SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 2, 2005–As part of its
initiative to become the most efficient corporate travel agency,
Travelocity Business(SM) today announced that it has developed and
deployed new software in its traveler service center that further
helps it deliver the best travel experience at even lower costs.
Travelocity Business is the only major online corporate agency that
has built and now owns all of the end-to-end ticketing and fulfillment
technologies required for enabling and managing travel reservations,
called Travelocity Business eFulfillment.
The new Travelocity Business Mid-Office software, part of the
eFulfillment suite, helps minimize the need for additional human
intervention by automating routine but important tasks required after
a traveler or an agent has booked a trip, such as confirming the
itinerary and flight segments, ticketing and invoicing. Mid-Office
enables Travelocity Business to deploy customers more quickly based on
their unique requirements, while offering the lowest possible cost
structure for processing and servicing bookings. Costs per transaction
are 50 to 90 percent less compared to outsourced models typically used
by agencies today based on Travelocity Business research.
“At Travelocity Business, we have analyzed the mid-office
environment and reshaped it based on the needs of our customers,” said
Scott Hyden, general manager of Travelocity Business. “Owning the
mid-office process allows us to better service our customers while
decreasing the cost of doing business.”
Over the past year, Travelocity Business conducted extensive
research to identify the most widely-used corporate requirements and
best practices for mid-office functions. These processes were then
built into a new configurable format that makes it quick and easy to
implement new customers and modify processes for current customers.
Examples of commonly requested modifications include changes to
billing or invoicing processes, or the introduction of new codes for
company tracking. In contrast, agencies using outside vendors have to
wait for time consuming and costly custom programming to meet these
customer needs.
Both offline and online bookings are routed to Travelocity
Business Mid-Office, and currently more than 92 percent of those
transactions are processed with no need for agent intervention. The
use of technology like Travelocity Business Mid-Office enables
Travelocity Business to charge customers service fees as low as $5 for
online bookings and $20 for phone bookings, significantly less than
traditional agency fees.
Travelocity Business Streamlined Traveler Service Center
Travelers can make online or phone bookings with Travelocity
Business. Travelers who choose to book trips online via Travelocity
Business select from an easy-to-use display of air, car and hotel
options that reflect company policy via their company intranet. When
travelers call a Travelocity Business agent to make a booking, they
are prompted to enter a personal code. The call is then routed to an
available agent, and a screen pops up simultaneously on the agent’s
computer desktop that includes traveler details, enabling the agent to
provide faster and more personalized service.
Both offline and online transactions are booked through the Sabre
GDS and routed to Travelocity Business Mid-Office, which automates
tasks such as confirming the itinerary and flight segments, ticketing,
invoicing, customer notification, refund processing and unused ticket
tracking.
Once the trip is ticketed, transaction data is then captured by
the Travelocity Business back office systems for billing and reporting
purposes. Online travel reports also are created that provide
customers with up-to-the-minute travel information.
After ticketing, the system automatically monitors the trip and
notifies the customer of any changes. Travelers also have 24/7 access
to Travelocity Business agents for any changes or assistance needed
while on the road.
About Travelocity Business
Travelocity Business is a full-service corporate travel agency
that helps companies easily manage travel and reduce costs, while
providing more choices to travelers. Travelocity Business combines the
savings and convenience of online with the full service of dedicated
agents available 24/7 who typically answer the phone in 20 seconds,
and within 60 seconds guaranteed (see site for guarantee details).
Companies can cut travel costs through flight deals, Web fares, hotel
discounts and service fee savings — representing an average savings
of more than $100 per trip, including airfare savings averaging 26
percent per ticket and service fee savings of up to 84 percent.
Travelocity Business combines the expertise, service and travel
choices of Travelocity with corporate experience gained from serving
more than half of the Fortune 200. For more information, companies can
visit www.travelocitybusiness.com.
CONTACT: VOLLMER
Mary Kate Smither, 972-488-4790
marykate@vollmerpr.com
or
Kristi Manning, 972-488-4790
kristi@vollmerpr.com
SOURCE: Travelocity Business