MINNEAPOLIS -- Carlson Leisure Group, parent of the Carlson
Wagonlit Travel associate (franchise) network and Travel Agents
International, said it selected Galileo as one of two preferred
vendors for computerized reservations systems.
Last fall, Carlson Leisure Group chose Worldspan as one of its
two preferred CRS vendors, but when major airlines cut commissions
it deferred selection of the second vendor.
With the announcement of a Galileo contract, Michael Batt,
president of Carlson Leisure Group, described the CRS vendor as an
attractive partner "because of their ability to draw on the
resources of the well-established technology of Apollo, and as a
public company, they are able to respond quickly to changes in
technology and the industry."
As part of the agreement with Carlson Leisure Group Galileo will
upgrade computer hardware to the latest Intel-based systems at all
Carlson Wagonlit Travel associate agencies that subscribe to it and
give the agencies high-speed Internet access. Galileo also will
host Carlson's Internet and Extranet software and systems over its
CRS network and work with Carlson to develop a front-end selling
system for its travel agencies.
Carlson Leisure Group said it aims to have the majority of its
agency network on Galileo and Worldspan within four to five
years.
Having two primary CRSs will reduce Carlson's operating costs
and enhance its ability to add revenue through capabilities such as
negotiated fares and customer profiling through CRS records, the
company said.
Because of the number of CRSs in the U.S. and the market
dominance of some CRSs, Carlson said it wasn't feasible to select
one vendor to for all of its agencies.
Carlson Leisure Group said it has more than 1,300 franchised
agency locations in North America.