Offers the Next Frontier in Corporate Cost Savings without Impeding Critical Business Travel
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 23, 2007–Travelocity Business(R) today introduced a new report targeted at travel procurement executives. The online ticket exchange (OTE) Lost Savings report defines a corporation’s savings potential by driving travelers to make ticket exchanges online rather than calling an agent, giving travel managers CFO-ready reports detailing how much the company could save as adoption of OTE grows.
Travelocity Business introduced the report to the managed travel industry at the annual National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Convention & Exposition in Boston, Mass.
“The industry is well aware of the savings resulting from high adoption of online booking tools, with many companies reporting adoption rates of 70 percent or higher. Our client base is gradually redefining what it means to have a successful online program by aggressively adopting OTE,” said Lesley Harris, president of Travelocity Business. “By implementing OTE, TBiz clients are educating their travelers on the cost of changing a purchased ticket, as well as significantly reducing the expense incurred to process the exchange.” The majority of TBiz clients use OTE today, with several recording 50 percent or higher growth in use of the service in 2007 so far.
The OTE Lost Savings report is simple in concept and execution. Using a company’s contracted service fees for online and offline exchanges, the report takes the difference between the two numbers and applies that figure to the total number of exchanges, refunds, and voids made by the company in a designated time frame.
The report spells out the savings a corporation could recognize at different thresholds of OTE adoption – 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent. With the report calculating the savings opportunity into actual dollars, travel managers can present a compelling case to procurement executives to endorse company-wide use of OTE – a proven method of altering behavior among business travelers.
“When an exchange is initiated online, corporations also gain from the visual guilt factor – once the traveler sees how much it will cost in fare adjustment, they may think twice about switching that flight,” said Harris. “Business travelers have demonstrated that they will make the best choice for the company when booking travel online; the same formula works with online ticket exchange.”
Travelocity Business, with its singular platform of the Sabre(R) global distribution system and the GetThere(R) booking engine, has its fulfillment and back-office processes fully optimized to service the growth of OTE. That efficiency, combined with a focus by TBiz on automation, makes Travelocity Business a compelling choice for companies looking to gain the most from the automation tools offered by GetThere, the world’s leading online booking engine.
Travelocity Business will show samples of the OTE Lost Savings report at NBTA in booth number 2230.
About Travelocity Business
Travelocity Business is a full-service corporate travel management company that helps companies easily manage travel and reduce costs, while providing more choices to travelers. Travelocity Business leverages its own innovative technology to streamline travel processes, and complements this with experienced corporate travel agents, strategic account managers and in-depth consulting services.
Travelocity Business combines the expertise, service and travel choices of Travelocity with corporate experience gained from serving more than half of the Fortune 200 companies. For more information, companies can visit www.travelocitybusiness.com.
Sabre Holdings Corporation is a world leader in travel commerce, retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
CONTACT: Vollmer Public Relations
Steven Morse, 972-488-4790
steven@vollmerpr.com
or
Travelocity Business
Michael Brophy, 214-356-4326
michael.brophy@travelocity.com
