<B> Inside Track</B>
<B>Oracle Puts etravel On Sale</B>
In an attempt to jump start corporations into online booking decisions, Oracle Corp. is offering a special $10,000 implementation promotion for its newly acquired (<I>BTN,</I> March 22) Oracle eTravel through June 30. In this highly unusual offer, Oracle--which declines to disclose any pricing for other products to the press--wants customers up and running on the Web-based corporate travel booking option in 30 to 60 days. Its product, Oracle said, can reduce direct and administrative costs of business travel by 15 percent or more. The promotion price includes either a stand-alone version of the booking product or integration to other travel management software.
<a name="2"><B>BA To Revamp Business Class</B>
British Airways CEO Bob Ayling said the airline will "completely redevelop and reintroduce" its ClubWorld business class product later this year. Air France and Continental also are known to be evaluating their products as Delta continues to roll out its new BusinessElite (<I>BTN,</I> Oct. 5, 1998).
Speaking last week at a Wings Club luncheon in New York, Ayling also said the Concorde supersonic jets are undergoing an "interior refurbishment." Turning to the topic of government regulation and airline alliances, Ayling asked "all parties to grasp the nettle now, to secure full Open Skies between the U.K. and U.S. and to have approval of our alliance with American by this summer. It can be done." Asked to comment on last week's meeting between American and British negotiators, he said, "The fact that they've had a meeting to talk about further meetings to talk about talks is indeed very encouraging."
<a name="3"><B>Concur Raises Operating Money</B>
Concur Technologies Inc. raised $82 million for itself and several million for its shareholders in a second offering of stock last week, following its IPO last December that garnered more than $40 million (<I>BTN,</I> Jan. 11). Concur also reported that it lost $5.6 million in the second quarter, the same amount it lost in the first quarter, compared with a loss of just $1.8 million in the second quarter of 1998. However, second-quarter revenues rose 92 percent over the same period last year, to $7.6 million on licensing deals with, among others, AlliedSignal, Baxter Healthcare, Brite Voice Systems, Dell Computer and the Hearst Corp.
<a name="4"><B>SuperShuttle Simplifies Airport Transfers</B>
SuperShuttle, the national airport van service with operations in 18 airports, is developing a special division for corporate accounts and centralizing its sales department for groups, meeting and conventions. To facilitate payment, it also is "looking at introducing magnetic-stripe cards, which would enable riders to direct bill to the company," said director of marketing Ken Testani. It now is running pilots for two corporate accounts and is in discussion with New York-based Atlantic Records. The airport-to-hotel shared-ride service serves major airports on both coasts plus Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, and Phoenix, where the company is based, using global positioning technology to ensure timely pickup and delivery. The average ride costs $14.50.
<a name="5"><B>RFP Express To Load Corp. Rates Direct To GDS</B>
RFP Express, San Diego, is developing a product to automatically load its clients' negotiated hotel rates directly into global distribution systems providing a complete one-stop-shop negotiating process, said Bob Steiner, executive vice president of Ixata.com, which bought RFP Express in January. The product is expected to be completed by year-end and ready to load the upcoming 2000 rates. "The intention of this product is that it will do everything from A to Z," Steiner said. "The hotel directory will not do any good if it's not loaded into the central reservations systems, individual properties and GDS on time."
<a name="6"><B>SatoTravel Plans, Implements Big Changes</B>
At Corporate Travel World last month, SatoTravel co-chairman and CEO Lawrence Hough said the company was in the middle of a huge Airlines Reporting Corp. conversion process and had started negotiations with CRSs and airlines that it plans to complete before the end of the second quarter. Hotel program manager Bill Shirey said Sato also plans to send out more than 10,000 hotel RFPs electronically and is considering products from Arlington, Tex.-based Lanyon Inc. and Denver-based JBH Travel Audit. These developments follow the acquisition of Sato by an investment group in January (<I>BTN,</I> Jan. 25). Meanwhile, the agency last week announced its executive team and board of directors. Among those on the management team reporting to Hough are Michael Premo, vice president of strategic relationships; Denise McShea, vice president of military and government operations; Dwight Bush, vice president and CFO; Walter Lubsen Jr., vice president and CIO; and Jerry Salinger, vice president of marketing and sales.