Hotel contracts whitepaper

The Problem

Corporate hotel programs have reached a critical threshold where rising travel volumes have significantly outpaced the capabilities of traditional management processes. Christopherson Business Travel recognized that travel managers are increasingly trapped in manual workflows and lack the visibility required to control costs or ensure rate integrity.

As the lead researcher for this project, my role was to design and execute a study that provided the data-driven evidence necessary to bridge this disconnect between executive mandates and program performance. My research was essential for creating the foundational insights used in Christopherson's newest marketing collateral. The resulting whitepaper is a strategic asset designed to drive new customer acquisition and encourage the adoption of Christopherson’s modern hotel sourcing technology and services by quantifying the financial and administrative impact of maintaining the travel manager status quo.

Process

• Internal study sent to 3,000 of Christopherson's travel manager clients (~100 responses)

• External survey sent to a manually-screened selection of participants sourced using a third-party survey panel

• Internal and external data aggregated, analyzed, and summarized

Findings

• The research revealed that manual administrative burdens, such as reservation changes and contract management, are the primary obstacles to program efficiency

• 45% of organizations require external support for rate auditing, and 41% struggle with rate re-shopping, leading to significant missed savings

• More than one in three organizations operate without active hotel agreements, while 20% of those with contracts never review them

• Over half of the respondents reported frequent or occasional traveler payment issues, highlighting the need for improved payment technology integrations

Results

The final white paper, titled "The Hotel Program Wake-up Call", serves as a cornerstone thought leadership piece for Christopherson. It provides a clear directive for travel leaders to transition toward a proactive management model supported by automation, ongoing audits, and strategic expertise.

The publication successfully establishes a roadmap for achieving measurable savings while positioning Christopherson’s proprietary technologies as the primary solution. By requiring a lead-capture interface for access, the report serves as a high-conversion tool for new customer acquisition attracting qualified prospects interested in program modernization.

My Role

I was responsible for the end-to-end design and execution of the study that formed the basis of the whitepaper. My role involved architecting the research methodology, managing the internal and external survey tools, and analyzing complex data sets from the respondents to identify the key insights that formed the basis of the whitepaper.

I also synthesized the raw findings into a narrative structure that supported Christopherson’s marketing objectives. By identifying critical industry friction points, I ensured the research provided a compelling business case for the adoption of their newest technology and services.