+
Tulane University’s
Hotel Revenue Program
Kelly Venable Carroll, Tulane University
Larry Handel, Campus Travel Management
+ How do you generate a new stream of
visitor, parent and alumni revenue for
your institution?

In the next 12 months, thousands of highly motivated
prospective students and their families will be traveling to
your institution in order to view, tour and evaluate facilities,
faculty and learning environment.

In the eyes of the travel industry, this makes you not just a
client, but a destination, with the potential to generate sales.
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If it is your campus that is the destination, your travelers that
are the visitors and your institution that is funding the event,
why is it not your campus that is financially benefiting from
the sale?
+ Examples of university driven
incoming travel:

Prospective Students & their Families

Parents Weekend

University Sponsored/Hosted Conferences & Groups

Alumni Reunions & Homecoming

Commencement

Move-in / Move-out

Athletic events

Admissions events
+ Why is this so valuable to hotels?

Volume

Concentration of volume
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Motivation of traveler

Year round nature

Repeat business

Extended Stay potential

Ancillary community benefits

Collaborative potential
+ How much will it cost my school?

No cost to campus/school. Vendor (local hotel) payment
for one-time set up fee + $75 -$100 per month covers
expenses

Technology supplied by Amadeus Travel Agency GDS
System; Administration outsourced to CTM;
implementation is turnkey.

In lieu of dollars, University provides easy website access
to visitors from home page, plus upper management
policy directing campus travelers and departments to
preferred hotels

Of the approximately10% commission paid by hotel, 80%
is transferred to campus and/or consortia with 20%
retained by CTM to cover cost of processing. Full 10% if
commission paid is direct.
+ Additional benefit-Campus as buyer


Increased visitor volume assists Purchasing in
improving contract terms/conditions, and bringing
down university cost

Increased volume reduces nightly cost

Increased volume also improves contract terms, reduces penalties

Customer service, Amenities, Facilitated conflict resolution
Increased visitor volume assists with transparency,
accountability and due diligence

Administration needs to know with whom it is dealing

It also needs to know the source of the transaction

Periodic reports which document all transactions conducted
through the portal provides a paper trail
+ Examples of visitors paid with school
funds

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Trustees
Board Meetings
Speakers
Consultants
Part-time or special needs groups
Visiting Dignitaries and/or Faculty
Department Head interviews
Recruitment
+ Let’s recap—Why should we do this?

New stream of unrestricted
revenue at a time when budgets
are tight and internal resources
strained
P-card purchases

Pre-negotiated net rates stay
the same

No cost or risk; program is
self-financed

Documentation identifying
nature of traveler and event

Overcoming challenge of a
decentralized, non-mandated,
department-driven environment

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More volume to fewer vendors
Making use of what works;
rethinking and improving what
doesn’t---Streamlined
management; faster, cheaper,
better

Building an asset where others
see only an expense

The power of pooling,
collaboration

Vendor transparency, leveled
playing field

Paper trail for direct bill and/or
+ Who does what in this partnership?


University/School/Campus
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Co-hosts on-campus presentation to local hotels
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Provides intuitive visitor website linking from home page
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Removes obsolete and/or outmoded local hotel pages
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Policy and procedures, department outreach
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Regular outreach with and to lodging partners
Campus Travel Management
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Creates local hotel website page listing participating properties
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Assists with campus marketing and website linking
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Provides technology for reservations & transaction reporting
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Collects and distributes revenue (where applicable)
+
How is Tulane reaching out to &
marketing its lodging partners?
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Dedicated webpage for hotels and B&Bs

Hotel Expo
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Section in new student and parent
orientation guides, as well as University
Services brochure that goes to all new
students
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Annual hotel and B&B site visits
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Grass roots campaign to university
departments & events—Alumni, Business
& Law Schools, Commencement,
Admissions, Student Affairs
+
Taking it to the next level…

Annual Hotel Expo--alternating campuses
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Progressive hotel tours
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Welcome kits for Tulane visitors at the hotel check-in
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Hotels, on-campus food service provider, and summer
conferences working together
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Staff retreat locations
+
Questions?

Kelly Venable Carroll, kvc@tulane.edu or (504) 247-1122

Larry Handel, larry@campustravel.com or (410) 267-0866