Expedia Corporate Travel Changing Name To Egencia
Expedia Corporate Travel today announced it is changing its name to Egencia, the brand of the French online travel agency Expedia acquired in 2004.
The moniker shift is an effort to differentiate the travel management company from parent company Expedia's leisure brands, while it embarks on an "aggressive" multinational and technology growth strategy, which includes new reporting applications, offline services and a preferred rate program that now expands beyond hotels to air and car suppliers. The name change is planned for completion on July 19, according to Jean-Pierre Remy, Egencia president, former founder and president of the original Egencia.
The company today also announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mississauga, Ontario, Canada-based travel management company Synergi Global Travel Management in mid-July for an undisclosed amount. The TMC also has a meetings and incentives business, which will operate within Egencia Canada and has about 45 employees dedicated to corporate and meetings travel, according to Egencia.
Meanwhile, the company launched new business intelligence tools that include an unused ticket tracking and performance report, hotel program reporting and more configurable point-of-sale options for preferred properties.
Users at the point of sale also will have integrated content from airplane seat reference database SeatGuru, TripAdvisor city guides and user-generated hotel reviews from Egencia and Expedia users identified as business travelers that have booked the specific hotel via either system.
The superficial break from its parent is a reaffirmation of its commitment to corporate travel and an effort to grow its market share internationally and strengthen operations in its five core markets: Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"We are here for the long term to win market share much further than what we have today and to expand our reach to more countries than where we are today," said Remy.
ECT launched in the United States in 2002 and the 2004 buy of Remy's Egencia gave, the company an international presence with points of sale in Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. The Egencia name is sure to resonate more in Europe where, according to Remy, the company now generates more revenues than in the United States.
Remy said the Expedia name dump is not an augur of an official separation from Expedia. "No," he said. "It's absolutely not a signal that you should read behind this rebranding. It is actually more the other way around. It's a very strong commitment from Expedia Inc."