The shift is a welcome change not just for traditional travel planners (think meetings, weddings and events) but also travel managers, particularly those in infrastructure-centric fields like construction and logistics, whose crews need to spend weeks if not months on the job, often with as little as 24-hour’s notice.

Through GroupSync, travel planners and managers can browse real-time rates and availability at participating hotels and directly book 10 to 50 rooms without needing to contact the hotel or engage in a traditional RFP—saving valuable time. Meeting space for events can also be booked at hotels when needed and where available.

“We’re always looking for new ways to make it simpler and easier for clients to do business with Wyndham,” said Angie Gadwood, SVP Global Sales, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “Whether it’s a family reunion, a youth sports tournament or a three-month-long bridge repair project—GroupSync makes it simple for groups to find the right hotel at the right price and book on the spot.”

“Wyndham is one of the world’s leading hospitality companies and their portfolio is unique in that it represents key property categories that expand GroupSync’s Instant Booking inventory,” said Kemp Gallineau, CEO, Groups360. “In bringing their U.S. portfolio on board, we’re able to deliver a broader, more robust, more inclusive offering—one that’s better equipped to meet the needs of all travel planners and managers.”

Wyndham’s collaboration with Groups360 is the latest in a list of efforts to help its hotels tap into a multi-year, infrastructure-related travel boom and what it believes is a ~$3.3 billion revenue opportunity for franchisees. Last year, the Company expanded its Global Sales force by 25% and more recently, deployed new tools to help sellers better identify and capture infrastructure-related opportunities for franchisees.

Groups360 and GroupSync are also a part of Wyndham’s innovative Wyndham Business program which, through a suite of tools and resources, aims to help make business travel easier for all. The program caters to small and mid-size business owners, travel advisors, travel buyers, meeting planners and more—all while offering discounted rates and exclusive perks.

The majority of Wyndham hotels in the U.S. are anticipated to be available for instant booking on GroupSync this week with the last remaining hotels expected to go live before end of month.

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GroupSync

GroupSync now provides on-demand booking for event organizers to arrange group guest rooms and meeting space with ease.

GroupSync solutions deliver greater efficiency for travel organizers and hoteliers alike. Using the GroupSync Marketplace, travel organizers have access to enhanced global search capabilities, hotel group inventory and rates, and a choice of purchasing methods that include both instant booking and a simplified RFP process through the platform.

“We take great pride in being leaders and innovators in the meetings and events industry, so we were eager to explore the opportunity to adopt paradigm-shifting technology destined to change the way hotels have been booking groups,” said Peter Palli, chief commercial officer for Omni Hotels & Resorts. “This technology provides an on-demand booking option for planners who seek to book a small room block and meeting space with ease and confidence. Our goal is to always provide an unforgettable experience, and our partnership with Groups360 allows us to continue to focus on what matters most to our customers as we further elevate our brand’s offerings for this vital business demographic.”

“Omni is the first brand to offer instant booking for group guest rooms and event spaces in a single online transaction through the GroupSync platform. Now, meeting planners and other event organizers can access real-time availability and group rates to book guest rooms, meeting space or both, food and beverage, and audio-visual equipment,” said Kemp Gallineau, CEO for Groups360. “Omni’s innovation will significantly benefit its staff and their customers by automating group bookings, allowing more time to focus on those things that create a great experience.”

Meeting planners and event organizers can visit groups360.com to access the GroupSync platform at no cost.

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“We are excited to partner with TFE Hotels — who operates leading hotel brands including A by Adina, Adina Apartment Hotels, Quincy Melbourne, Vibe Hotels, Rendezvous and Travelodge Hotels across Australia and New Zealand and Adina Hotels in Europe,” said Steven Hopkinson, SVP of Sales for EMEA & APAC for Groups360. “GroupSync will provide key technology tools to enhance TFE’s ability to package and market unique guest experiences such as staycations, or room and amenity packages to both guests and businesses wanting to offer the gift of memorable experiences.”

TFE is scheduled to launch their voucher system in early November.

“We are dedicated to creating unforgettable experiences for our guests and this platform will allow for a more seamless customer journey,” said TFE Hotels’ Director of Revenue, Marit Connell. “Investing in technology that automates and simplifies packaging and voucher-giving allows us to focus on delivering world-class customer service and experiences.”

GroupSync Optimize allows TFE Hotels to capture immediate income by selling vouchers and gift certificates to corporate and leisure guests who book rooms, F&B, amenities and wedding packages through a hotel-branded website. Voucher redemption is easily trackable, making accounting simple for both the hotel and guests.

Groups360 was created with a singular goal — to empower meeting planners by bringing innovation, transparency and simplicity to the decades-old problem of booking groups. The company’s integrated technology solution, GroupSync, enables suppliers to distribute inventory, engage with planners and guests, and optimize hotel revenue. GroupSync also equips event planners to search and shop hotels worldwide, to book rooms and space directly, online, or through a simplified RFP process. GroupSync is the first distribution channel to offer online booking for both group hotel rooms and meeting space.

TFE Hotels is an international hospitality owner and operator with a diverse portfolio of hotels, serviced residences and apartment hotels including A by Adina, Adina, Vibe Hotels, Quincy, Travelodge Hotels, Rendezvous and Collection by TFE Hotels. Properties are located in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and New Zealand.

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Groups360 today announced the release of new product enhancements to GroupSync, the most trusted online marketplace for sourcing and booking hotel rooms and meeting space across a wide selection of brands. Among these enhancements are redesigned menus and navigation to improve the user experience and a quick search feature for planners who have preselected their preferred hotels.

“The new menu structure is just one example of how GroupSync evolves rapidly in response to meeting planners’ needs to provide a modern and delightful user experience unlike the rigid and archaic experience of legacy systems,” said Christian Oliver, senior vice president, product, Groups360. “We’ve also added features like a property selector, which streamlines the workflow for hoteliers and boosts staff productivity. This release is the first of many that will bring exciting new capabilities to the platform.

GroupSync developers moved navigation from the top of the screen to the left side to facilitate additional options and features to be announced soon. The existing dashboard has been simplified to showcase a Filter option. The filter defaults to showing all existing events but gives meeting planners the choice to view an event in a given phase of the sourcing process.

For planners who know exactly where they’re going, GroupSync also offers Quick Search. With GroupSync Quick Search, planners provide travel dates, room count and destination, and the app pulls up their preferred hotels, which makes it even easier for planners to send an RFP within minutes. GroupSync will still suggest that planners provide more information about their event in order to receive our recommendations on destinations and venues that fit their programs.

“Visionary product solutions for both planners and suppliers are key to achieving our mission to simplify the process of booking groups for everyone,” said Kemp Gallineau, CEO, Groups360. “Every improvement and new feature added to GroupSync demonstrates our commitment to developing the most powerful solutions that will power the recovery and transformation of the meetings and events industry.”

Other improvements to GroupSync include the ability to display monetary rates in multiple currencies, as well as the ability for additional hotel users to receive notifications of RFP leads and new instant bookings.

GroupSync now has 198,667 searchable RFP-connected hotels worldwide, 5,419 hotels with instant group booking, and 925,025 guest rooms available for instant booking. Groups360 is on target to have at least 20,000 hotels integrated for instant group booking by the end of 2021.

GroupSync is available at no cost to qualified meeting planners.

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