MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 16 / GetThere Inc.(TM) (Nasdaq: GTHR), the leading provider of Internet-based business-to-business travel procurement systems, today extended its online corporate travel booking system into the European market by introducing new capabilities that enable businesses to develop highly customized online travel systems in French and German.

GetThere is the first global vendor to develop features within its booking tool, called GetThere DirectCorporate, that allows for the appropriate language, currency and calendar dates of a respective region to be displayed, while also providing up-to-date access to schedules and negotiated rates with European carriers.

European corporations that use the GetThere system will be able to better track and control business travel activities by leveraging GetThere’s e-procurement capabilities, resulting in lower travel costs. French and German-speaking employees will have the convenience of booking business trips around the clock.

The new capabilities in GetThere DirectCorporate also provide multi-national companies with a way to easily extend their online corporate travel program to French and German-speaking offices. By leveraging GetThere’s SuperSite capability, sub-sites can be created from a company’s main online travel procurement site to meet the needs of offices in various regions. The multi-language capability enables the travel manager to apply consistent communications, such as instructions, restrictions or promotions, to each sub-site. All transaction data from these sub-sites feeds back into the main site, making it easy for a global travel department to monitor travel activity in any location, as well as to create comprehensive reports or drill down to analyze data from each site.

“GetThere customers within the US have experienced much success with our online booking system, saving as much in 30% in travel costs,” said Stephen Etchells, managing director of GetThere’s European operation. “European businesses now have the opportunity to enjoy those same benefits with an online travel technology solution that is localized to meet their market requirements.”

Additional language and localization features are expected in approximately six months.

The GetThere DirectCorporate booking system utilizes the GetThere Marketplace, the largest B2B Internet travel marketplace that connects major buyers of corporate travel services with the world’s leading airline, hotel, rail and car rental suppliers. By putting these two groups together in one unified community on the Web, buyers can streamline travel procurement, and sellers can significantly reduce their travel distribution costs. The GetThere Marketplace provides online travel booking for a corporation’s employees, while improving efficiency in the buying process and incorporating advanced e- commerce capabilities. It also provides value-added services for the traveler, such as wireless access and online ground transportation.

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