As the year draws to a close and employees break for their holidays, travel managers prepare travel programs and policy for the coming year. As we all know, business travel is crucial to a company's operations, especially in this increasingly borderless world.

Business travel costs were worth at least $1 trillion in 2017, and they're expected to increase to $17 trillion in three years. Now that's a lot of money, and since most companies' objective is to turn a profit, the goal is to find a way to optimize the travel budget and keep costs as manageable as possible.

A big part of doing this is finding quality accommodation at the best prices. In this article, CrewFacilities discusses a few things travel managers ought to expect as they source hotels for their traveling staff.

Dynamic Pricing. Under dynamic pricing, hotel rates change frequently based on seasonal, monthly and weekly fluctuations. It was a topic of interest during this year's Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention, with evidence stating that it's a particularly popular model among hotels and customers. A few perks of this system include the increased potential for multi-year agreements, availability across room types and increased savings through advanced purchase.

Slow But Steady Growth. The hospitality industry can expect a 1-3% growth rate in 2020. Slow, but it's still trudging along. The more technology inclined areas like San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, and San Francisco can expect a higher growth rate. In the event of a slowdown, companies could negotiate for better prices.

Leveraging Travel Spend. The goal is to maximize your travel budget and keep your overheads as low as possible. Leveraging travel spend is a great way to do that. Travel expenses have no immediate return value, but you can leverage your expenses by making sure all your employees' travel data is logged for points, discounts, and awards.