Organising corporate travel is no easy task, requiring the highest quality, often at short notice. Bringing a clarity to complex systems, ehotel AG has been a pioneer when it comes to keeping business travellers on track. It’s no surprise that this hardworking team has won the award for Germany’s Best Hotel Booking Platform for Business Travellers – 2020 in this year’s Corporate Excellence awards. We take a closer look in this month’s issue of Corporate Vision to find out more.

For the last nineteen years, ehotel has been a one-stop-shop for all business travellers. Directly targeted at corporate users, it’s no surprise that they have become increasingly adept at handling the varied and specific requests that these travellers make of their bookers. Their continued success, however, demonstrates clearly how the  approach that the team has taken is paying off.

At the heart of ehotel is something more potent than its rivals. Not   content with targeting the business user, the team make use of sophisticated meta search technology in order to deliver the widest range of accommodation possible, combined with impressive rates. There are almost seven million offers available on the site, with six hundred reservation systems, processed and presented through ehotel in a clear and understandable way. Finding a service that is able to present this much information with such ease is truly exceptional and the reason why using ehotel is not just a sure-fire way to discover a great night’s sleep, but it’s a way in which costs can be reduced and employee satisfaction increased.

The company’s commitment to innovation does not end there, with the proprietary central payment and billing solution making the challenges of invoicing easy. All the systems at ehotel are designed to work together, meaning that the best rates, manage payment and correct VAT invoicing can all be found in one place. Needless to say, the automation    of this process has delighted accounts teams across the world, saving them time and improving the adoption rate of company internal booking procedures and travel policy.

Of course, the perpetual challenge for business users is that of VAT – ehotel has worked tirelessly to improve and integrate the problems of reclaiming this into its billing solution. Currently,  corporate  customers are able to get an invoice with separate VAT in 22 European countries, and this can be reclaimed by ehotel on behalf of their clients. The next phase of this project will see the same principles being applied to the USA, with plans already afoot for this endeavour.

Hotels are able to feel the benefit of ehotel’s exciting approach to the industry. For those accommodations looking to secure additional sales and a higher occupancy rate, ehotel is well equipped to recommend and put in place systems that will keep business travellers coming back for more.

ehotel also find ways in which these hotels can better serve the needs of business travellers. This is just another way in which the travellers and the hotel are able to benefit from the considerable experience that ehotel has to offer. A reduced ehotel corporate rate allows hotels to access flexible booking conditions, as well as free extra services. Making use of all of the opportunities that ehotel presents couldn’t be simpler,  with independent hotels having direct and easy access to its ehotel extranet, thus enabling them to control their own data and availability. For those organisations that boast a GDS connection such as DHISCO, Pegasus UltraDirect or Amadeus, it is incredibly easy to make a property visible on ehotel at the touch of a button.

Serving the business traveller means that the team at ehotel must find and uphold the highest data security standards possible. The team has adapted quickly to ensure that each of their clients is not only safe and comfortable, but feels it too. This process has been the same since the beginning of the company, when ehotel  used  traditional  methods to communicate with customers and hotels. Nowadays, the business boasts a unique and certified security mechanism, PCI-DSS certification in order to guarantee the ultimate in data security. Trust has always been paramount to the success of ehotel, and the team has worked hard to ensure that it continues to have an impressive level of goodwill.

At the heart of the ehotel model is the ability to provide hotel bookings and related services in its totality for business customers, and this comes right back to the formidable amount of experience that its talented team possesses. The once-innovative WAP technology of 2000 saw the beginning of the company, transforming into the business’s integrated payment and settlement solution in 2006. Constantly looking forward to the next big development is just one of the factors that has guided the company into new and exciting territory. This continual drive is how the business has been not only able to innovate, but to grow into the world’s largest hotel content holder. The corporate culture encourages the innovative and entrepreneurial activities of its employees, which benefits the company and its users in equal measure.

For those who work at ehotel, the importance of an entrepreneurial attitude has given the company an impressive amount of flexibility in the way that it operates. There are always opportunities available for those who have ideas that can be implemented to the betterment of the company. New innovations and suggestions from the team are treated with equal importance, assessed by risk management and ultimately all will play a part in influencing the decision-making process. Success can be found when a new project is positively introduced.

Currently, ehotel has its eyes on the future, with its growth causing constant work to ensure that its systems are operating at peak efficiency. The need to close the last system gaps for companies in travel booking in order to offer a complete digital cycle has become ever more pressing and is a priority for the coming months. Similarly, the team has generated exciting plans that will ehotel take its place as an aggregator in hotel distribution. This will create considerable savings potential for companies who use the new ehotel digital processes, especially when it comes to travel expense accounting and hotel services.

In all, it’s no surprise that the team at ehotel have managed to achieve great things. The commitment to entrepreneurial innovation is to their credit and has allowed them to advance swiftly in changing times. Secure, safe and carefully targeted at the business traveller who wants something done easily, swiftly and effectively, the reasons behind ehotel’s success are clear. This award is just another amazing achievement for an amazing company.

Contact: Christoph Metz

Website: www.ehotelag.com