Date R.A. Opened	Customer Name	R.A. #	Hotel Referred	Person Referring	Date Paid
1
2
3
4
5

When the guest brings his receipt to the counter, the CSR keeps the receipt and collects them in a predetermined place.  The salesperson collects the slips, enters them into the log and pays the bellmen.  This can be done in any time frame you choose (daily or weekly) but remember, your competition is out there on a daily basis.  Not paying in a timely manner could cost you the account.  Attached to the log is the slip that the customer brought in.  A cross check between the slips and the log to ensure equal one another.  Referral books may be ordered by faxing the order form located in the back of the section.

Another method is to pay the bellmen as you go to pick up the customer.  Still use the receipt and log system, but now the counter is paying the referrals, usually from a petty cash fund, which may create an added responsibility of cash management.

Automated

With Bluebird you can eliminate the manual log, but you should keep the referral book.  With source referral and agent I.D. you can capture the information at the time of rental and display reports through the interface abilities.  These reports will show which hotels and bellmen referred business to you; however, you will still need to manually account for referral fees paid.

Hosting a Concierge Party

A concierge party is a great way to build loyalty and it can be done without incurring a lot of cost.  One way of doing this is to go to a new restaurant in town and tell them you can bring in a room full of concierges.  They should be very interested in having this group of people visit their establishment.  They are familiar with the business and the concierges can refer the hotel guest to the restaurants.  Restaurants often pick up the entire bill and the concierges have a great time, while Thrifty comes out clearly ahead.

Promoting the Program

The hotel will be of great assistance in promoting this program.  There are a number of ways to go about this.  Hold an "open house" at the hotel for accounts in the area.  Working with the hotel, develop invitations to local businesses inviting the travel decision maker to become familiar with the property.  If possible put a business card in the room and have raffles for free car rental days and nights at a hotel.  An evening like this will get you a lot of leads/business.

Your best opportunity to obtain the support of the sales department is to have a location on-site or offer pick-up service.  The following are a few examples of the type of programs you could develop:

• Look into your local concierge network organization.  You’ll find a network like this in most cities.  A concierge network is a great way to get to know the concierges in your city.  Usually an allied membership fee is quite low.  Check with the concierges at one of the hotels you work with and ask to be invited to the meeting.

• Hotel Sales Department - The hotel sales staff becomes an extension of your own efforts.  When you start working with hotels internally, the challenge is not so much in finding a hotel to work with you, as it is finding the right fit for both parties.  Finding a hotel that has the right location and clientele is critical to the success of your sales efforts.  (They are soliciting clientele with many similarities to the same companies that have a car rental need.)  The hotel can open doors for you to companies which they have developed relationships with.  You may also be able to "piggy back" their mailings and proposals for little or no cost.

• You may want to begin with a hotel with which Thrifty is already a partner with such as Hilton with the HHonors Program, or Holiday Inn with our government program.  A brochure or flier should be developed as part of their sales presentation.  You may offer a special rate for the hotel accounts, a local corporate program, multiple billing options, on-site car rental, pick up or delivery or many other services.

• Car/Room Packages - A car/room package is when you bundle the car and hotel rate into one rate.  There can be different programs for leisure or corporate packages.  To offer a corporate package determine the rate you will offer and how the billing is done.  For example if you offer a $99.00 package rate plus taxes the split may be $32.00 for the car and $67.00 for the room, but the customer just sees $99.00

Let’s walk through an example of how the transaction could work.  The customer checks in at the front desk with a car/room package of $99.00 on the hotel’s check-in form.  They go through the normal check-in procedures for the room, then go to the car rental counter where a rental agreement is opened with a credit card or billing number, but no dollar amount except for fuel, PDW, etc.  The hotel collects payment at check out and you bill the hotel for the car rental.

Group Business

If the hotels you work with have sizable meeting spaces, they probably have a program designed to attract meeting planners to their property.  We will discuss this issue in further detail in the Meetings and Conventions section of the reference guide.

Generally in hotels, the groups contacted are through companies (small meetings) and are the same contacts as for their commercial business.  Be sure you address this area with the hotel’s sales department.

Signage and Phones

Regardless of whether you’re on-site or not, the more exposure you can get, the more business you will get.  Direct line phones provide an opportunity to not only get exposure, but are a convenient way for guests to make a reservation.  There may be several other opportunities to get exposure in the rooms, such as:

• Tent cards
• Direct in-room dial to your location
• An ad in the guest directory
• A message on the check-out screen on the television
• Any exposure in the lobby or front desk area

Usually if the property has a local sales reservation center, you need to be on-site to have them promote car rental.  Generally, what they can do is ask a customer who calls if he/she will need a car rental.  This is where you will book the packages, because it is the phone number most likely advertised.  Do promotions and hold contests with the reservation center.  Get them involved and excited about your products and services and you will see more business.

Shuttle Buses

Many hotels offer shuttle rides from the airport to the property.  Look into an opportunity to provide vans to the hotels on a permanent or temporary basis for shuttle transportation.

Trade Outs

A trade out is when you allow the use of one of your vehicles for something in return.  The most common example is to use a trade out as rent for your on-site car rental location.  When you get the general manager of a hotel in your vehicle, you get his/her support.  When you have the support of the general manager, you have the support of the entire hotel, but you do have to work at it.  Attend manager and employee meetings, get involved.  Donate free car rentals for their annual gatherings.  Don’t be misled that just because you have a location in a hotel, you are getting all of the business from that hotel.  On many occasions, sales reps have gone into hotels while our competitors are in the lobby and paid the front desk or concierges referral fees.

Hotel Promotion Ideas

There are several ways to work with hotels in your area to increase business.  Take a look at some of the examples provided that other Thrifty locations have used in the past.  Think about how you can implement them into your own market.

Also included is an example of the hotel referral confirmation with an order form for the booklets.

Prev      Home      Next