WALTHAM, Mass. -- E-Travel, a subsidiary of Oracle, announced the
development of its new e-Travel Marketplace product, a business
travel service that will bypass the CRS to directly link
corporations and suppliers, among other things.
"In addition to a growing number of direct link inventory
partners, we're adding value in a number of other ways," said Bart
Littlefield, vice president of marketing for Waltham, Mass.-based
e-Travel.
"The result is that [the product] reduces a lot of the costs
that corporations have to pay. We're eliminating the CRS fees but
adding value for travel managers to make the process better."
Suppliers are able to save on distribution costs, such as CRS
fees, and corporations get the benefit of linking directly into the
inventories of preferred suppliers and having tighter control over
travel policies.
The basic technology is not unique, as at least both Sabre and
Delta are working on similar projects, but the Oracle subsidiary
has made some waves in recent months and now has more than 200
corporate clients. Some of the company's corporate customers
include Ingersoll-Rand, Seagram & Sons and Philip Morris.
New additions in Marketplace not seen in previous e-Travel
technology will include destination content and a community for
travel managers. The product will also enable benchmarking tasks
and provide ways to prepare RFPs, according to Littlefield.
Littlefield said the product is still in development, but 80% of
the functionality will be up and running by the end of the
year.
Existing e-Travel suppliers making the jump to Marketplace
include Continental, Hertz, Amtrak, SatoTravel and Pegasus
Solutions. Littlefield said the company is in the process of
signing up other suppliers.
Some components of E-Travel Marketplace are already being used
by all e-Travel corporate customers to some extent, according to
Littlefield.
E-Travel, which was founded in 1996 and bought out by Oracle in
March 1999, claims that corporations using e-Travel Marketplace can
save up to 20% on travel costs.
"It's obviously where the industry is going," said Littlefield.
"Customers have been asking for this for two years or more, and
it's becoming a reality. Clearly suppliers and buyers see the
value, and we're there to build the technology."
Chances are that corporate travel managers are at least aware of
e-Travel products, as e-Travel is marketing directly to them and
through parent Oracle as well.
The bread and butter of e-Travel Marketplace is eTLink, a
technology that links suppliers and corporate customers directly,
bypassing the CRS. This, of course, is where suppliers can save the
most and corporations can get the most bang for their buck. The
direct links also give a closer view of a supplier's inventory.
For example, when searching for air fares, Littlefield said,
Marketplace will enable a user to distinguish seats by the amount
of leg room. (American and United recently announced initiatives
that would increase the amount of leg room.)
With a link that must route through a CRS, a corporate employee
would not be able to judge choices on that basis, according to
Littlefield.
"With direct links, you know where it is, what it looks like;
you know the price, and you know what you expect to pay for," said
Littlefield. "Information on a direct link is much richer and more
accurate."
Companies can customize their own travel sites. Littlefield said
Marketplace also keeps track of all travel data, and travel
managers can tweak it to enforce corporate travel policies.
Employees using their company's sites will see filtered travel
choices, depending on the company's policies.
Littlefield said the program will track fares and will remember
when an employee chooses a higher-priced option when a lower fare
is available.
E-Travel Marketplace has some added functionality, including
automated expense reporting (which utilizes Oracle back-end
technology), RFPs and information about destinations.
The system is flexible, according to Littlefield, so that
suppliers can adjust their offerings to customer needs, such as
alternative routes and hotel descriptions.
Marketplace also allows for data exchanges, such as traveler
profiles, and travel information, including audio and video
capabilities.
Currently, e-Travel Marketplace doesn't have a front-end for
travel suppliers, but rather uses only the automated linking
technology.
Littlefield said e-Travel was working on these interfaces, which
would enable suppliers, particularly folks in yield management or
group sales, to have access to the system. That functionality is
projected for completion by year's end.