Online Agencies Consider Corporate Travel

Management at online travel agency Expedia told investors and analysts at a CIBC World Markets conference this week in New York that there are "potentially interesting opportunities for an avenue for corporate travel, but there are no near-term plans to get involved," according to a report issued today by CIBC analyst Paul Keung.

Last week, speaking at The Masters Program in Washington, D.C., Dhiren Fonseca, vice president of Expedia's transportation division, said, "I think at least one attempt will be made by one of the two or three online travel agencies to move from the small-end up to General Motors. Maybe it's a progression of bottom up, rather than top down." He said Bellevue, Wash.-based Expedia's attempt at the top-down approach, a partnership in the late 1990s between former Expedia owner Microsoft and American Express to develop AXI, "didn't work."

Meanwhile, just as Southlake, Texas-based Sabre cited a convergence of strategies in moving to repurchase the 30 percent of Travelocity it did not already own, senior vice president of corporate strategy and research Colleen Dahlen, said, "So far, managed travel is not a target for consumer online agencies, but it's a natural progression of where things go." An Orbitz spokesperson echoed Expedia's comments about how corporate travel could offer some opportunities, but reiterated that it is not part of the company's current strategy.

"Corporate travel is showing signs of improvement," Keung said, "but it still remains well down from normal levels" as measured in 2000.