Saturn Buys Genisys In Fragmented Ground Res. Field
Norwalk, Conn. - Saturn Reservation Systems last month acquired the assets of competitor Genisys Reservation Systems Inc., integrating the technology of the two automated ground transportation reservation providers to offer corporate clients more robust options. It remains to be seen, however, how third-party technology providers can prosper in the ground transportation market, when major ground companies offer their own booking technology and may balk at paying third-party transaction fees.
"There are two reasons why the third-party model will continue to be strong," said Saturn president and CFO Gary Goldberg. "By having one organization—ours—bear the technology development cost, it saves suppliers the expense of having to create it themselves. Secondly, when you ask a travel agent to interact with several booking systems everyday, you harm adoption. With Saturn, you're operating under one standard."
Saturn, which is working to develop other services for corporate clients, such as reporting technology, will continue a revenue model based on a transaction fee to suppliers. The key to the future of this model may lie with travel manager preference: When travel managers request the ability to reserve through this free channel, suppliers are willing to extend the relationship. Saturn said its model presents a "menu" of preferred suppliers to travel agents and travel managers, which routinely change providers within a fragmented industry. "To have to change booking methodologies when service providers change doesn't make sense," Saturn founder and CEO Greg Tuccillo said. "So we provide them with any vendor they choose."
A majority of Saturn's transactions are made through the GDS, where data is integrated into the PNR. The company works with suppliers, travel agents and about 100 corporate travel departments.
Various leading ground transportation suppliers continue to invest—albeit at varying levels—in their own reservation technology. Saturn's ability to provide real-time reservation confirmations, though, depends on the technological sophistication of those suppliers.
"Our goal is to help bring that sophistication to ground transportation, and we believe this will ultimately increase the total spend in the industry," Goldberg said. "Once you're able to book more fluidly, people will use ground transportation more."
Saturn's requests are sent to suppliers within 15 seconds. "We've done some innovative things with those suppliers who are able to do real-time reservations," Goldberg said, but Tuccillo noted it was still incumbent upon suppliers to achieve immediate confirmations.
Christine Faulstich, strategic travel and conference manager with Princeton, N.J.-based Educational Testing Service, said even an anticipated move to book travel through GetThere still will require reservations through Saturn.
"Last year, we spent $500,000 on limo and it was taking two people working full time to book," Faulstich said. "For me, it made absolute sense to help drive down costs." Faulstich said ETS commonly uses the lowest-cost search offered by Saturn, though she approves which vendors are included within that search.
"We know ground is a large cost and heretofore has gone unmanaged and unseen," Tuccillo said. "Corporate travel now has turned an eye toward ground transportation. Ground is 4 percent of air costs, and that's not an insignificant spend."