WorkTripper: Putting business-ready accommodation bookings to the test

I suppose it was only a matter of time before an online booking platform dedicated to business travel saw the light of day in SA. In May 2017, we got word of the new business-ready accommodation booking platform, WorkTripper. As we get to deal with many business travellers, attend events ourselves and often stay out of town for the sake of work, I wanted to put the platform to the test: what sets it apart from other online booking platforms and is it really that well suited to the needs of business travellers?

So I got on the platform and went through all the steps, all the way through to booking a stay at Fernwood Manor Boutique B&B with a business-ready rating of nine out of ten (review coming soon).

At first glance, the platform presents itself like any other online booking system: Where are you going, when are you going, and how long are you going for? Once you’ve covered the basics, however, you are pulled through to a collection of rated-for-business establishments and lots of it. Not surprising as, while still new, the platform boasts more than 12,000 places to stay covering all the popular and busy business hubs in the country – from Cape Town to Polokwane and almost everything in between.

Working smart

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, there is a host of filters that will help you distinguish between what you want and what you need, with the business-ready metre at the side of every establishment. Besides the regular filters, such as sorting listings by price, grading, type, and facilities, it’s the business-ready filter that will be your greatest friend if you mean business.

WorkTripper further makes use of a WorkSmart ranking system which means any establishment that scores greater than eight out of ten on the WorkSmart meter gets a WorkSmart badge of approval – look out for it! WorkSmart approval is based on criteria such as Wi-Fi, a flexible cancellation policy, if breakfast is available, secure parking, and reviews from other travellers rating them as three or more stars out of five – the more business features the establishments has, the higher it’s rated, the most likely it will meet all your requirements.

“Business travellers can, therefore, select which features are important to them on their trip and book accordingly,” says WorkTripper Marketing Manager, Claire Butterfield.

For TMCs and business travellers alike

Lending itself to the business travel industry even more, is the fact that you can book on behalf of someone else, making it an easy tool to use for travel management companies (TMCs). TMCs looking to cut down on costs or cost-conscious business travellers will welcome the fact that they can book accommodation at negotiated rates of up to 40% less for work trips. Travellers can also earn 5% of their spend back in TripCoins if they leave a review – which, as TripAdvisor has proven, can make or break an establishment.

The platform is free to use and requires no contracts, subscriptions, or minimum booking requirements. Making a booking and payments are straightforward and user-friendly. Usually, that’s where it ends… but WorkTripper takes you all the way to the front door and then checks in with you after you've left while also putting one of their humans at your disposal – tech with a human touch is never amiss.

You’ll get email and SMS notifications in the week leading up to your stay. Instead of being bothersome, it’s actually reassuring to know that everything is still going according to plan, leaving you to worry about your business proposal, presentation, or meeting.

So, is it really that well suited to the needs of business travellers? In short, yes - it works and it works well. It is built for business.