SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Frank Dombroski said he believes that business
travelers don't want to bother searching for fares and hotel rates
when booking trips on the Internet.
Dombroski is the founder and president of I-tinerary Travel
Solutions (ITS), an on-line travel agency that launched a Web site
at www.i-tinerary.com that enables business travelers to
enter a time frame and destination and have an itinerary composed
for them automatically.
The itinerary is created based on a traveler's profile, personal
preferences and corporate policy -- although ITS' primary targeted
customer is the frequent traveler who doesn't have to adhere to a
corporate policy, said Dombroski.
According to Dombroski, booking business travel, especially for
frequent travelers, should be more about efficiency than fare
research.
"Business travelers don't want to be a travel agent, and that's
why on-line adoption has been low to this point," he said. "With
us, they don't need to surf and click to find the best means to go
from Point A to Point B."
After a traveler's itinerary is prepared, he or she is sent an
e-mail to confirm the trip. The traveler also is sent other
relevant information such as maps and weather forecasts, said
Dombroski.
Travelers who have a Palm Pilot or Microsoft Pocket PC can book
or alter trips on their wireless device after synchronizing it with
the Web site.
In January, Dombroski said ITS plans to make its service
available via WAP (wireless application protocol) phones.
In addition, Dombroski said ITS' reservations system can be
integrated with an electronic calendar on Microsoft Outlook.
When travel dates and times are entered in the calendar, the
system automatically puts together an itinerary. The booked
itinerary then is downloaded to the traveler's calendar.
ITS plans to integrate the reservations system with other
electronic calendar brands early next year, including Lotus Notes
and Palm Calendar.
Another feature to debut in early 2001 is Trip Repair, a system
that alerts travelers with a wireless device that a flight is
delayed.
Trip Repair will suggest alternative flights and book them if
the traveler approves, said Dombroski, who added that the system
also will alert the traveler's hotel and car rental company that he
or she is running late.
Any unused plane tickets will be stored in a Travel Bank, and
the system suggests the use of those tickets when appropriate, said
Dombroski.
ITS doesn't charge consumers for using the wireless service or
any other features. As a travel agency, the company mainly
generates revenue from commissions, said Dombroski.
However, the company does bill corporations that require ITS to
provide travel management services, such as policy development.
I-tinerary.com's CRS vendor is Sabre. The company has outsourced
its 24-hour customer service to PeopleSupport, based in Los
Angeles.
Southwest Travel -- based in Andrews, Texas -- handles automated
quality assurance and ticketing for the Web site.