TRAVELOCITYS
SITE59 today unveils a search engine that retrieves
vacation packages for the specified destination as well as
inventory for relevant alternate destinations. For example, a
search for Paris packages this weekend will retrieve Paris packages for
this weekend, other weekends and packages to London, Brussels,
Amsterdam, Rome and Frankfurt. The search engine, the 59th-Minute
Dash, will be deployed on the Site59.com consumer site. Site59 said it can
offers these alternate results because its packages cycle through
its system in a rolling cache and are continuously updated based on
changes in pricing and inventory. Site59 plans to roll out the
platform to its distribution partners through the first quarter.
GALILEO launched a private fares product,
Galileo Agency Private Fares, for agencies in the U.S., Canada and
Latin America that it said automates the quoting, storing and
ticketing of negotiated air fares. Galileo said agencies will benefit from
improved accuracy because of a complete validation of rules and a
fully integrated display of all applicable fares maintained by the
agencies. The tool is Web-based, enabling agency administrators to
implement or edit complex contracts, the company said.
CENDANTS HOTEL
GROUP will establish a direct connection with Expedia and Hotels.com as part of a
new distribution deal with the two IAC/InterActiveCorp companies. Cendant said its
franchised hotels will be displayed prominently on the sites. The
direct connection from Cendants central res system to Expedia and
Hotels.com reduces the hotels distribution costs. It also enables
the properties to manage inventory on a real-time basis through
their property-management systems, said Peter Strebel, the Cendant Hotel
Group senior vice president of sales and marketing.
THE BRITISH
VIRGIN ISLANDS TOURISM BOARD will automate the scanning
and analysis of arrival and departure statistics for marketing
purposes. The move comes through an agreement with Travel Sciences,
a Hartford, Conn., firm whose Travel Bureau product uses
optical-scanning technology to derive marketing data from
hand-written entry/exit cards. Being able to quickly and accurately
understand more about our visitors and their demographic
information and interests will position us to better market our
product and better serve our customers, BVI Director of Tourism
Kedrick Malone said in a statement.
EXPEDIA
CORPORATE TRAVEL strengthened its presence in Europe with
the acquisition of U.K.-headquartered World Travel Management. ECT
said the purchase -- the terms of which were not disclosed -- of
the agency strengthens its global travel offerings.