NBTA, ITM: E-Booking, Data
<B>NBTA, ITM: E-Booking, Data</B>
By Amon Cohen
The gap between the theoretical marvels of online booking and the immense difficulties travel managers face in practice remains a large one. Those problems multiply outside the United States, especially for companies that are unable to mandate self-service.
Such were the apparent conclusions of a riveting, warts-and-all case study by Credit Suisse First Boston vice president of global travel Vanessa Brady at a joint National Business Travel Association-Institute of Travel Management conference in London on April 4-6. Introducing online booking has been an "uphill struggle" for CSFB since its inception in 1999 and adoption rates remain low: 9 percent in the United States and only 2 percent in the United Kingdom. However, CSFB launched the system in Switzerland on March 28 and expects a better embrace, in large part because of lessons learned during the earlier implementations.
The only detail on which Brady was coy was the name of the online product CSFB uses, but it was clear the relationship has been far from happy. One of the biggest problems has been the inability to make online amendments to existing bookings. "With this essential feature unavailable to us, we are prevented from making the product the success that it should be in this technologically advanced day in age," she said. "Consequently, we are advising users to send changes to the agency via e-mail, while also letting them know that they can still choose to call one of the agents direct to make the change for them."
Other logistical problems have included the loading of private fares, responsibility for which continues to be bickered over by airlines and agencies. "The consequence to us is unresolved airfare pricing issues," Brady said.
Brady also dealt with winning buy-in from travelers, "who still need the comfort of the agent being available to provide assistance and ultimate ownership of the booking," she said.
Hindsight also has taught CSFB what it would now look for if selecting a self-booking system. (Brady joined after the original vendor choice was made.) She would seek a product with global capability and the ability to integrate not only preferred suppliers but the firm's varying travel policies worldwide. The product vendor would need to have global representation, a commitment to investment in tech and significant support, management focus and innovation in meeting the specific business needs of the client.
Dorian Stonie painted a more upbeat picture following his successful delivery of high U.S. online booking levels, first with VeriFone and later with parent company Hewlett-Packard, where he is now manager for Internet travel technologies. About 50 percent of HP's U.S. reservations are online, Stonie said, attributing much of the success to a mandate. "We're saying 'Thou shalt book online,' " he said. Stonie expects to hit a glass ceiling of 75 percent, the remaining quarter of offline bookings being accounted for by such factors as Southwest Airlines, senior execs and complex itineraries.
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American Express Europe director of corporate services and industry affairs Bernard Harrop issued a clear call for tougher action to protect data. "This is one area where we do need to provide some boundaries," he said, referring to the "No Boundaries" theme of this second annual conference between the U.S. and U.K. travel manager associations. "Detailed knowledge about your travel patterns and expenditure is nobody's business but your own."
The recent controversy over a client code ID proposed by the International Air Transport Association has directed attention toward this issue but Harrop believes the debate should be much wider. Among the issues concerning Amex are the confidentiality of third parties.
Harrop said suppliers need to take a more active role in establishing ground rules on data, and called for the establishment of codes of practice. Travel managers also must stay on top of the issue: "We advise clients to read their contracts carefully.