Dive Brief:

• Choice Hotels International will integrate Groups360’s GroupSync instant booking solution across its global portfolio in 2023, the company announced on Wednesday. 
• The hotel brand’s properties will integrate GroupSync, which offers real-time best-available group rates and inventory to meeting and event organizers, allowing them to shop and book event space and group guest rooms online. 
• Choice Hotels follows suit with other major hotel brands, including Marriott and IHG, using the technology to simplify the request for proposal process, increase direct bookings and optimize group booking revenue.

Dive Insight:

Major hotel brands want technology that can facilitate more efficient small group bookings as room rates and occupancy continue to recover from pandemic-era levels, according to Kemp Gallineau, CEO at Groups360. 

That’s where GroupSync comes in. The technology is designed to drive revenue and time savings at hotel properties — capturing small group bookings online at all hours. 

When hotels integrate GroupSync, event planners can view guaranteed rates and availability at any time of the day and book through online instantly — reducing the booking process from weeks to minutes, according to Choice Hotels. 

Once integrated by Choice Hotels, GroupSync will be utilized at an estimated 20,000 properties across various brands, Gallineau said. Other hotel groups using the technology include Marriott International, InterContinental Hotel Group and international organizations such as Accor and U.K.-based Premier Inn.

According to a Groups360 case study with Premier Inn, the hotel saw that 85% of all of its meeting and event bookings were made through its website using GroupSync technology. The hotel’s meeting room revenue also saw a “steep” increase, according to the case study. 

Gallineau said consumer perception around online group booking is changing. Event organizers booking between nine and 25 rooms with one to three spaces, for example, “feel very comfortable” booking online, he said. 

“But once you get bigger than that, the consumer confidence is not there yet,” he said. “Our industry has just started to make progress on it.” 

As consumer confidence in online booking grows, Gallineau said GroupSync will eventually be able to accommodate larger, more complex groups. Currently, planners of large events can view inventory availability before submitting an RFP, which has simplified the process.