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Hi, I'm a representative of Roomorama and I'd like to find out how small businesses manage their business travel needs - do you guy use hotels? Travel agents? Would business travelers be open to staying in apartments if there are cost savings and they could identify the reliable hosts?
For travel outside Europe I use our agent on flights and accomodation, in europe I generally sort it myself. I go to HK and Dongguan every month, in HK I use the same hotel, if full my office sorts another. In china I have an apartment . depending on the trip depends what I prefer. if 1 or 2 nights I prefer hotel. If longer I prefer serviced apartment.
Hotel web sites directly. Tend to stay same group eg OCHG or Hilton etc. That way get status. I have yet to find a agent who can beat the web prices and still offer status points etc. Understand big corporates can do this but not generally available for individuals.
Well Roomorama is basically a website that allows people to find and provide short term accommodations world wide. If you guys are open to peer to peer rental which offers you much more flexibility and space (wrt cooking etc) this might really appeal to you? In addition to that, if you guys do group business travels for corporate team building events, larger accommodations can also be found via this website. Therefore, steve since you prefer service apartments when you stay overseas for longer I really think roomorama will suit your needs.
Do you have any idea of your companies use solely hotel websites or do you think they will be more open to something like roomorama. Thanks for your time and I really appreciate the feedback!
Sort it my self.
UK - Premier Inn or Accor budget hotels.
Germany - Motel One
France - Premier Classe
USA - Usually Hilton Chain, Embassy / Homewood / Hampton Inn Suites so that I can cook for myself.
Would not consider 'Private rentals'.
Business travellers need certainty and consistency; private homes cannot provide this.
In addition, there may also be confidentiality issues.
I don't think it's a go-er, frankly.
Hello Jolee1309....I just had a look at Roomorama. Neat concept. I am doing something similar for business travelers to Nairobi, Kenya. Let me know what you think! africahomesteads.com
Agree with VK, when travelling i use Priority club mainly because i know what i am getting with these guys.
No dis respect jolee but i need confidence that i can get a reasonable stay. As Priority club is constantly checked to make sure services are up to date, it would take alot for me to move away. Personally i spend upto 24 weeks a year on business outside the UK so use the thinking "i fit is not broke dont fix it "
But good luck
let me rephrase, apart from china where i have a company apartment I would use branded serviced apartments. generally elswhere I stay IHG, four season or mandarin
We use short-stay apartments, especially in more expensive locations. This way we are able to self cater and even entertain clients at the residence. They can work out extremely good value and the standard is invariably top notch and reliable.
The are numerous sites available on the web.
Hi, Thanks for all the feedback guys. It's really helped.
What if roomorama started liasing with travel coordinators in various small companies and coming to a compromise with regards to what can be provided if rental was done via us. Hence everytime a booking needs to be done for your travels, the same standard of accommodation which you expect can be provided. Is privacy still the main issue or would you say that you wouldn't find us as reliable because any other short stay/service apartments have already built up a reputation and a brand name. Also, business travellers who travel away from home on a regular basis when staying more than a week or so don't the hotels etc get too impersonal and cold? When that happens would roomorama be a better option?
Lastly, Do let me know if any of your companies/individual travellers are willing to try it though. Thanks
Hey africahomesteads, I checked out your website. It has a very similar concept to ours. Are you guys trying to break into the business travel industry as well?
Well for traveling to South Africa, Johannesburg, we have for you a great serviced apartment, with certainty and consistency. Managed bij owner, So always high standard quality. We can offer schort stay rentals or long stay rental. We are situated nearby Johannesburg, close the major busines parks (Sandton).
Look on www.thatch22.webs.com
second to jasonr01, as a frequent traveler will prefer to have the luxury and comfort of home after a long day at work. Frasers Hospitality is one of the serviced apartment that i always go to, they do have high quality rooms and services.
We know, from own e xperience as business travelers, that you like to have the luxury and comfort of home after a lond day at work. So that is why we have Thatch22!
Mostly I search for hotels online, meaning I'm searching for example "Hotels in London" or other city, so that I visit their main sites, not sites that are aggregators of this kind of places. But they're sometimes useful too, as they provide reviews from users, pictures, description and so on. When I was recently looking for a place to stay in london, I visited this site which provided me with search for venues for hire in london (and you can see it here)
Hi jolee1309, I am a small business owner and travel frequently to London and Paris for business. I normally book my own accomodation ...and now I always prefer going with Frasers Hospitality for extended stay apartments. They have properties in many countries and have a lot of promotions also..service is impeccable and the staff is very well trained..I am now a true believer of staying in serviced apartments and so far am a big fan of Frasers Hospitality..even for my family vacation I prefer serviced apartments as that lets the whole family be together
http://www.frasershospitality.com/
I run a small business and we have corporate deal with Starwood. I make a lot of use of Hotel services, business, laundry, room service etc and very often arrive or deparrt at very odd hours due to airline schedules so a full service property with a rate deal makes economic sense.
Looks good but looking at the destinations I visit (hope to visit) and using the refine option, I see they do not offer the amenities and services I like. Some places offer some of the services, such as A/C, wifi, porterage to name a few. Hence my preference for 5* chains or properties.
I'll certainly keep the page bookmarked and maybe one day use the site. Great concept though for those not as demanding as I am!
Hello Jolee 1309
I'm used to travel at Eurppean countries and somtimes to asian one's.
i usally arrange my self via internet, i makes search on Google (business travel guide or business tourism directory) and i choose the most efficient website's means the first results on google, last time when looking for congres cneter in Australia i foud alla that i needed in ths adress www.bedouk.com which contains a lot of information about congress centers in this countries and others
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