redspottedhanky.com, a new online travel retailer, launched today for business travellers and corporate travel buyers. The new site provides an easy way to find the cheapest UK train tickets online, saving up to a significant 80% on the cost of tickets booked in advance. It is also the first ever British online travel retailer to offer loyalty points for regular business travellers to redeem against future rail travel in Great Britain.

redspottedhanky.com, which offers all rail fares for every train company operating in the UK, includes a number of useful facilities for business travellers. Examples include: the ability to buy tickets without reservations to maintain flexibility, rapid at-station ticket collection within two hours of buying online and the functionality to save favourite journeys for quick purchase.

Ursula Morgenstern for redspottedhanky.com said: “Businesses across the UK are feeling the pinch now more than ever and we felt it was about time that someone made life genuinely easier and cheaper for them. This is why we are launching redspottedhanky.com, offering customers up to 80% cost savings on train fares booked in advance. We are proud to be the first UK online travel retailer to offer loyalty points for regular travellers. We believe that business customers will benefit hugely from using our independent service and encourage them to compare prices on our site next time they’re booking business travel.”

New research from redspottedhanky.com demonstrates that rail travel is often cheaper and faster than other forms of UK business travel. Comparing the most popular UK business-related rail journeys against air and hire car travel for a single passenger** showed that, on average, rail travel is:
- The fastest mode of transport for over half of the journeys (once air check-in and arrival times were taken into account)
- Almost a fifth the cost of air travel and a third that of car costs

Ursula Morgenstern continued: “We all know the frustrations of the airport check-in queue and traffic jams. Rail is often the better choice for domestic business travel and as our research shows, can save companies valuable money and time - both of which business can re-invest. With other forms of transport, there are often unforeseen costs and time implications – for example, check-in time requirements and onward travel for plane journeys – and companies need to start factoring this in for more informed business travel decisions.”

Unlike many online retailers, redspottedhanky.com doesn’t charge a credit or debit card fee – only a one-off £1 booking fee per transaction, while ticket delivery is free. And when customers spend over £100 with redspottedhanky.com, they can use their loyalty points to make sure there is no booking fee on their next purchase, so the only way the cost of rail travel goes with redspottedhanky.com is down. Through its Price Promise, Redspottedhanky.com guarantees to match any cheaper fares that business travellers may find - it will refund the difference in loyalty points direct to the business customer’s account.