American Express Business Travel has signed an exclusive agreement with meetings technology company Worktopia for a small meetings booking product scheduled for release at the end of the second quarter, said Amex Business Travel senior vice president of global marketing and product management Lisa Durocher. The pact enables Amex to be the only agency to sell the customized tool and "there are elements of the technology that are proprietary only to us," Durocher told BTN. The tool can book some meeting space and related amenities through a single interface in real time. The tool "standardizes the contracts any admin would be accessing and provides visibility into the cost structure for the company," said Durocher.
Continental To Leave SkyTeam For Star In OctoberContinental Airlines last month said it plans to officially exit the SkyTeam airline alliance on Oct. 24, after which the carrier "promptly" will transition to the Star Alliance. "We want to make our transition from SkyTeam to the Star Alliance as customer-friendly as possible for both our customers and those of the SkyTeam alliance," Continental CEO Larry Kellner said. Continental in June 2008 announced intentions to leave SkyTeam and tightly align with United Airlines and its Star Alliance partners
(BTNonline, June 30, 2008). Continental's plans for Star Alliance include a four-way antitrust-immunized joint venture with United, Air Canada and Lufthansa, which awaits U.S. Department of Transportation approval.
Amadeus Halts Lufthansa Surcharge ReimbursementAmadeus this month stopped absorbing Lufthansa's surcharge on Preferred Fare bookings in Germany and Austria, pending the global distribution system's ability to strike a new distribution pact with the airline. Lufthansa last year announced a ?4.90 per-way surcharge plus value-added tax on fares booked through GDSs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
(BTNonline, Jan. 22, 2008). Amadeus competitors Travelport and Sabre since have come to new terms with Lufthansa to shield its subscribers from the surcharge, while Amadeus has yet to reach an agreement, opting instead to absorb their customers' fees. Amadeus in November extended by one month its fee shield in Germany and Austria to Jan. 31, 2009, and in Switzerland until March 31. "Reimbursement was always intended to be a temporary, interim measure to protect our customers as discussions continued with Lufthansa," Amadeus said, noting that the GDS "continues to exert every effort to achieve a long-term solution with Lufthansa and we are confident that one can be found."
Starwood Braces For Steep RevPAR DeclineStarwood Hotels and Resorts is forecasting revenue per available room in the first quarter of 2009 to drop between 17 percent and 19 percent worldwide and between 27 percent and 30 percent in North America, from the same period in 2008. The first major multibrand hotel company to report its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008 now expects same-store branded hotel earnings in 2009 to decline 35 percent and drop 10 percent in management and franchise revenue. Starwood's worldwide fourth-quarter RevPAR was down 12.1 percent, occupancy down 4.8 percent and average daily rate down 5.4 percent. Corporate negotiated rates for 2009 are nearly complete and have remained flat year-over-year, Starwood executives said.