Demand Management Technologies Drive Cost-Efficient Travel Booking Behavior
SOUTHLAKE, TX – (March 30, 2009) – GetThere(R), the world’s leading online business travel procurement solution, today introduced its Demand Management Suite(SM), a unique collection of technologies and proven best travel management practices. Developed in response to the unprecedented pressure corporate travel departments are under to reduce costs, the Suite offers businesses a ready-made solution that can be quickly deployed to travelers and travel arrangers.
GetThere guarantees a corporate customer will save double the program cost in the first year after implementing the Demand Management Suite, or GetThere will refund the cost. The Suite is available to GetThere’s direct corporate clients, as well as those companies that use the solution via one of GetThere’s more than 125 resellers worldwide.
According to a survey published this month by Buying Business Travel magazine, “self booking tools are clearly helping corporations impose policy compliance, with nearly three quarters (72%) indicating that these systems assist them in controlling traveler activities,” according to feedback from travel managers and procurement professionals. GetThere’s client base averages 73 percent online adoption, saving on average more than $100 per air ticket booked online.
GetThere, a Sabre Travel Network business, has self-booking deployments in 60 countries. More than 3,000 companies worldwide use GetThere, including more than half of the Fortune 200 that use an online booking solution.
The foundation of the Demand Management Suite comes from the need to efficiently address the four key elements of any business travel booking: planning, shopping & booking, ticketing, and expense reporting. The seven components of the Demand Management Suite include:
* Workflow Integration
* Travel Validation
* Dynamic Messaging
* Cost Center Validation
* Booking Notification
* Pre-Trip Approval
* Expense Integration
With an innovative pricing model that marries neatly with well defined return-on-investment goals, the Demand Management Suite delivers a compelling proposition to corporations focused on travel expenses. Backed by the resources of Sabre and the proven best practices used by a host of GetThere’s trailblazing corporate clients, the Suite represents another example of Sabre’s leadership in delivering comprehensive solutions for corporations.
“GetThere’s Demand Management Suite is ideally tailored for today’s challenging economic climate, providing corporations with a superior combination of new technology and flexible travel tools to maximize travel spend,” said Suzanne Neufang, vice president of corporate market strategy and solutions for GetThere. “Tools such as GetThere’s dynamic messaging, with its ability to deliver concise information pertinent to the specific trip right at the point of sale, have already unlocked measurable savings for dozens of clients. The bundling of these components, along with the ongoing consultitive expertise of the GetThere team, represents a compelling solution for companies challenged to be increasingly creative in finding travel savings even as they continue hitting the road to visit clients and meet prospects.”
About GetThere
GetThere is the world’s leading global online business travel procurement solution, surpassing $9 billion in bookings in 2007. GetThere’s proven technology and unparalleled global service infrastructure helps corporations collectively save millions in air and hotel costs. Through its unique relationship with Travelocity(R), GetThere provides a familiar online booking experience for travelers of more than 3,000 companies, including a majority of multi-national Fortune 200 firms that deploy online booking. GetThere works with all major global distribution systems (GDS). Companies using GetThere and the Sabre GDS together can optimize efficiency and cost savings across the entire travel procurement process. More information is available at http://www.getthere.com.
Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com
