Hotel Engine Adds Flexible Booking Subscription, Group Booking Options

Hotel business travel booking platform Hotel Engine has added offerings including a subscription for flexible bookings and new group travel booking features, the company announced.

Hotel Engine, which provides members access to content including from global distribution systems, wholesalers and online travel agencies, had already been offering a “Flex” option on individual bookings to add flexibility on reservation cancellations or modifications. Since its launch last year, it has helped to save more than 55,000 in unused room nights, according to the company.

Now, Hotel Engine is offering it as a $200 month subscription, FlexPro, making all bookings able to be cancelled or modified up to noon on the day of check-in.

“This allows them to convert all their reservations, regardless of their volume, into flexible reservations,” Hotel Engine founder and CEO Elia Wallen said.

The company added the service with the idea that it would be “a bit of a loss leader,” and users will get the same inventory options in terms of flexibility as those not using the FlexPro option, he said. “We’re not going to filter or suppress rooms because it’s not advantageous to us,” Wallen said.

Hotel Engine also has updated its Groups booking platform to make it “much more of a self-service, integrated platform model for clients,” Wallen said. Users can request trips, view curated options and accept hotels through a personalized dashboard.

Wallen said group travel will be “a big part of our focus” in Hotel Engine’s future roadmap. Among the enhancements down the road, the company plans to add the ability to book adjacent meeting spaces when booking a hotel for a group event, in addition to current capabilities of booking space within the hotel, he said.

Hotel Engine was founded in 2015 and currently counts about 40,000 member companies as clients, having raised $65 million in funding in 2021. It largely targets companies with unmanaged programs, those that “would not be a typical TMC target,” Wallen said.

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com