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Premier Inn Owner Whitbread Wants a Closer Relationship With Corporate Travel Agents

Patrick Whyte
Hub by Premier Inn

Photo Credit: The reception at a Hub by Premier Inn property. Whitbread wants a closer relationship with corporate travel agents. Whitbread

Skift Take

In a tougher operating environment, it makes sense to look at new ways to attract more business. Whitbread has been one of the few hotel chains to totally ignore online travel agents in the past. Now it's signaling a change in strategy at least for corporate customers.

UK-based hospitality company Whitbread has prioritized direct booking channels over any other form of distribution in recent times but is its approach to travel agents about to change? The Premier Inn-owner gets 97 percent of its UK bookings direct — something other global chains can only dream about — and the number in its nascent German business is even higher at 100 percent – admittedly, it has only three hotels, but it’s a start. Those sky-high percentages might be on the way down, however, according to

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