GetThere(R) is launching a new dynamic messaging capabilities available to its customers. Travel managers using GetThere now have the ability to deliver timely market and vendor-specific notes to travelers as they shop online to book their trip. More than 3,000 companies worldwide used GetThere in 2006 to cumulatively book more than $8 billion in travel.

GetThere clients are initially using dynamic messaging to drive use of preferred air, car and hotel vendors. Corporations can also use dynamic messaging for relevant cost-saving messages, such as alternative transportation methods to and from an airport when traveling to specific cities. Messages can be triggered at numerous points in the booking process, giving managers newfound flexibility to influence travelers with multiple aspects of their trip. Potential message launch fields include:

  — Air Departure / Arrival City

  — Airline Vendor

  — Hotel City

  — Hotel Vendor / Property ID

  — Car Pick-up / Drop-off City

  — Car Vendor

  — Rail Departure / Arrival City

  — Rail Vendor
Using JavaScript tools, GetThere’s latest feature takes maximum advantage of on-screen real estate to deliver concise, relevant and timely messages to travelers and travel arrangers. After the user inputs city pairs for a flight, for example, a message informing the traveler of the company’s preferred airline on that route can be displayed just before they are presented with flight options. This short message reinforces the icon already displayed on the shopping page designating the company’s preferred carrier, helping guide the traveler to make the best selection for the company. Similar messaging can be done to influence hotel and car bookings.

From a corporate social responsibility angle, dynamic messaging could inform travelers of the environmental impact and/or carbon footprint of the trip they are booking. Companies can also use dynamic messaging to help foster a sense of community among road warriors. For example, a regional manager booking a trip to headquarters could be informed, at the point-of-sale, of a corporate team outing to a local attraction.

“Dynamic messaging represents a win-win for business travelers and the management personnel charged with running efficient online programs,” said Suzanne Neufang, GetThere’s vice president of product marketing. “GetThere’s agency resellers, many of whom work with smaller corporate programs, can also adapt this technology on behalf of their clients to drive market share. There are no boundaries with dynamic messaging; we look forward to hearing of the creative ways our clients deploy this new feature.”
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