Sabre’s GetThere has integrated their DirectMeetings online planning system with GetThere DirectCorporate, providing the first integrated Web-based system enabling corporations to operate and manage both their travel and meeting programmes.
The system is transaction-based, charging corporations for online meeting planning, and providing them with a transparent view of the actual costs of a meeting. As it does not rely on revenue from hotel commissions, there are no hidden costs.
It is already in use by more than a dozen Fortune 500 companies that represent nearly $1 billion in annual meeting spend, including Dunn & Bradstreet, Kimberly Clark Corporation, Nabisco, SBC, Scient Corporation and Steelcase Inc.
GetThere`s online meeting planning system, called GetThere DirectMeetings, caters to non-professional meeting planners within corporations who plan nearly 80% of corporate meetings and events. The system provides automated tools that reduce the complexity and cost required to plan an event, enabling these planners to organise meetings with the expertise of a professional meeting planner.
With DirectMeetings, meeting planners can search an unbiased source for meeting locations, book meeting facilities and manage attendee travel. Detailed reporting and built-in budgeting tools allows managers to track meeting spend, forecast and budget for meeting programs and use this data to better manage supplier negotiations. As soon as a meeting is established, an employee can go to the same intranet site to book trips that take advantage of rates that were negotiated for a meeting, or rates that comply with a company`s travel policy.
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