Dream Hotel Group has become the latest hotel company to raise commissions for travel advisors booking group travel in the wake of decisions by Marriott and Hilton to cut them. The hotel group, which includes the Dream Hotels, Time Hotels and Unscripted Hotels brands, has announced it is now offering a 12 percent commission for qualified groups and meetings that are booked and actualized in 2018. The offer is available to conference and event organizers, third-party meeting planners and group travel agents now through December 31, 2018.
“In a time where travel agents and meeting planners seem underappreciated, we want to remind them that Dream Hotel Group is here, and we love their business,” said Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein in a written statement. “We recognize and value the important role our intermediary partners play in attracting business and group bookings to our hotels.”
Participating Dream Hotel Group locations include:
- Dream Hotels
- Dream Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA
- Dream Downtown in New York, NY
- Dream Midtown in New York, NY
- Dream South Beach in Miami, FL
- Dream Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand
- Time Hotels
- The Time New York in New York, NY
- The Time Nyack in Nyack, NY
- Unscripted Hotels
- Unscripted Durham in Durham, NC
Reservations must be booked and actualized by December 31, 2018 with a minimum of 10 rooms on the peak, the hotel group said. The offer is not valid for any business previously booked or consumed and is subject to availability, cancellation or extension at any time.
The move follows decisions by two major hotel companies to cut group commissions to seven percent. On March 31 Marriott International, which became the largest hotel company in the world following its merger with Starwood, put into effect its commission cut from 10 to 7 percent at its properties in the United States and Canada. Last month, competitor Hilton followed suit with its own 10 percent to 7 percent commission cut, which will take effect October 1 at its properties in the United States and Canada.
The commission cuts have drawn broad criticism from travel industry leaders, with executives at organizations such as the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and Travel Leaders arguing that the decisions downplay the value travel agents bring the the group booking process.
At the same time, the moves by Hilton and Marriott have prompted other hotel groups to offer temporary group commission increases, such as this one. Eden Roc Miami Beach, Nobu Hotel Miami Beach and Nobu Hotel Los Cabos have all increased their group commission from 10 percent to 12 percent on newly contracted groups that book a minimum of 10 rooms per night now through December 31, for travel anytime. In February, shortly after Marriott announced its decision, a representative from Wyndham Hotel Group also told our sister publication, Travel Agent, that the plan was to hold its group commissions steady, “with no plans to adjust in the near future.”
This story originally appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.
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