Portland, Ore.-based Topaz International last month said its latest study found airfares for business travel itineraries available on various Internet sites, including Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, averaged $69 higher during 2003 than airfares for those same itineraries booked through a designated travel agency or the online tool it supports, using negotiated corporate rates. The findings, based on a study of 30,000 records, corroborate additional studies in recent years by such others as DuPont
(BTN, May 15, 2000).Topaz said that while the results during the past three years have been similar in that, "when booking business travel, the traditional travel agencies obtain a lower or equal fare over 90 percent of the time," online-originating players, including supplier Web sites, are catching up.
"The senior manager is nothing more than a glorified traveler, and there has been longtime skepticism about whether the corporate agency is offering the best deal," said Travel Tech Consulting president Norm Rose.
Research indicates the key factor in obtaining the lowest rates is the negotiated corporate discount, available to both agents and travelers in a managed travel environment. Within that scenario, "travelers are more apt to select lower fares if they book online themselves," said Lockheed-Martin director of corporate travel services Richard Wooten. "Travelers are better at communicating to themselves, rather than an agent, what their pain threshold is to accept certain fares," said Johnson Controls global travel manager Michael Hall.
Said Akamai manager of travel and meetings services Terry Sullo, "In my experience, travelers work harder, take more time and review more sites than corporate agents to find a deal," meaning companies have to be mindful of impacting productivity.