<B>TechTalk</B>
<B>Pundits Opine On 2001 Online </B>
According to IDC Research's Josh Friedman, online travel planning is still more difficult for busy execs than a "good human travel consultant," though such people are hard to find. "The online environment should strive to emulate such a service level," he wrote in a year-end report. Despite significant strides in booking, personalization, site design and wireless connectivity in 2000, travel Web sites in 2001 will "have a long way to go before they can deliver information that is the same as, or even similar to, a good human travel consultant." According to the PhoCusWright 2000 Travel E-Commerce Survey, however, "While travel agencies are still the main way travelers buy travel, use of travel agencies has declined 29 percent while online usage has grown 170 percent in two years." PhoCusWright president Phillip Wolf predicted that in 2001 "Internet travel will zoom" even as "boom turns to gloom at economic sectors everywhere." <A NAME="2">
<B>InterPro Unveils New Reporting Module</B>
Expense vendor InterPro this week will announce a new information reporting product, InterPro Reporting, which consolidates agency, card and expense data and reports by category, vendor, department and employee, as well as post-purchase compliance on a choice of internal or ASP hosting at InterPro. InterPro executives conceded that the new product is something of a catch-up move, but said it is a leapfrog as well. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company said Qualcomm is implementing the product, the first in a line of strategic initiatives planned by a new management team. <A NAME="3">
<B>Web Designer Focuses On Travel, Adds BA</B>
Web site designer IXL, based in Atlanta, last month restructured its ownership in a bid to accelerate its movement to profitability. The company also said it is looking for a CEO to take over from Bert Ellis, who will remain chairman. IXL, which counts among its customers Budget Rent-a-Car, Delta Air Lines, OAG and Virgin Atlantic, previously announced it would close or sell seven offices and reduce its workforce by approximately 850 employees, or about 35 percent. It also said it would target specific industry segments, including travel, for growth. Meanwhile, British Airways announced it selected IXL to help it develop and implement e-commerce services, starting with a redesigned Web site to be unveiled this spring. <A NAME="4">
<B>Airlines Grow Web Site Offerings</B>
Several years after Southwest Airlines refused to pay GDS fees, the airline announced it will use Apollo parent Galileo International's Quantitude network to connect its Web site to Galileo's GDS to become one of the few airlines to offer car and hotel bookings on its site. The connection will increase the speed, data exchange, response time and efficiency of southwest.com, and will enable it to receive customized pricing, availability and inventory info from car and hotel vendors. Northwest Airlines also announced it would offer hotel bookings on its site through a partnership with Hotel Reservations Network. <A NAME="5">
<B>GetThere Adds Alamo, National</B>
GetThere, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based unit of Sabre, last month said Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental agreed to participate in the GetThere Marketplace, which this year will begin establishing non-GDS connections between travel vendors and corporate clients. The two divisions of ANC Rental Corp., join three competitors, six airlines and eight lodging companies in the program.<A NAME="6">
<B>Ernst & Young Partners With Extensity</B>
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has agreed to incorporate Emeryville, Calif.-based Extensity's workforce automation software into CGE&Y's "Connect Innerprise" solution. CGE&Y consultants will be trained to implement Extensity's Connect Suite for existing and new CGE&Y clients.