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Looking Ahead: How Travel Managers Can Navigate 2025 Hotel RFP Season

In this feature series, GBTA’s Board of Directors share their views on topics that matter most to members, the industry, and the way forward for business travel. Today’s guest author is GBTA Board member Elizabeth (Liz) Oliveira, Global Travel Manager at OMERS. 

Are you immersed in the Hotel RFP season like me? It’s a very busy time for travel managers, but I’ve identified some trends and tips to keep in mind for securing the most competitive rates and favorable terms, all while adapting to heightened focuses on sustainability and technology:

Surging Demand Leads to Dynamic Pricing
From a corporate perspective, there is still some uncertainty around dynamic rates, primarily because it’s difficult to forecast actual room rate costs. However, corporations are likely to test the dynamic rate structure in 2025, especially in secondary markets where room night volumes aren’t critical. Dynamic pricing may also be the only way to secure Last Room Availability (LRA). This year I found that looking at the number of hotels in my program and identifying the opportunity to reduce their number in one area enriched my partnerships, and in return allowed for better rate negotiation and even sometimes LRA.

Hotels Extending 24-Hour Cancellation Policies
Buyers should look for these changes and challenge them where possible. Whether shifting from fixed to dynamic rates, from LRA to non-LRA, or from 24-hour cancellation policies to longer periods, new destination fees or city fees, buyers should be prepared for more intense negotiations with hotels in 2025.

Prioritizing Sustainability
By aligning with corporate travel policies focused on reducing carbon footprints and promoting eco-friendly travel options, travel managers can seek partners demonstrating robust environmental practices. Travel managers are also incorporating numerous detailed sustainability questions into their RFPs to gather essential data and establish baseline information, which will become critical factors as net-zero target goals are integrated into travel policies.

Technology and AI Continue to Evolve
AI has significantly influenced and supported my travel program. Although still in its early stages, I collaborated with our internal innovation team with support from our TMC to gather data at time of booking, which helped us understand why travelers choose certain preferred or non-preferred hotels over others – along with other key insights – so I can be more strategic with specific hotel partnerships.

I predict, based on my experience, that hotel RFPs for 2025 will require strategic approaches, adaptability and vigorous negotiation.

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