Ten trends that will affect your 2025 hotel RFP

1. Rates will rise yet again – but less sharply

Following robust growth in 2024, “we are expecting a more subdued 2025 in terms of rate increases,” says Cameron Spence, global hotel practice line lead for American Express Global Business Travel. “For all corporates there is an understanding there will be some growth but the hope is that it will be more reasonable.”

Steve Cuschieri, global travel category manager for Haleon, whose annual hotel programme runs June-May, confirms he is already seeing pricing moderation in his newly commenced cycle. “Last year was really bad for significant increases. I was expecting something similar this time but I have been pleasantly surprised,” he says.

Cuschieri even achieved flat and in a few cases reduced rates in some parts of Europe and the US. “Last year hotels were living on the back of recovery in leisure,” he says. “Corporate volumes have started to recover but I’ve talked to a lot of travel managers who are half holding back again because they don’t have the budgets. That’s relaying back to the hotels, who are being less aggressive. If hotels in our programme are going to put themselves beyond our city cap or outprice themselves in an RFP then they aren’t going to be successful.”

However, BCD Travel managing consultant for hotel spend management Eric Wynton cautions that “in recent meetings with suppliers they are still citing inflation as the key issue. They are struggling to cope with increasing costs: labour, energy, mortgage repayments even. It’s less of a seller’s market but it will still be a tough year for negotiations.”