This is definitely not the phone call you wish to pick up. Imagine you have executives at a conference. Everything’s going well, food is good, speakers excellent, networking fun. Then the call; “move me immediately there’s a mouse in my room running over my bed!!” Thereafter ensues many time consuming phone calls with the hotel and executive, trying to make sure you can get another room, that your other executives are not experiencing the same issue etc etc etc…..

Booking accommodation can be a minefield especially when you are in locations out of the norm (although even inner city hotels can present problems). Using an accommodation specialist can take away all these headaches and help streamline your workload. Working in partnership the following jobs can be outsourced at no extra cost to you or your company:

• Room rate negotiation at suitable hotel options close to and at the conference venue, leveraging off the extensive relationships your accommodation specialist has established over the years.

• Management of room allotments on your behalf including confirmation to executives/delegates, payments through secure pathways, providing rooming lists, handling last minute amendments, cancellations.

• Creation of a personalised dedicated website allowing 24/7 access and instant confirmation, with full hotel information that shows room types available, amenities, location and photos.

• Maintenance of all banking records, financial reports and statements and providing these to you at any time as requested.

• Making all room payments to hotels in a timely fashion.

• Ongoing contact with the hotel/s until checkout.

• Final debrief on the success of the partnership.

There is a great deal of work involved with organising your executive/s travel and accommodation making sure it all goes smoothly. Having an accommodation specialist on board helps save you time and cost and demonstrates your value within the company. So next time you are booking accommodation make sure the only mouse in the room is the chocolate one on the pillow!!

The Hotel Network is an accommodation specialist and conference/event management company.