When Laura Hughes found herself regularly travelling to a customer’s office to better understand how their people were booking accommodation, she wasn’t thinking about awards, she was trying to solve a problem.
The customer was experiencing ‘booking leakage’. Employees weren’t consistently using the customer’s preferred accommodation programme and, like many organisations, there wasn’t one obvious reason why.
Rather than relying solely on reports and data, Laura spent time onsite with the customer. She spoke to travellers, listened to feedback and took the time to understand how people were actually making booking decisions.
What she discovered was simple. Some of the accommodation options available through the programme didn’t fully meet the needs of the people using them. So, Laura visited hotels herself, reviewed alternative options and worked with the customer’s team to introduce properties that better reflected what travellers were looking for.
The result was a significant increase in programme engagement, improved traveller satisfaction and stronger visibility for the customer.
If you ask Laura what great account management looks like, she’ll tell you part of it may be about reports, contracts and bookings. But it just as importantly comes down to listening to people and building relationships. And being willing to roll your sleeves up and get involved when customers need support.
Over the years, Laura has become known for exactly that approach. Whether that’s stepping in to umpire a rounders match at a customer’s sports day, dressing up as Cheryl Cole to help judge a client talent competition, supporting events on-site or simply making herself available when challenges arise, Laura approaches every opportunity with the same mindset.
If something matters to the customer, it matters to Laura. It’s one of the reasons HTS customers trust her so deeply, and why she has become a valued extension of many of the teams she supports.
That same commitment runs through everything she does. Whether she’s helping improve programme performance, supporting colleagues, managing complex projects or finding solutions to unexpected problems, Laura consistently looks for ways to make life easier for the people around her.
Her shortlist for Shining Star of the Year recognises the relationships she builds, the trust she creates and the willingness she shows to go above and beyond for customers and her colleagues.
We’re incredibly proud to see Laura recognised alongside some of the industry’s most talented professionals and look forward to celebrating with her in September.
Learn more about our accommodation services.
This page gives you an overview of HTS’s accommodation services.
