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Roomex offers additional support service and discounts to help companies get back on the road, with peace of mind

We’ll help you back on the road again. COVID-19 impacted nearly every level of our lives. As we begin to emerge from our homes as restrictions lift, we face a different reality – one often filled with many questions and fears both from a personal and a business perspective.   The team at Roomex has reviewed and reshaped our platform and service to be ready to help you safely get back on the road and drive your business forward. Peace of mind Hotels are putting in place many operational changes to ensure guest safety. They have introduced new, relevant food and beverage options and implemented new hygiene measures – all highlighted within your platform. Our travel experts have up to date information on what hotels are open and all changes within their service.  We will also carry out a pre check-in phone call to the hotel on your behalf to ensure the hotel is ready and waiting for you.  The Duty of Care feature within your portal has been updated to give you more information on all employee’s past, present, and future trips. Travel Experts Our Travel experts are ready to assist you with all your questions on hotel operations including their new hygiene policies and we will offer recommendations for safe travelling.  We will help manage every aspect of your trip, including sourcing, negotiating, and managing accommodation and meeting rooms for Special Request bookings such as group, project and long-stay bookings.  Whilst on the road or before your trip contact us through live chat, email or by phone. We can provide bespoke reports on your costs, savings, or employee travel history when you need them. Free travel policy consultation we are here to advise you with and help you to create a companywide travel policy for your staff. 3. Cost and time savings when we all need it The savings we can bring you on cost, time and policy compliance cannot be beaten we have used this time to negotiate even greater discounts for you, to help your company get back on the road. Thousands of new, relevant, and safe properties have been added to your platform, including budget apartments and suite-style properties, giving you access to even more discounted room options. New discounts you will find within your platform 205 new, exclusive Roomex Rates across UK & Ireland. 148,000 new hotels added in locations around the world with industry high savings through SaverPlus 4. Dedicated travel expert to recommend and assist you in this transition  Our travel experts are ready to assist you with any questions on hotel operations including their new hygiene policies and recommendations for safe travelling. We will help manage every aspect of your trip, including sourcing, negotiating, and managing rooms, group bookings and meeting rooms that best suit your needs saving you time and money. While on the road or before your trip, contact us through live chat, email or by phone. We can also provide bespoke reports on your costs, savings, or employee travel history when you need them. We’re offering travel policy consultations – book a free, 30 minute call with us to create a company-wide travel policy for your staff. 5. Increased credit payment periods and expense management solutions to decrease pressure  We’ve extended credit payment periods to 21 days to reduce pressure on you as you start travelling again, just ask our travel expert on how to apply. RoomexPay, our new prepaid expense card will eliminate expense management for you and gives you full visibility and control of all in-trip spend while ensuring employees never pay out of pocket and stay safe by using contactless payment. Ask our travel experts how to apply for a card. If you’d like more information on how Roomex can help you get back on the road – get in touch here, or reach out to your account manager. 

How do I create a great travel policy for my business?

Roomex recently joined top travel buyers and suppliers from Ireland and Britain who gathered in Dublin to participate in the inaugural Irish edition of the Buying Business Travel Forum. The event was billed as a half-day session for everyone responsible for controlling business travel expenditure and the discussion was frank and informative throughout. Travel managers from several multinational companies were on hand to share their thoughts on the creation and implementation of corporate travel policy. The over-riding theme of the day, how to successfully implement a corporate travel policy, was discussed in depth. Here’s what you need to know   TL;DR An effective travel policy revolves around the 3 C’s: Culture, Communication, and Compliance. Tailoring policies to company culture is crucial, whether through gamification or strict guidelines. Aim for over 90% compliance to ensure traceability and control. Communication involves listening to local staff for input and using clear language for better adherence. Ownership of the policy varies, but HR’s involvement is key for managing morale and ensuring effective implementation.   But first, why should a company have a travel policy? Spending on business travel is likely to exceed 2019 pre-pandemic levels this year. This makes it all the more important that companies like yours have a robust, effective travel policy in place. But what are the benefits? Easier expense management. Control costs, ensure budget compliance, and provide spending transparency. A reduction in unnecessary travel: A policy will clarify which trips are likely to be approved to help you optimise resources, minimise time away from work, and stay in line with long-term sustainability goals. Fulfil your duty of care obligations: to protect employees’ safety, health, and well-being during travel by identifying and addressing potential risks and ensuring preparedness for emergencies. Company-wide consistency: A travel policy establishes uniform guidelines, promoting fairness and equity among employees. Greater efficiency: A travel policy helps streamline travel processes, simplifying booking, approval, and reimbursement. Enhanced brand reputation: Having an effective, clearly defined travel policy demonstrates corporate responsibility and professionalism to your stakeholders.     The three C’s: The heart of an effective travel policy Perhaps the answer to the question of how to create an effective travel policy best lies in focusing on the well-established, 3C’s concept, Culture, Communication and Compliance. All three are interdependent and critical to consider throughout the creation, implementation and operation of travel policy. Let’s break it down. Concept: Different policies work in different companies, or different types of companies. For a modern hi-tech company then gamification of the travel policy might work. On the other hand, more established or traditional companies may have stricter policies which they insist be followed, purposely making anything booked outside of policy difficult to claim on expenses. Compliance: It was commonly accepted that companies of all types should be striving for greater than 90% compliance with company travel policy. Booking outside of policy should be the absolute exception, and for good reason, but even this spend should be traceable. It is extremely important for overall visibility, billing, control and future contract negotiation, that as much spend as possible complies with policy.   Communication: All travel planners present agreed that implementing travel policy correctly involved listening to the concerns of staff on the ground, particularly in different cultures and countries. By showing that the local staff have the ability to input into policy formulation then the actual communication of the final policy becomes much easier. Frustration was expressed by some delegates that language such as should and may is too inexact and leads to doubts which in turn leads to non-compliance. Better to be bold and insist that things are followed by using must. Buy-in on travel policy is required at the highest level of management but also throughout the ranks. Leakage from the policy will occur if the policy isn’t flexible, realistic, achievable and monitored. The role of the PA and administrative staff was stressed as being particularly important as they often have their finger on the pulse of habits that may be difficult to change if not considered in the policy.   Who should own the company travel policy? Is it Procurement, HR, Finance or a combination of departments? While there was no real consensus on that, the general feeling was the role of HR is critical. Travel is a soft issue that can have big consequences in terms of morale if not handled properly and for that reason it probably fits best if it becomes part of the HR function.   What makes a good travel policy? There are a few elements that all good travel policies will include. The list below is by no means exhaustive, of course, but it’s a great start in terms of how you need to approach the diverse aspects of business travel. Expense budgets: Clearly define per diem costs for food and lodging to ensure transparency and fiscal responsibility. Approved booking platforms: Specify platforms for booking services like hotels to uphold security and compatibility standards. Travel insurance coverage: Ensure comprehensive coverage for traveler safety and financial protection, with clear details on carriers and contact information. Preferred suppliers: Designate suppliers your employees should book through based on partnerships, discounts, or safety/hygiene standards to streamline bookings. Procurement for ad-hoc costs: Anticipate and accommodate miscellaneous travel expenses like Wi-Fi, company phone, and other essentials.   What are the responsibilities of the employer for business travel? Workforce travellers are still your employees when they are on the road. So, as their employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure duty of care and effective risk management for business travel. This involves implementing robust safety protocols to minimise travel risks, facilitating seamless travel arrangements, and enforcing clear expense management guidelines. Maintaining open communication channels enables a swift response to emergencies, while strict adherence to laws and regulations ensures compliance.     Summing up In conclusion, a well-crafted travel policy is essential for any business. It ensures easier expense management, less unnecessary travel, and helps you fulfil your duty of care obligations towards employees. By focusing..

Roomex Partners with Weston Analytics to Enable Seamless Data Integration

The partnership will save hours of manual work for Roomex and Fatigue360 customers  Dublin, Ireland 13 March 2023 Roomex, the leading provider of workforce hotel booking and management software, announced today a new partnership with Weston Analytics, a provider of solutions and data-driven insights to the rail, construction and infrastructure industry. The partnership will allow customers to import Roomex’s hotel booking data into Weston Analytics’ flagship fatigue management product, Fatigue360.   Fatigue360 is a cloud-based platform that uses advanced algorithms and techniques to optimise crew schedules, ensuring that working crews have the necessary rest periods to perform at their best. By importing hotel booking data from Roomex into Fatigue360, Weston Analytics will be able to accurately track workers journeys and locations. Accommodation location is a key component of fatigue calculations. Roomex provides a comprehensive hotel booking and management solution for companies, with a database of over 1.2 million hotels worldwide. The integration of Roomex’s data into Fatigue360 will allow Weston Analytics clients to factor in crew hotel locations and preferences when creating schedules, improving the overall accuracy of the platform and helping to mitigate fatigue “We are excited to partner with Weston Analytics to save time and money for our customers in the construction, rail and infrastructure industries,” said Garry Moroney, CEO of Roomex. “Our hotel booking platform is a natural partner to the best-in-class wellbeing tracking of Fatigue360.” Our partnership with Roomex and the integration into our end-to-end fatigue risk management and job planning tool, Fatigue360, further enhances our offer to our clients. said Philip Clifford-Brown, Managing Director of Weston Analytics. Our clients can now plan and manage their worksite teams and make more accurate predictions about team availability and preferences, which will enable them to create more efficient and effective team schedules. The integration of Roomex data into Fatigue360 is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2023. For more information about Roomex, visit http://www.roomex.com. For more information about Weston Analytics, visit http://www.westonanalytics.com. Media Contact: Barry Aldworth Marketing Communications Manager barry.aldworth@roomex.com

New research reveals business travel landscape in 2023

The survey from Roomex shows business travel and in-person events are likely to increase.   64% of travel managers say bookings will increase. 41% plan to book a large meeting or event. 40% say accommodation prices are a challenge. Just 9% are planning to report on sustainability.   New research from Roomex, the leading workforce travel technology platform, has revealed that 64% of business travel managers expect their travel booking activity to increase in 2023. Of that figure, 23% expect their business’s travel bookings to increase substantially (i.e. by more than 30%). Only 3% expect their booking activity to decrease. The finding is positive news for hotels and business travel providers, pointing to the continued recovery of the workforce travel industry following the COVID slump of the past three years.  Also encouraging is the finding that 41% of travel managers expect to book at least one in-person meeting or event for 10 or more people, suggesting that in-person events are back on the agenda for many businesses. Nevertheless, 23% responded that there would be no large-scale in-person meeting in the year ahead.  While 2022 showed strong signs of recovery across the travel industry, external factors created a number of challenges for travel managers during the year, with some of these expected to carry on into 2023. Hotel prices remain the number one concern for travel managers, with 31% of travel managers highlighting this as a challenge for 2023. Accommodation availability followed, with 27% of travel managers acknowledging that this factor will cause headaches in the year ahead. These issues can largely be resolved by using a specialist accommodation booking platform like Roomex. By negotiating exclusive rates with hotels, Roomex is able to provide hotel prices that can’t be found anywhere else. In addition to exclusive rates, just one search on Roomex checks over 1.2 million hotels from 35 sources ensuring you have access to the widest available selection of workforce hotels. Reflecting a growing trend towards employee wellbeing, traveller satisfaction has grown in importance for travel managers, from 11% last year up to 20% in 2023. With this rising importance, having a tool like Roomex’s live Duty of Care map makes it easy to keep track of where your workers are staying at any time, letting you take care of your staff while they’re on the road and ensure high traveller satisfaction. The rising cost of living has impacted the business travel industry as well, adding uncertainty to business travel planning, with 59% stating they are unsure as to how rising costs will affect their booking activity.  Garry Moroney, CEO of Roomex, said: Rising costs and a renewed focus on traveller satisfaction mean that travel managers need a flexible, efficient, and innovative solution to keep up with their organisation’s travel requirements.  Roomex is the all-in-one travel and expenses platform built for businesses with a mobile workforce. Roomex helps you book, manage, pay and analyze all of your accommodation, rail and expenses in one place – saving both time and money. Research based on a survey of 104 travel managers from 24 industries in the UK. 

Roomex Acquired by FLEETCOR

Deal Extends FLEETCOR’s Workforce Lodging Business to International Markets Dublin Oct. 21, 2022 FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FLT), a leading global business payments company, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Roomex, a European workforce lodging provider serving the UK and German markets. The acquisition extends FLEETCOR®’s U.S. workforce lodging business to Europe and provides a platform for further international expansion. The transaction is expected to close in November.   Roomex, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has 600 workforce business customers who have stayed in approximately 50,000 hotels. Roomex serves businesses of all sizes by providing a travel and expenses management solution, specifically designed for businesses with a large mobile workforce. The deal to bring the business into the FLEETCOR Group will fuel growth into new markets for Roomex, which currently operates in Ireland, the UK and Germany, alongside continued enhancement of its booking and payments software. The acquisition by FLEETCOR follows a previous Series A fundraising round in 2018 which saw Roomex raise 8m. The business was most recently recognised at the Business Travel Awards Europe 2022, being shortlisted in the Accommodation Innovation and Payments & Expenses categories. FLEETCOR’s existing lodging business books tens of millions of hotel room nights annually across a network of 45,000 hotel properties primarily in the U.S. The lodging solutions provide customers with savings, specialized controls and consolidated invoices. Roomex gives us a very similar workforce lodging business in Europe. It provides us a base of operations, expertise and a hotel network from which we can build out the lodging business across Europe while leveraging the significant client base we already have there, said Ron Clarke, chairman and chief executive officer, FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. We are thrilled to join the FLEETCOR team. FLEETCOR’s distribution scale, payment solutions and client relationships will enable Roomex to expand its product offering and accelerate our sales growth, said Garry Moroney, CEO of Roomex. About ROOMEX Roomex is the all-in-one travel and expenses platform built for businesses with a mobile workforce. Roomex helps you book, manage, pay and analyze all of your accommodation, rail and expenses in one place – saving both time and money. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices in London, and Munich, Roomex is on a mission to make workforce travel and spend management as seamless and cost-effective as possible. Learn more at http://www.roomex.com. Roomex was advised by Strata Technology Partners LLP, as corporate finance advisors, and Maples Group as legal counsel.  About FLEETCOR® FLEETCOR Technologies (NYSE: FLT) is a leading global business payments company that helps businesses spend less by providing innovative solutions that enable and control expense-related purchasing and payment processes. The FLEETCOR portfolio of brands automate, secure, digitize and manage payment transactions on behalf of businesses across more than 100 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit http://www.FLEETCOR.com. ### Contacts Barry Aldworth Barry.aldworth@roomex.com

Compliance Enforcement Number One Booking Challenge Post-Pandemic

How do you keep your traveling workforce compliant? This is the question that 60% of organizations are currently facing.     According to a recent survey carried out by the Global Business Travel Association in partnership with Roomex, policy compliance ranks as the number one booking challenge faced by travel managers. This was followed by traveler satisfaction and keeping track of all employees on the road.    This survey compiled data from 154 GBTA member travel managers, who were all asked various questions about their organization’s project-based business travel in a post-pandemic environment. This data helps to show the major challenges that organizations are facing today as they get back on the road and quantify the benefits of switching to a modern solution for travel and expense management.  Among the results are interesting findings such as how organizations are booking their project travel and what organizations see as the most crucial factors when making project travel bookings. These findings point to the growing importance of a feature-rich travel tech solution combining typical accommodation and expenses features with Duty of Care and analytics. Roomex was built with the workforce travel manager in mind, offering an end-to-end solution to save time and money when booking business travel. To find out more about how Roomex can improve your travel booking process, click here. You can find all the survey’s findings in the infographic below.        If you’re looking for a trusted all-in-one solution for workforce travel and expense management, visit Roomex to find out more. 

Coffee Break Chat with Clare Dillon, Financial Controller

Clare Dillon is the Financial Controller at Roomex. Originally from Limerick, Clare moved to Dublin a few years ago and she brings more than just her professional qualifications and experience to the job. As a fully-fledged Triathlon athlete, enthusiasm, endurance and speed of thought and deed are other attributes Clare finds useful in the office.

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