As there is no consensus about a generic term for them (or rather have not heard of any), I have settled for SMD (sales, marketing and distribution) - a boring and highly predictable acronym which is not going to please anyone, but it will have to do for now.

SMD’s they are, as that is what they do - Sales, Marketing and Distribution. How much more they do, how well they do it, and what criteria they have differs from company to company.

To start with, here is a quick look at the Sales services that they offer

UTELL HOTELS & RESORTS - focuses on the TMC’s

• Comprehensive account management of top Travel Management Companies to ensure that member hotels benefit from the same business opportunities as the global hotel chains
• Broad network of regional and national sales to negotiate access to valuable regional and local sources of business

DESIGN - does not give enough detail, but mentions their presence at trade shows

• Membership Services
• Sales & Marketing Services
• Travel Trade Shows

SUPRANATIONAL - strong focus on TMC, corporate RFP’s through Lanyon, sales activities

• Global exposure of the Supranational Hotels portfolio to the travel community; travel agents and the corporate market.
• Centralised RFP submission
• Road shows and sales days

WORLD HOTELS - strong focus on corporate and group business

• Corporate Rate Programmes
• Worldwide Consortia Contracting
• 3 dedicated global group desks working for the meeting product

GREAT HOTELS OF THE WORLD - great focus on the corporate sector

• Consortia and direct-to-corporates GDS sales campaigns
• Meeting and incentive planner sales blitzes
• Individual sales blitzes for member properties

RELAIS & CHATEAUX - focuses on promoting properties at events and shows

• Promotion of properties and the brand on the international level, trade fairs and exhibitions, sales blitzes, showcases and large-scale public events.

LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD - powerful brand name, more focused on marketing

• sales and promotional activities

Independent hotels will benefit the most with an SMD company association, if they take a good look at the service offering and ensure that what the SMD company focuses on, is in the area of interest of the hotel.

Moving on from sales, I will take a look at the Marketing services on offer, but that will have to wait for tomorrow or the weekend.

DISCLAIMER: Information and comments provided here are to provide an overview. It is not meant to indicate the full service offering of these companies in any way.