Hotel & Lodging Strategist – Indirect Procurement (Corporate Travel)

Position Summary

The Hotel & Lodging Strategist – Indirect Procurement (Corporate Travel) is responsible for defining, sourcing, optimizing, and governing the global hotel and lodging program as a core category within Indirect Procurement.

About the Role

This role serves as both the commercial category owner and strategic program lead for all lodging-related services, including transient hotel, extended stay, serviced apartments, and approved alternative accommodations. This role will also lead or participate in sourcing travel & entertainment (T&E) payment and travel management/technology solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Global Lodging Category Strategy

• Develop and own the global lodging category strategy within Indirect Procurement, aligned to enterprise financial targets and corporate travel program objectives.
• Design preferred hotel portfolio strategy across key markets, balancing global chain agreements with local property optimization.
• Define property tiering models, rate cap structures, geographic coverage, and traveler segmentation strategies (e.g., executive, project-based, extended stay).
• Continuously assess hospitality market trends, compression risks, pricing dynamics, and supply-demand conditions to inform proactive sourcing decisions.
• Evaluate and integrate alternative lodging solutions through a structured compliance, safety, and risk framework.

• Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Leadership

• Lead global, regional, and local hotel RFP processes in partnership with Corporate Travel Operations and key stakeholders.
• Negotiate corporate agreements, including static, dynamic, and hybrid rate structures; last-room availability; cancellation terms; and value-added amenities.
• Deliver year-over-year cost savings, cost avoidance, and measurable value realization for the lodging category.
• Drive rate integrity, audit processes, and negotiated rate utilization to reduce leakage and improve compliance.

• Supplier Governance & Performance Management

• Establish supplier governance frameworks including KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, and quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
• Monitor supplier performance related to rate competitiveness, availability compliance, traveler satisfaction, service quality, and sustainability commitments.
• Partner with Legal and Risk to ensure contract compliance, liability protections, data privacy standards, and regulatory adherence.
• Serve as escalation point for strategic supplier issues impacting traveler experience or commercial performance.

• Corporate Travel Program Alignment

• Collaborate with Corporate Travel Operations to ensure seamless integration of negotiated rates into booking channels and traveler-facing platforms.
• Align lodging sourcing strategy with travel policy requirements, rate caps, and booking compliance standards.
• Support traveler communications and change management efforts related to preferred hotel programs and policy updates.
• Provide subject matter expertise for policy updates concerning lodging, extended stay, and alternative accommodations.

• Financial Management & Analytics

• Analyze global lodging spend, average daily rate (ADR), utilization trends, booking channel performance, and market benchmarks.
• Forecast lodging demand in partnership with Finance and FP&A to support budgeting and strategic planning.
• Develop executive-ready dashboards highlighting savings delivery, supplier performance, compliance metrics, and market insights.
• Identify consolidation, demand management, and portfolio optimization opportunities to improve program ROI.

• Risk, Duty of Care & Sustainability

• Integrate duty of care requirements into hotel sourcing criteria, including safety standards, property audits, and crisis response capabilities.
• Partner with Global Security to ensure property-level compliance with enterprise safety expectations.
• Incorporate sustainability objectives into supplier selection, including environmental certifications, carbon reporting capabilities, and ESG commitments.
• Support enterprise ESG reporting related to lodging spend and supplier sustainability performance.

• Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Evaluate emerging lodging distribution models, direct booking integrations, and digital rate optimization tools.
• Champion traveler experience enhancements including loyalty alignment, digital check-in capabilities, amenity optimization, and extended stay solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on traveler feedback, supplier innovation, and performance analytics.
• Identify automation opportunities to improve sourcing efficiency, rate audits, and reporting accuracy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Hospitality, Travel Management, or related field.
• 8–12+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, corporate lodging procurement, or hotel program management.
• Deep expertise in hotel RFP processes, global chain negotiations, rate modeling (static and dynamic), ADR benchmarking, and lodging compliance frameworks.
• Demonstrated success delivering measurable cost savings and supplier performance improvements.
• Strong analytical and financial modeling capability.
• Experience working within a matrixed organization where Corporate Travel operates as part of Indirect Procurement.

Preferred Experience

• MBA or advanced degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Hospitality.
• Procurement certifications (CPSM, CIPS) or hospitality industry certifications.
• Familiarity with hotel sourcing platforms, rate audit tools, and corporate travel technology systems.
• Experience integrating sustainability and ESG priorities into category strategy.