What Consortia Hotel Programs Do for Travel Advisors

Much has been said about the benefits of travel agencies joining a consortium. The educational opportunities, marketing tools, and buying power all contribute to travel advisor success daily. 

When it comes to booking trip accommodations, consortia have one specific way to help advisors: their hotel programs. If you’ve ever heard your consortium mention “preferred” hotels, this is what they are referring to. 

Travel Market Report spoke with several consortia executives to get a full picture of what hotel programs are, how hotels become “preferred,” and how this benefits travel advisors. 

What Is a Consortia Hotel Program? 

Consortia have preferred partners in all segments of travel: air, cruise, tour – and hotels. Because there are hundreds of thousands of hotels under so many different brands and companies worldwide, most consortia form a program to contain the best picks and properly market them to their agencies. 

It’s not just about marketing, though. Travel advisors are highly encouraged to book through the program to earn the correct commission and add-on perks for their clients. These preferred partner agreements mutually benefit the consortia, suppliers, travel agents, and ultimately, the travelling client.

“At the latest count, there’s between 700,000 and 750,000 hotels in the world, so how would an advisor, even an expert, begin to crack that case? So we want them to look to Signature to be an incredible resource to them,” Jordin Greene, vice president of hotel partnerships at Signature Travel Network, told TMR, “to help them find a handpicked, curated collection of what we know are best in class – the brands and hotels that we know will take wonderful care of their client and support that travel advisor from the booking to pre-arrival to post-arrival.” 

Some consortium programs are wide-ranging, such as TRAVELSAVERS Hotel Program, which has more than 55,000 hotels, from independent boutique properties to large chains. Others are more selective, such as Signature Travel Network’s, which has nearly 1,400 hotels or Virtuoso’s which is at nearly 2,400 hotels in 114 countries and every continent. Each consortium has a different strategy for getting the best crop of hotels in front of their member agencies. 

In a similar vein, though not a standalone consortium model, Internova Travel Group, the parent company of the Travel Leaders Network consortium and host agencies Global Travel Collection and Nexion Travel Group, has three different hotel programs: the Curated Program of about 400 hotels, Internova Select with about 1,700, and Worldwide Program with nearly 50,000 properties.

Hotels typically want to join such hotel programs because it helps pair them with the right agencies and clientele. They’ll negotiate traveler perks exclusively for advisors who book through the program. 

“Hotel companies like these partnerships because they can focus on the segment they need, the advisors they want, and how to grow their business, especially in markets that are coming up,” Albert Herrera, executive vice president of partner relations for Internova Travel Group, told TMR. 

Which Hotels Get Chosen to Be Preferred? 

Consortia accept new entrants into their preferred programs on a hotel-by-hotel basis. They typically assess each property on its own and do not add an entire brand or chain, though there are some exceptions. For example, Internova has all Rosewood and Four Seasons hotels in their program, and Signature has about 10 high luxury brands that always make the cut, such as One&Only, BVLGARI, and Ted Turner Reserves. 

Each consortium has its own process for adding them; for some it’s a biannual application process, while others accept new hotels monthly. All consortia said that the most important factors they look at are location and production. They strongly consider advisor input to ensure there is demand in that area and that the hotel will perform well in the program. “Our network is already selling them. Their clients have already enjoyed them. They have a positive feeling about that particular hotel,” Cory Hagopian, senior vice president of global partnerships at Virtuoso, told TMR. “We’re relying on our network of agencies and advisors in a way to tell us, should we even consider this hotel? And when we get that information, we review it.” 

Virtuoso seeks five references from advisors and their clients who have stayed at the hotel. They also ensure that the hotel pays commissions on time and has adequate travel trade support. All of this gets reviewed at a monthly meeting of its 15-member hotel committee. 

Signature, on the other hand, reviews hotels biannually but generally looks for all the same criteria – demand, advisor recommendation, and strong trade partnership. 

“We want to work with hotel partners who support the travel advisor community and are going to make our advisors look like rock stars to their clients,” Greene said. “By using the hotel program, advisors can really show their value to the client.” 

How Do Hotel Programs Benefit Travel Advisors? 

Consortia hotel programs help travel advisors in three main ways: verifying hotel quality, upping their buying power, and getting their clients the best service and amenities.  

There’s “a sea of clutter out there,” as Herrera put it, and all the work that the consortia do to vet the individual hotels make it so advisors don’t have to, saving them lots of time and energy to find the right hotels. Advisors should look out for their consortium’s onsortia email communications about when new hotels have joined the program and the type of feedback they’re looking for to expand the program. 

Then, once an advisor has booked through the program, the name recognition of the consortium behind them will help their client’s money go further and could ultimately help lead to a smoother stay. “The most important thing is the increased credibility and brand power. For an individual agency, it’s difficult to go and negotiate that on their own,” Samantha Jones, senior vice president of hotel programs at TRAVELSAVERS, told TMR. “The consortium will advocate and lobby when problems arise.” 

When consortia negotiate contracts with new preferred hotels, it’s not necessarily about getting the lowest rate but rather, about getting the best rate with the most included. Travel advisors know that there are certain amenities and features that clients always ask for, and booking through the hotel program can help them score on those.  

There’s a long list of possible perks, including but not limited to: early check-in and late check-out, free breakfast, same-day room upgrades, discounted transfers, and hotel and resort credit.  

Additionally, booking through these programs can help advisors gain higher recognition for their sales in their consortia. This gives advisors sales goals to work toward and helps them build business connections. Signature, for example, hosts a yearly Suite Club top performer trip for their highest-producing agencies – just based on total hotel sales.  

Greene concluded: “These are all great things that are going to help the advisors grow their revenue, grow their business, and improve client retention, loyalty, and satisfaction.”