McDonald's Corp. has moved on from a nine-month pilot test and by the end of the week will transition travel services for all of its home office and USA employees to Orbitz For Business from Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
"Starting immediately, all McDonald's U.S. employees will begin using Orbitz for all air, car and hotel reservations," said Orbitz business services vice president Rick Weber in an interview today. "It's a multi-year, long-term contract with McDonald's." Asked whether McDonald's is using dedicated or pooled agents, general manager of corporate travel Dave Cerino said, "There's one piece that's segmented and another that's not." Orbitz officials said not every corporate account will require such a long pilot phase, and, according to Weber, "The majority of corporate customers enter the program without a pilot."
Oak Brook Ill.-based McDonald's travel manager Patty Little referred
BTN to the company's communications department for comments. A McDonald's spokesperson today said the company would retain its Corporate Travel Department designation from ARC. She said McDonald's does not expect to sacrifice anything related to service quality, and that it had investigated other online travel services before the Orbitz pilot. About half of the company's restaurants are in the United States. Described as a decentralized corporation--with a company in each of the 119 countries it serves--McDonald's pulled in more than $15 billion in 2002 revenues.
Orbitz For Business clients tend to be smaller or "lightly managed"
(BTN, Oct. 27). "Why did McDonald's choose Orbitz?" asked Weber. "In general, because they wanted to cut travel expenses dramatically, they wanted easy-to-use tools, great customer service and a lower overall distribution cost." In terms of how Orbitz's direct (non-global distribution system) connections with such vendors as America West, American, Continental, Northwest airlines and US Airways could impact the agency's pricing for corporate accounts, Weber said, "I don't think there is a direct relationship here."
Management Alternatives consultant John Ohaver said he was "not surprised" by the news, particularly because an Orbitz official had leaked the McDonald's name earlier this year
(BTNonline, Feb. 28). "What we're seeing now is the mainstreaming of the technology from the online agencies. I don't think it fits everybody, but it's one more alternative, and more will give it serious consideration."