Rate Assurance

Substantial savings—no matter when travelers book.

With proven airfare savings of 3% and hotel savings of 2%, on average, you’ll enjoy peace of mind knowing that regardless of when travelers book, your organization will receive the best rates.

Effortless savings: Utilizing data-driven machine learning, we intelligently monitor fares and rates, automatically rebooking flights and hotels whenever prices drop.

Zero disruption. Everything is done in the background, so your travelers never have to worry. Whether booking online or with a travel advisor, itineraries will be automatically updated to reflect new confirmation numbers and lower prices.

ROI insights and reporting: Track your savings through Value Summary on your travel manager dashboard. Monitor transaction-level savings from online and travel advisor bookings in real-time.

1. Travelers book flights and hotels using their current booking process.

2. Rate Assurance leverages machine learning to intelligently monitor prices up until flight check-in or 12 hours before departure and until the cancelation policy takes effect for hotels.

3. Christopherson rebooks like-for-like airline tickets and hotel rooms as soon as lower rates with the same terms become available, saving you both time and money.

   • Airfare: Same carrier, itinerary, cabin class, and seat type

   • Hotel: Same property, room and bed selections, and amenities

4. Relax and enjoy. There’s nothing the travel manager needs to do, and travelers get the experience they expect. No surprises—just savings.

What is Rate Assurance?

Our Rate Assurance solution turns airfare and hotel rate volatility into substantial savings and help you to increase your company’s return on travel investment. Over the last decade, price fluctuations have become more prominent as airlines and hotels use dynamic pricing technology and complex algorithms to react to shifts in demand.

Our automated, data-driven solution intelligently monitors fares and rates, and automatically rebooks flights and hotels whenever prices drop. And since it’s all done in the background, your costs optimize themselves without disrupting your travelers — no sudden glitches in the traveler experience, no headaches for you.

How much can I expect to save?

Every travel program is different and therefore can expect unique savings amounts. However, we have found on average our clients save up to 3% on their air spend and up to 2% of their hotel spend.

What are net savings?

All rebookings we find provide net savings. Net savings are the total amount of savings returned to our customers. This is the amount of savings after all airline fees, hotel fees, and any TMC service fees are considered.

When are itineraries reshopped and rebooked?

We monitor rates and fares within and outside the void window and up until flight check-in or 12 hours before departure for air and until the cancelation policy takes effect for hotels.

How many bookings are actually rebooked?

The savings we find are representative of a relatively low amount of rebookings.

6.4% of air bookings are rebooked at a lower rate. Of those, ~75% are for savings of $100 or more. 43% are rebooked for $500 or more in savings. For hotel, 8.5% of all bookings are rebooked at a lower rate and 63% of those are for savings of $100 or greater.

What happens if a traveler receives an upgrade or pays for a seat?

If your traveler gets upgraded by the airline or hotel, or pays for a seat to the airline directly, the reservation is excluded from being reshopped.

If a customer only books the most restrictive lowest fares and rates, is there an opportunity for Rate Assurance to find them savings?

Travelers and agents will book the lowest airfare and hotel rates based upon your travel policy at the time of booking. So, while the price may have been the lowest at the time of booking, Rate Assurance finds the lowest fare post booking. Exceptions to this would be: Airfare under $100, low-cost carrier instant purchase fares, American Airlines, pre-paid hotels, and bookings made within 24 hours of travel.

Can non-refundable fares be reshopped?

Yes, in the U.S. market. There are opportunities for savings on refundable as well as non-refundable fares inside and outside the void window. For example, a nonrefundable ticket purchased at $600 USD with a $200 dollar penalty may have post void window potential for savings if the price drops below $400 USD.

How is the traveler notified?

Travelers will generally receive a notification via their email or online booking tool as they would if any other type of change were made to their reservation.

If changes are made outside of the GDS what happens?

We do not monitor and rebook changes made outside of the GDS. Any upgrades, modifications, or changes made directly with the vendor will exclude the itinerary from being reshopped.

Can I customize the Rate Assurance program for my company?

For the initial release of our Rate Assurance program we are not allowing any company-by-company customizations. If you have concerns or cannot use the Rate Assurance program without specific customizations, please talk with your account manager. We are using this time to gather feedback from our customers to better understand what customizations are required for the most successful program.

What does “like-for-like savings” mean for air bookings?

“Like-for-like savings” are savings found from lower fares for the same itinerary, airline, cabin, and fare refund-ability, without disruption to the traveler.

What is, on average, the savings found in the void window versus outside the void window?

48% to 52% are found within the void window on average.

What happens to the seat when using automatic rebook?

+98% of the time the same seat is assigned. For the remaining percentage, the same seat type is booked in the same cabin class.

What is excluded from the air reshop search?

Instant purchase carriers, fares less than $100 (or equivalent in local currency), bookings made less than 12 hours before departure, low-cost carriers, American Airlines, upgrades or changes made directly with the vendor, and non-GDS content.

Does Rate Assurance ever find savings in a lower cabin?

No, Rate Assurance will only search for lower fares in the same cabin. We want to keep your travelers where they want to be.

Does Rate Assurance find savings on non-refundable tickets?

Yes, within the void window and on changeable tickets in the US.

What does “Like-for-like savings” mean for hotel rebookings?

“Like-for-like savings” are savings found from lower fares for the same room type, amenities, cancel policy, and meals provided as in the original rate.

What is excluded from the hotel reshop search?

Pre-paid rates, bookings made less than 48 hours before check in, and any upgrades on room type or amenities made directly with the hotel.

Does the system shop only in the booked property, or among some wider set as well?

Not currently, however, shopping for alternative hotels is on our roadmap. The plan is to allow an automated reach out to the travelers to request their approval for those more disruptive deals. Clients that want to go beyond like-for-like would be able to set up the policy of which types of deals would require traveler approval vs. which would be automatically rebooked.

Will there be any chance of hotel rebookings within the cancellation window that would create charges to the client?

No, we want to find savings for our clients, not create charges.