In today`s “zero commission” environment, corporate travel agencies are evolving their business models to fully
embrace the benefits of Internet-based travel services. e-Travel, the
leading global provider of online travel technology, has exhibited
significant recent success in its long-standing mid-market agency
distribution channel, helping agencies address their current challenges.

e-Travel
mid-market distribution partner All Seasons Travel, based in
Birmingham, Ala., has experienced measurable success in its four-year
relationship with e-Travel.
All Seasons
serves customers such as SouthTrust
Corporation, Pemco Aviation Group and Regions Financial.  Through its work
with e-Travel, All Seasons has been able to drive revenue by reallocation
and more efficient utilization of staff, reducing customer costs by 20
percent as well as reducing transaction fees by up to 50 percent, and
introducing the convenience of a self-service model to corporate customers.
e-Travel products and services also provide All Seasons customers with
better negotiating power and cost control.

“Our corporate customers are embracing online travel technology as a way to
cut costs, and companies of every size and sector are trying to improve
their bottom lines. Travel expenditures are a great place to begin,” said
Greg King, vice president, All Seasons Travel. “We are combining our
services with those of e-Travel to offer smaller companies the benefits
realized by implementing an online booking tool within a managed - or even
lightly managed - travel program.”

e-Travel`s mid-market offering provides online booking technology that
enables agencies to increase revenue and reduce costs, and better serve
corporate customers. The features and configuration options available with
the e-Travel® Aergo solution allow mid-size companies to implement online
managed travel programs that meet their specific needs, while realizing all
the benefits enjoyed by e-Travel`s global customer base.

Online managed travel services enable significant productivity gains and
cost savings for travel agencies by automating many of the tasks performed
by travel agents. Online tools also improve the quality of information
agencies receive regarding their customers` purchasing habits and trends,
and facilitate stronger communication with customers, partners and
suppliers. According to analysis of the corporate travel industry from
PhoCusWright, statistics strongly suggest that agencies move toward
utilization of online travel services. With an online service, agencies
achieve greater efficiencies due to several key factors:

á Average calls per transaction are reduced from three to just one

á Transaction costs are reduced by 50 to 75 percent

á Up to 10 online reservations can be processed in the time it takes to
process a single manual reservation

á Customer loyalty to the agency increases due to the convenience and speed
of booking reservations online

e-Travel Aergo is an online managed corporate travel solution that enables
employees to plan and book policy-compliant travel itineraries, including
air, car, rail and hotel using a standard Web browser. e-Travel offers its
mid-market agency partners - and their corporate customers - the highest
average utilization rate for corporate online booking in the industry,
demonstrated success and return on investment (ROI), and a high-quality
hosting operation that has received an industry standard security
certification.

“In this changed economic environment, more and more agencies are turning to
technology as a means to grow and thrive,” said Scott Gutz
, CEO and
president of e-Travel, Inc. “e-Travel works with more than 3,000 agencies
worldwide, and we have demonstrated success providing technology solutions
that enable agencies to deliver compelling online managed travel programs to
their corporate customers.” 

Related stories on ITN:

(17/05/2002) e-Travel Expands Global Customer Base

(29/03/2002) Amadeus e-Travel, Broadvision launch self-service

(18/03/2002) Iberia Selects Broadvision e-Travel For Self-Service Travel Tool Solution

To view exclusive interview with Scott Gutz, click here: Survival of the Fittest

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