Business travelers used to be the cash cows of the hotel business. Armed with corporate credit cards and expense accounts, they'd happily lay down hundreds of dollars per night for the privilege of a Godiva chocolate on their pillow and a sunken whirlpool tub in their bathroom. But just as prolonged corporate belt tightening has forced road warriors to use budget airlines, more and more of them are now eschewing five-star lodging in favor of cheaper accommodations. Indeed, earlier this year the U.S.-based National Business Travel Association released figures showing that 61 percent of corporate travel managers planned to book their people into lower-priced hotels in the coming year.
Here's the good news: penny-pinching is translating into better deals at cheap and up-market hotels alike. Services at middle-market hotels are rising to accommodate a new wave of more demanding corporate customers. And luxury hotels are working harder to keep business travelers coming, offering lower rates, special packages and extra services. Even though business-travel volume is set to rise by more than 4 percent in 2004 after three dismal years, hotels will continue to be under pressure ----in large part because a weak dollar is forcing American business travelers to search for value.
Some of the best deals are coming from the big chains. In January, Starwood Hotels announced it would upgrade it global middle-market brand. Four Points, by rolling out free high-speed wireless Internet access in all guest rooms. On the flip side, upscale brands like Inter Continental and Ritz Carlton are selling empty rooms at discount rates via online services. That has the effect of depressing luxury-room prices, because corporate travel managers can now demand that hotels match their own discount prices all the time. Inter Continental hotels in France and Germany have been hit so hard that they are actually repricing their rooms to reflect rates before the dollar began falling. Upscale hotels like Waldorf-Astoria, Sofitel are also trying to offer extra services.
But beware of new, hidden fees. In an effort to make up some of their lost revenue, hotels are starting to charge corporate travelers for things that used to be free ——including breakfast, banquet or meeting rooms.
Aside from saving companies money, the trend in frugal business travel may give rise to a whole new market segment: the buy-to-let hotel room. Last week in London, British property developer Johnny Sandelson launched Guestlnvest, a hotel in Notting Hill where users can purchase a room for £235,000, use it for a maximum of 52 nights a year themselves, then rent it out the rest of the time to make extra money. It seems an idea whose time has come: Guestlnvest says it has already fielded hundreds of calls from business people interested in making a cheaper hotel their second home.
1. According to the passage, business travelers used to（ ）.
2. How do hotels react to the penny-pinching policy?
3. Travelers can now demand hotels to match their own prices because（ ）.
4. Compared with traditional hotels, the buy-to let hotel（ ）.
