Online corporate travel bookings in January 2002 were higher than pre-September levels. Possible reasons for this recovery were identified in GetThere`s biannual Corporate Travel Benchmark survey that indicated corporations are placing a greater emphasis on online corporate travel systems to generate cost savings.
The resurgence of online corporate travel can be partially attributed to the fact that business executives, including chief financial officers (CFOs), are now playing a more active role in corporate travel, according to GetThere`s recent survey. The vast majority of respondents indicated that executives are now more involved in encouraging their employees to participate in a managed travel program, thus enforcing money-saving contracts and travel policies.

The survey showed evidence that companies using the online travel system are saving significantly on travel costs—often $60 - $100 per business trip due to a combination of lower average airfares and lower agency fees. Following are the top findings reported by the GetThere survey:

—65 percent of the survey respondents indicated that their CFOs are now more involved in the corporate travel program than they were a year ago.

—On average, the respondents reported that 45 percent of their bookings went through the online system, which is up significantly from 24 percent reported in the March 2001 survey; and reported online adoption levels were as high as 95 percent.

—83 percent of companies reported lower airfares booked online than booked over the phone, with an average online airfare savings of nearly 15 percent.

—79 percent of companies reported lower travel agency fees for processing online bookings, with an average online fee savings of 46 percent.

The GetThere Benchmark Report surveyed 100 companies spending between $4M and $295M ($52M average) per year on travel and is based on travel data from October 2001. It provides a snapshot of the trends and savings realized using online travel booking systems. The survey was created to help companies identify how their travel programs compare with others in the industry. The complete results of the survey are being provided only to GetThere customers.

 

www.getthere.com
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