<B>United To Revamp Customer Service</B>
United Airlines has developed a new "customer satisfaction philosophy" around which all service improvements, employee training and communications will be centered, the company announced. The move is in response to a nine-month study--based on interviews with customers in eight countries, United employees and key travel agencies and suppliers--that found frequent business travelers account for 9 percent of the industry's customers but 45 percent of its revenues. "The U.S. airline industry as a whole consistently fails to meet its passengers' expectations and needs," the study reported, and business travelers "do not feel the airline industry gives them the respect they deserve."
UA also is considering a new baggage system to replace the airline's 20-year-old one, and a change in its boarding procedures to benefit business travelers. "There's been a pattern with our boarding announcements where we say people who need extra time and people with small children board first," said Judy Bishop, vice president of North America sales. "We're questioning why we do that."
<A NAME="art2"><B>Inter-Continental Unveils Biz Rooms, Net Access</B>
Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts' nine North American properties launched new business-class rooms this month in 5 percent of its rooms, according to Scott Boone, vice president of sales, the Americas. The number of rooms varies per property; in New York, for instance, the hotel unveiled 35 business rooms with a $50 premium.
Two Inter-Continental Hotels in London, meanwhile, this week will begin offering e-mail and Internet access through keyboard-equipped television sets in 50 rooms each; access time will be billed at standard telephone rates of 25 pence per minute. In the next three months, hotels in New York, Dubai, Seoul and Frankfurt will be Web-enabled as well; by the end of the year, the chain plans to wire all 140 Inter-Continental and Forum Hotels worldwide.
<A NAME="art3"><B>Smart Card Standard Set</B>
An international consortium late last week announced it will launch a smart-card operating system that will use a single chip for multiple applications. The group, led by Mondex International, is vying with Visa to make its system the global standard. The system, called Multos, will enable one card to be used as a credit and debit card, electronic cash purse, loyalty card, security pass and rail pass; it also will be able to carry electronic airline tickets. Users will be able to download functions via ATM, telephone or Internet. The first cards will be ready within a year, said the consortium, whose other members include Motorola, MasterCard, Siemens and Hitachi.
<A NAME="art4"><B>Drury Debuts Corporate Rates</B>
St. Louis-based Drury Inns has launched a national accounts program for corporations using at least 500 room nights per year in multiple locations. The program--which coincides with the 85-property, 14-state chain's entry into the Global Distribution Systems--will provide travel managers with one central contact as well as negotiated rates and biannual reports.
<A NAME="art5"><B>Lufthansa To Pilot Corp. Booking Product</B>
Lufthansa German Airlines will test a corporate version of its CD-ROM booking product, Info Flyaway, with BASF Corp. starting June 1. The product, which will be accessed over BASF's intranet, will be available to a limited number of the firm's frequent flyers. Lufthansa also will hold its first Internet mileage auction on June 5.
<A NAME="art6"><B>Tech Firm Adopts E-Expense System</B>
Cheryl Hutchinson, first-ever global travel manager at technology management firm AMS in Virginia, is taking a bold step toward gaining compliance with the new electronic expense reporting system rolling out companywide this month: She will bill business units back for the internal cost of processing expense reports submitted in any other format. With its work force expected to grow 20 percent a year over the next five years and more than half its employees laptop-equipped, the company has a full-time team dedicated to the project. The system, which was tested for three months with 150 users, will be launched in Europe by September.
<A NAME="art7"><B>EG&G rolls out Reporting System</B>
Following a successful beta test of Captura Software's automated expense reporting system at its Industrial Seals Division, global technology company EG&G is rolling the system out to three-fourths of its sales force. Speaking at a recent meeting of the New England Business Travel Association, EG&G director of travel management Thomas McCabe said his vision for the system includes a mandated corporate card with charges pre-populated on expense reports, electronic approval and electronic reimbursement of travelers and vendors.