It’s Not Where You Go, But How You Plan to Get There

Which Site Is Right for Business Travelers?

Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz are all competing for business travelers and launching all manner of bells and whistles in an effort to get your bookings. While many of the tools and applications are available to leisure travelers as well, these online agencies have been improving their service with perks specific to the business traveler, such as group meeting arrangements, employee relocation services, budget monitoring and integrated call-in itinerary.

While Orbitz for Business (orbitsforbusiness.com) provides all of the tools of an online corporate travel program, it also has a service that automatically sends travel notices to your friends, family, clients, etc. You give Orbitz a list of names and contact information and it will send alerts about your travel status. These messages can be sent via e-mail, cell phone, PDA or text message based on the traveler’s preference. Orbitz stresses that there are no concrete guidelines to enroll in the program and they cater their services to fit even companies that travel only twice a year. There is a one time fee of $15 when booking or making changes through an agent, but that one time fee covers any further alterations and cancellations for that particular trip. All bookings made through Orbitz for Business come with a courtesy 24 hour cancellation period, except for those made with carriers who do not honor the courtesy period (such as Jet Blue).

Travelocity Business (travelocitybusiness.com) may not be the alternative for small business. Corporations must have a minimum annual air spend of $1.5 million for Travelocity Business to consider taking them on as a client and negotiate a special air fair rate. It offers clients a full range of “traditional” agency services, such as live support and detailed expense reports, for a fee of $5 for online booking and $20 over the phone. There is no implementation or monthly management cost. Since almost 50% of all business travel involves cancellations and alterations to the itinerary, it provides critical end-to-end support for clients anywhere in the world while also managing unused tickets and credits. Travelocity also provides consultation services for some of the more complex business travel situations, such as setting up recruitment travel, group meetings and employee relocations.

This package includes setup of the company’s designated corporate online booking intranet site, which mirrors the look-and feel of the Travelocity interface, complete with thousands of hotel photos, a seamless booking process, and flexible branding that reflects the company logo and colors. Companies with minimal travel expenses can book through Travelocity.com.

Expedia Corporate (expediacorporate.com) has developed the DataMinder program, which lets you determine a preset threshold for your travel spend and alerts travelers and/or their managers if they are in danger of going over the specified budget. This program also lets you monitor your travel spend in real time based on air fare and average ticket prices.

Expedia users who have booked either 12 hotels through the website or spent at least $10,000 on flights in one year are automatically enrolled into Expedia Elite Plus (expediaeliteplus.com/Login.aspx), a program for frequent travelers who manage their own travel. Some of the benefits include no change or cancellation fees, priority call handling and first access to special Expedia deals. Best of all, the program is free and enrollment is automatic for all those who qualify.

If you book online, remember that ancillary costs can add up. You may save money by booking a flight to a secondary airport, but you have to remember to account for the cost of the car rental plus gas and added travel time. Some websites offer hotel rooms with cheap rates, but they charge $15 for breakfast, $20 for Internet access and $25 for parking — all of which were free at the more comfortable but $50 more expensive hotel with a better location.

The Informed Traveler

Reservations are not the only tools available online. There are several resources to help you become a more informed and savvy business traveler.

Travel search engines offer the same “choose the best rate” interface as Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia but have more inclusive databases, and you do not book, buy or rent anything from the search engines themselves. Much like Google and Yahoo search engines, these sites simply find you the best available rates and link you to where you can purchase tickets.