GetThere Rolls Out Ground Booking

Online booking supplier GetThere is rolling out a tool to help travel buyers manage chauffeured car and taxi spend. Called GetThere Ground Network, the tool allows travelers to book limousines, executive sedans and taxis online and makes a side-by-side comparison of all available options. Although major ground transportation suppliers already offer online booking through their Web sites, the tool will make it easier for travelers to choose based on price and service, said Jeremy Stubbs, director of GetThere Ground Network.

"With direct booking, you don't get the policy and everything else," Stubbs said. "There's no shopping going on. Here, customers can see all vendors—taxis, limousines, standard services, premier services—and communicate that difference."

In addition to making travelers see the prices of all their ground transportation options—possibly triggering visual guilt—buyers can load in preferred vendors and negotiated rates and restrict access to certain vehicles. For example, senior executives could see all car options while limousines would not be visible to employees for whom the vehicles would be out of policy. Travel buyers also can set up the tool so that certain types of cars are available only for certain lengths of trips.

So far, a few users are trying out the tool, Stubbs said. Largely, they are in the telecommunications, banking and entertainment industries, he said. GetThere soon will embark on a broader marketing plan for the rest of its customers.

The tool also offers a chance to improve data reporting related to ground transportation, Stubbs said. "With car data, it's a data dump, and you have to filter through it and do some data mining to know the different car companies, geography and types of rides," Stubbs said. "One thing that's really resonated with procurement and corporate travel managers is seeing that data on the back end."