Gary Hurst is founder & CEO of corporate accommodation platform mysa
Back in 2017, an article by Business Travel News asked whether annual hotel RFPs were nearing the end of their useful life. Eight years later, and after many discussions with buyers and hotels alike, it’s hard not to feel the industry is still circling the same question – if not stuck in the same loop.
Despite remarkable advances in automation, AI, and real-time analytics across nearly every other sector, hotel sourcing in corporate travel remains curiously immune to meaningful evolution.
And yet, it’s not for lack of awareness. If anything, the problems are well documented. But as we’ve seen, recognition alone rarely drives change.
The paradox of satisfaction
In 2017, a GBTA study found that 66 per cent of travel managers were “satisfied” with the RFP process. But satisfaction, in this context, may have simply meant acceptance. It’s often easier to stick with the system you know, however inefficient, than to try and change one that’s widely entrenched, fragmented and interdependent.
At the time, industry experts noted that true disruption typically comes not from dissatisfaction, but from urgency or pain. And while discomfort around the hotel RFP has grown louder, it hasn’t yet reached the kind of acute tipping point we’ve seen in other parts of the business travel ecosystem.
What’s still holding us back?
Many of the same structural and technological challenges from 2017 remain front and centre today.
Fragmentation of supply: the hotel landscape continues to be vast, layered and decentralised. Unlike the airline industry, the accommodation sector spans multiple brands, owners, operators and platforms. Creating consistent procurement models within that framework is difficult, and technology alone won’t simplify it.
Legacy data practices: buyers are still asked to make decisions based on historical averages while forecasting demand in a world that’s anything but predictable. In most programmes, data lives in silos or spreadsheets, disconnected from live performance and traveller behaviour. As a result, rate negotiations are often based more on assumption than analysis.
Slow tech integration: the technology capable of transforming hotel procurement already exists, but widespread adoption lags. Many platforms offer powerful features, but integration across systems, workflows and teams is inconsistent. It's not that the tools aren’t there, it’s that they’re not being fully used.
A shift that’s finally real?
The emergence of AI-driven procurement models is finally creating space for change, not because it’s trendy, but because the alternative is becoming unsustainable.
Modern platforms are now combining multiple capabilities – automated admin, predictive analytics, rate benchmarking and real-time property data – to replace what was once a rigid, year-long cycle with something far more responsive.
This isn’t just about doing things faster; it’s about doing them better. Advanced analytics turn data into live insight, not just reports. Intelligent negotiation tools augment the role of procurement teams rather than replace it. And smarter rate strategies balance flexibility with forecastability - like dynamic discounts with clear caps and real-time auditability.
From process to strategy
Perhaps the biggest shift isn’t technological, but philosophical. Hotel procurement doesn’t have to be an administrative cycle – it can be a strategic function that drives value, strengthens partnerships and responds to traveller needs in real time.
That kind of evolution will take more than new tools. It will require new mindsets, new workflows and a willingness to let go of legacy norms that no longer serve us.
So, will the annual hotel RFP ever end? Maybe not completely. For some programmes, the structure and predictability of an annual cycle still make sense. But for many others, we’re reaching a clear inflection point. The question isn’t whether change is possible – it’s whether we’re ready to embrace it.