Cape Town - A business-ready accommodation booking platform, WorkTripper.co.za, was launched this week.
It is part of the TravelGround Group, which includes leisure travel sites TravelGround.com and LekkeSlaap.co.za.
Marketing manager Claire Butterfield explains that business doesn’t stop when you’re out of office. The digital pace has picked-up and competition is more aggressive.
"There’s little time for chilling out and once checked into a hotel or guest house, catching up on emails after a day at a conference, working late into the night on a pitch or WeTransferring a proposal for the next day’s presentation are the norm," she explains.
"If the Wi-Fi is non-existent, or there aren’t enough two-pronged plugs to charge mobile devices, it can turn an otherwise happy stay into a headache, and impact productivity and performance.”
Built for business, WorkTripper helps travellers find and book accommodation that offers flexible cancellation policies and negotiated rates of up to 40% less exclusively for business travellers. Users are also rewarded in TripCoins and earn 5% back on every booking made.
Its 12 000 establishments are also given a WorkSmart accreditation rating if they have Wi-Fi, secure parking, offer breakfast, are of a high quality and are serviced daily.
Establishments with a WorkSmart rating and positive user feedback are automatically recommended as the best places to book for a traveller’s trip.
“We know that sometimes flights get delayed and traffic comes to a stand-still so we have a real person on call to help users check-in after hours, on weekends and public holidays if they have a problem, instead of directing them to fill in a form which we’ll respond to later,” says Butterfield.
The platform is free to use and requires no contracts, subscriptions or minimum booking requirements.