CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Fueled by tighter corporate travel policies,
on-line business travel bookings will hit $20.3 billion by 2004,
according to Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company
that specializes in analyzing the impact of technology.
Henry Harteveldt, senior analyst for Forrester, predicted the
majority of that amount -- 77% -- will be dictated by corporate
policies. Currently, only 57% of the $4.9 billion of business
travel booked on line is driven by corporate policy.
The Forrester report, titled Online Business Travel's Boost,
used data gleaned from a survey of nearly 10,000 members of
Greenfield Online's panel of on-line consumers.
The firm said the shift toward managed travel will arise because
corporations will seek to save money through Web-based
company-approved booking engines.
By using approved engines, companies can take advantage of
negotiated rates with their preferred suppliers, as well as lower
service charges. The shift to Internet-based travel bookings is, of
course, already under way, and the largest companies will lead.
Forrester predicted 70% of Fortune 1000 companies will buy their
travel on line by 2002.
These largest companies will be followed by other sizable firms,
which will increasingly seek to purchase travel through the
Internet. Even small firms will make the jump, according to
Forrester, as they take advantage of travel booking services
available to them.
Much of this travel will be available through corporate intranet
systems. Through a company computer, users will be able to access a
dedicated booking site that uses their personal profile. Systems
will be implemented so that the employees can manage their travel
even while on the road.
The largest accounts will have direct connections to travel
suppliers. Midsize companies will be more likely to use an
intermediary to book travel. Forrester also projected what kind of
knock-on effects the push toward more managed on-line travel will
produce.
The firm said companies will be more likely to block access to
Internet travel intermediaries such as Travelocity and Expedia, and
corporations will allow leisure bookings as an employee benefit and
use the increased volume to negotiate better bulk rates.
The latter won't be seen as a problem by travel suppliers
because the leisure bookings might have otherwise gone to a
competitor.
But suppliers will likely see more frequent negotiations in the
future, according to Forrester, as corporations will have extensive
real-time data about their employees' booking patterns.