Technology for groups: Helping hotels
seamlessly manage group business

Group business is a source of revenue hotels cannot do without, yet managing groups often involves higher operational costs and demands more attention from staff than transient guests.

From handling dozens of check-ins simultaneously to managing rooming lists and unpredictable group charges, it’s close to impossible to host a group seamlessly without the help of technology. 

To handle this complexity and simplify processes, hotels can leverage tools designed specifically for group management. In this article, we’ll take a bird-eye view of the group traveler journey, exploring how technology can help attract, delight, and nurture group business, improve operations, and create memorable guest experiences.

Attracting group business 

Group marketing and sales is an art, requiring the joint efforts of sales, marketing, and revenue management. With the right technology, these teams can effectively work towards a shared goal of attracting more group business.  

Hotel website

A dedicated “Groups & Events” page on your website is a simple but effective way to attract group business. This page should highlight your unique selling points—what types of groups and events you cater to and why your hotel is the ideal choice. Basic elements to include are room features, pictures of facilities, such as pools and meeting spaces, testimonials from past groups, F&B options, and an FAQ section about the booking process. The goal is to attract the right event planners while filtering out those who may not be a fit.

One critical feature of this page is the request for proposal (RFP) form, which can be downloaded or completed online. Typically submitted by event planners, corporate travel managers, tournament organizers, and production companies, the RFP provides details like the number and type of rooms, length of stay, required food and beverage, and facility services. Based on the RFP, your hotel can respond with a tailored proposal. Additionally, it’s wise to include a general contact form for prospective groups that aren’t quite ready to submit an RFP but want more information about your offerings.

For instance, Marriott dedicates a section of its website to groups and events, with RFP forms prominently displayed on each page. Even if you don’t create individual pages for each group type, a clearly visible RFP form is an effective lead generation tool.

Booking engine

Speaking of your website, one of the most important components is your online booking engine. Depending on the group, members may want to book their own room separately, for example a wedding. In this scenario, the bride and groom may provide a unique booking code for guests to use when visiting your website. 

With these codes, guests can easily book their room within the reserved block through your website at the pre-arranged rate. You can also offer group rate plans for shoulder dates, allowing guests to extend their stay before or after the event. The integration between the booking engine and your PMS allows for real-time updates and adjustments to be made available directly from the PMS dashboard.

During Compass, Cloudbeds’ quarterly product webinar, Andre Sovgir, Senior Director, Product showcased how this feature can be leveraged in our system.

CRM

A CRM (customer relationship management) system allows you to categorize different types of contacts—such as event planners, corporate travel managers, or wedding organizers—and craft targeted email campaigns for each segment. These campaigns could range from cold outreach to new contacts, follow-ups to leads, or stay-in-touch emails for past clients. 

By integrating the contact form on your Groups & Events page with the CRM, you can automatically create new entries and follow up with leads more effectively. This ensures that no potential business slips through the cracks.

Event software

When you receive an RFP, you’re moving from marketing to sales. Event software will help manage this phase and boost conversion rates. Key features include:  

Managing RFPs. An RFP management solution integrates with various sales channels (website, OTAs, GDS, event planning websites) consolidating RFPs in one dashboard. This makes it easier to compare RFPs for similar dates, automate responses, request missing information, and generate performance reports. You can manage RFPs either through your event software or a dedicated solution.

Crafting proposals. A well-crafted proposal is more than a price quote—it’s a sales tool. Done correctly, it can boost conversion rates and speed up the booking process by providing all necessary details.

Generating banquet event orders (BEOs). After securing a contract for a group event, the BEO becomes the central document. It outlines everything from dates and locations to the F&B menu, AV equipment, and event space setup. Integrating event software with your PMS will complete the view of the contract with accommodation arrangements. 

Revenue management system

It’s impossible to conduct group sales without synergy between the revenue manager and sales team. To propose the correct rate, a displacement analysis can be performed which evaluates total potential revenue from F&B, activities, AV, and meeting spaces. 

During the quoting process, the revenue management system (RMS) helps revenue managers determine profitable rates and maximize conversion opportunities. Integration with your CRM, PMS, or event software provides even deeper insights for data-driven decisions.

Delighting groups

Next is the challenge of ensuring a smooth arrival, in-stay, and check-out experience for groups while limiting the stress on your team. 

Room allotments & room blocks

A simple way to improve a group’s experience is by assigning rooms close together. A property management system with group functionality allows you to select specific units, not just room types, ensuring groups stay close together in the best possible location. This approach not only improves the group’s experience but also reduces disruption to other guests and simplifies coordination for the maintenance and housekeeping teams.

Digital check-in

Imagine a large wedding arriving all at once, leading to congestion at the front desk while other guests wait in frustration, starting their vacation off on the wrong foot. Digital check-in can help make the process more efficient for everyone. 

Guests can upload documents online before arrival, minimizing the need for front-desk interactions. By providing digital room keys, you can allow guests to bypass the front desk entirely. This also provides an opportunity for them to upgrade their room, book a visit to the spa, or make a reservation at the hotel restaurant prior to arrival. 

For hotels, this results in ancillary revenue, reduces congestion at the front desk, and makes it easier to collect guest information ahead of time, including arrival time, preferred communication methods, and more. 

Guest messaging

Groups often require more attention and communication than individual travelers, and keeping everything organized can be a challenge. Many hotels assign an on-site coordinator as the main point of contact for the group, but this alone may not be enough to manage the flow of questions and requests. 

A guest engagement software solution that consolidates multiple messaging channels—such as SMS, WhatsApp, email, and social media—into one centralized inbox can simplify communication for both the hotel staff and group members. AI-powered translation tools enable communication in the guest’s preferred language, while integration with housekeeping software helps organize tickets, tasks, inspections, and workflows.

Housekeeping & maintenance

Groups often require extra attention from housekeeping and maintenance. A housekeeping software solution will help you get organized and coordinate: 

• Preventive maintenance inspections before the group arrives 
• Cleaning schedules around group activities, to minimize disruptions 
• Extra checks of shared spaces near the block, as larger groups may cause more wear
• Inspections of additional spaces, such as conference rooms and banquet halls.

Group invoicing

Presenting the group with an accurate invoice on departure day is essential to a positive guest experience. With groups, it may be more difficult to keep all in check, though, as they tend to spend more on food, beverages, and amenities. 

An integrated payment system with a group folio functionality will help you manage payments seamlessly. Typically, with transient guests, an integrated payment system consolidates all transactions—such as room nights, restaurant orders, and spa charges, etc.—into a single reservation folio, together with payment methods, outstanding balance, refunds due, and reservation data from the PMS. 

Group folios, however, allow you to easily split charges between the group account (e.g., rooms and dinners) and individual guests (e.g., drinks, room service), providing a detailed breakdown of all expenses.

Nurturing groups

If groups have a fantastic experience, it’s likely that individuals will return the next time they’re in town, or event planners will choose your hotel as their annual spot. Regardless, hoteliers should take advantage of loyalty and remarketing efforts to keep guests coming back. 

Reputation management

Shortly after the group’s departure, while their experience is still fresh, use your guest engagement tool to send a personalized thank-you email or text, including a survey link to gather feedback. 

Once reviews are submitted, a reputation management tool can help you respond promptly, using AI to craft personalized replies, whether thanking guests for positive feedback or addressing concerns. This approach demonstrates that you value your guests’ opinions and helps your team make improvements for future group stays.

CRM

Groups are a fantastic way to fuel your marketing activities and attract more opportunities. By integrating your CRM with the PMS, you can leverage a wealth of information—preferences regarding room type or additional services such as dining, spa, or activities. This allows you to target the same event planners for future group bookings, as well as individual guests for potential transient stays, with personalized promotions and offers.

Reporting & analytics

After the group departs, it’s time to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative data from their stay. A business intelligence platform, integrated with the PMS, can provide insights like: 

• Preferred room types and any special requests
• Group spending on services not covered in the contract
• Utilization of meeting spaces included in the contract
• Total average revenue generated by each group guest
• A profitability assessment to determine if your displacement analysis was accurate

These insights can help refine pricing strategies, optimize space allocation, and enhance targeted marketing efforts for similar groups in the future.

How Cloudbeds helps hotels manage groups  

Managing groups requires a different approach than managing transient guests, and your hospitality software should reflect that. At Cloudbeds, we’re continually adding new functionalities to our group modules and expanding integrations with partners like Event Temple to help hoteliers attract, serve, and delight groups. 

Check out our latest product update webinar, where we introduced several new features designed specifically for group bookings, such as allotment blocks, shoulder date management, rooming lists, and options for room upgrades and upsells.