Rosenbluth Breaks Out Pricing
Philadelphia-based Rosenbluth International today announced a new menu-style pricing plan that automatically separates transaction fees from travel management fees. Corporate clients now may opt for invoices that articulate overall costs for ticket issuance transactions separately from fees for reporting, data analysis, preferred supplier consultations and related services and products. "This is the most official announcement of menu style pricing I've heard yet," said Susan Stowe, a senior consultant with Washington, D.C.-based Caldwell Associates, who said Rosenbluth's move is indicative of a trend toward unbundled pricing schemes that has been gathering steam in recent years. Rosenbluth also this month launched Ivision, its Web-based data reporting tool developed with Roswell, Ga.-based Hi-Mark. Ivision enables buyers to sort and filter data over the Internet in almost unlimited ways, said Rosenbluth CIO John Dabek.
US Airways To Begin Restructuring Talks
US Airways management and labor union leaders this week will begin discussing the first draft of a restructuring plan that aims to bring the company back to profitability. In a message last week to employees, CEO David Siegel said carrier recovery is "a monumental task not only because of its complexity but also the pressures of time," and added that the plan will determine the role of the federal loan guarantee program. According to Steve Tracas, US Airways vice president of sales, "The strategy is to protect the East Coast franchise, provide access to Europe, link up with an alliance that brings added value and tack on an RJ fleet."
DOT's Magaw At Odds Over Trusted Traveler ID
John Magaw, U.S. Department of Transportation undersecretary for security, last week said he disagreed with Homeland Security advisor Tom Ridge about the possibility of implementing a trusted traveler program. Although the technology for such a program exists, Magaw is concerned that terrorist "sleeper cells" could infiltrate the program. He also doubted if the benefit of such a program would justify its expense, as preferred travelers still would need their bags checked. Still, he said the Transportation Security Administration would move forward with a program if Congress wills it. Magaw also said the federalization process at Baltimore Washington Airport—which last week installed the country's first fully federalized screener force—has enabled TSA to make some other decisions, including one that only female screeners will "wand" female passengers.
Hotels Charged With Selling Guest Lists
The issue of data privacy, already roiling the airline industry, has reared its head in the hotel business. A bone of contention in the suits being brought against hotel management companies by property owners is the reported sale of guest lists—complete with names and home addresses—to such third parties as banks looking for qualified lists of leads for solicitations. Frequent guests are most vulnerable because of the wealth of data hotels possess on them. The property owners are interested in getting a portion of the revenues from these sales for themselves.
NBTA Keeps Hotel RFP Changes To A Minimum
Not wanting to discourage buyers from again using the streamlined electronic request for proposal format introduced last year, the hotel committee of the National Business Travel Association last week announced that changes for the upcoming 2003 bid process would focus on improving definitions. The wording changes are designed mostly to encourage hotels outside of North America to use the modular format. In addition, translations of the modules into French, German and Spanish will be available by mid-June. Responses, however, still must be in English.