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“We needed a better way to move faster and support our team.”
The problem
The Challenge: Manual Hotel Bookings Were Slowing the Team Down
Before Engine, Veriha’s lodging booking process was manual and time-consuming. Managing reservations for drivers required extra coordination, and tracking hotel details created additional work for internal teams.
The accounting team needed clearer information tied to each booking, including the reason for travel, GL account, and order associated with the trip. Without a centralized process, the team often had to spend time tracking down receipts, answers, and expense context.
“Before Engine, managing hotel bookings for drivers was too manual and time-consuming. We needed a better way to move faster and support our team.”Karen Smerchek, President, Veriha Trucking
For a trucking company with drivers moving across routes and lodging needs tied directly to operations, that administrative lift added up quickly.
The Evaluation: Competitive Rates, Easy Adoption, and a Centralized Process
Veriha first learned about Engine through their WEX fuel card representative. After Veriha mentioned their hotel booking needs, their WEX rep recommended Engine and made the introduction.
What made Engine stand out was the combination of competitive hotel rates, ease of use, customization, and centralized booking. Veriha needed a platform the team could actually adopt, including team members who were less comfortable with technology.
“Engine checked every box for us: competitive hotel rates, ease of use, customization, and one centralized way to simplify the booking process.”Karen Smerchek, President, Veriha Trucking
The ability to customize booking fields was especially valuable. By capturing details like reason for travel, GL account, and the order tied to each trip, Veriha could make reporting and expense classification cleaner from the start.
The solution
The Solution: One Platform for Driver Lodging, Reporting, and Billing
With Engine, Veriha now has a single platform to manage hotel reservations and track travel activity. Instead of relying on a more manual process, the team can book lodging, capture key trip details, and respond to driver needs faster.
Engine also gives Veriha better visibility into travel spending. Leaders can review summarized reporting at a glance, while accounting can more easily classify expenses without chasing down receipts or extra context after the fact.
“Engine made the whole process easier. The pricing is competitive, the platform is simple enough for anyone on our team to use, and the custom fields help us capture the details that matter, like reason, GL account, and order number. But the biggest win is the billing and reporting. Before Engine, it was such an administrative process.”Karen Smerchek, President, Veriha Trucking
For Veriha, that shift helped turn hotel booking from a manual admin task into a more consistent, trackable workflow.
The Impact: Less Admin Work, Faster Driver Support, and Cleaner Reporting
Since implementing Engine, Veriha has reduced the time spent managing reservations manually, improved visibility into lodging expenses, and created a more consistent booking experience for employees. The team has also improved response times for drivers, helping them move faster when lodging needs come up.
“The summarized reporting is awesome. Leaders get a quick view of travel activity, and accounting can classify expenses without chasing down receipts, answers, or missing details.”Karen Smerchek, President, Veriha Trucking
The Engine team also helped make the transition smooth. Veriha’s onboarding experience was simple, and the team remained responsive and helpful throughout implementation and beyond.
For Veriha, Engine has made driver lodging easier to manage across teams. What used to require more manual coordination now lives in one centralized platform, helping operations move faster, accounting work cleaner, and drivers get the lodging support they need.
WEX Inc. (WEX) and HotelEngine, Inc. d/b/a Engine are independent, non-affiliated entities. The WEX name and logo are registered trademarks of WEX Inc. The Engine name and logo are registered trademarks of Engine.
