
🔥 Hot links / Industry Updates

Knock Down the Wall Between You and Hotels

If it feels more like you’re facing off against hotels than working with them, that’s because you’re speaking different languages (and want different things). 

Corporate planners don't get how hotels think about business; hotels don't think about what planners really want. The result? An endless cycle of vague requests, generic answers, and a whole lot of toss-your-hands-in-the-air-and-give-up frustration.

The key, Kelley says, is putting together a perfect RFP.  Here’s how you do it:

Step 1: Be Brutally Honest 

Be upfront about issues and how you’re addressing them now. It’s better for everyone, and best for your relationship with the hotel.

Step 2: Map the Experience

Think bigger than four walls — what’s the experience you want to create inside them? Tell hotels what guests might do. It helps everyone identify needs, like a boardroom or team breakfast. 

Step 3: Eliminate the No’s and Save Your Time

Here’s the truth: not every hotel is right for you. Get rid of the hotels you don’t want right away by putting non-negotiables in your RFP, as well as any deal-breakers for your CEO or staffers. 

Step 4: Structure your RFP like a Pro 

"The hoteliers, they just throw spaghetti at the wall, and they offer you a bunch of concessions that you really don't care about, or they're not meaningful," Kelley said.

That's why you need to cover all the essentials in your RFP. Here's what Kelley would include. 

• Your dates (and how flexible you can be)

• Meeting space specifics

• Your non-negotiables

• Concessions and budget parameters (pad that by 15-20% for surprise costs)

• Search parameters

• What the event has looked like before

Looking for more in-depth advice? Check out her full playbook for better bookings and hotel relationships, as well as an example RFP.

Points of Link-terest

The hot streak in hospitality tech continues…

• The Information reports Navan is set to confidentially file for a U.S. IPO—with a potential valuation north of $8 billion.

• Canary Technologies just closed an $80 million Series D led by Brighton Park Capital to supercharge its AI‑powered guest engagement platform.

Onward!

Well, we’re taking off.

Keep your seatbelts buckled, and we’ll see you soon. 

To see Workgrounds’ platform in action, book time with our founder.