Group travel didn’t disappear — it just became too difficult to handle
A few years ago, group bookings were standard business for many travel agencies.
Today, many have simply stopped offering them.
Not because there is no demand. But because the process has become inefficient, slow, and unreliable.
What actually happens when agencies try to book groups today
A typical situation:
- Request is sent to a hotel
- Days pass before a response comes back
- The offer arrives incomplete
And then the real work begins.
The reality of group offers from hotels
What agencies receive is often:
- unclear pricing (net vs. gross not obvious)
- missing VAT information
- no clear payment terms
- unclear cancellation policies
- room categories not properly defined
Sometimes:
- contracts are 30–40 pages long
- key conditions are hidden in fine print
Every question costs time
When something is unclear:
- agency asks the hotel
- waits 1–2 days
- gets partial answers
- asks again
This loop repeats.
What should take 24 hours takes 1–2 weeks
In many cases:
- Monday: request is sent
- Friday next week: still not finalized
Meanwhile:
- client is waiting
- prices are moving
- availability changes
Why this problem is getting worse
This is not coincidence.
It’s structural.
Hotels have reduced group departments
Due to staff shortages:
- many hotels downsized group teams
- some removed them completely
Result:
- group requests have lower priority
- response times increase
- quality decreases
The consequence for travel agencies
Many agencies made a decision:
“Group business is not worth the effort anymore.”
So they stopped offering it.
But the demand is still there
- events
- sports travel
- corporate groups
- leisure groups
The business did not disappear.
The process broke.
Where SETT changes the game
SETT does not rely on traditional RFP processes.
We work differently.
Direct digital access instead of slow back-and-forth
Instead of waiting for hotel replies:
- we access availability digitally
- we work with connected inventory
- we see real pricing structures
This removes:
- waiting time
- unclear offers
- incomplete information
Structured offers instead of chaos
You don’t receive:
- fragmented hotel replies
- unclear PDFs
- long contracts without context
You receive:
- structured options
- comparable pricing
- clear conditions
Speed becomes your advantage again
What used to take:
- 1–2 weeks
Can now be handled in:
- 24–48 hours
Why this matters for your business
If you can:
- respond faster
- give clear offers
- avoid back-and-forth
You win more group business.
Group travel becomes viable again
SETT doesn’t just help you book groups.
It makes group business efficient again.