<B> Web Cites</B>
By Laurie Berger and Mary Ann McNulty
<B>Test Your Cultural IQ</B>
Need help navigating the cultural boundaries of business deals? Look no further than getcustoms.com, the redesigned Website of authors Terri Morrison and Wayne Conaway. With portions of their books and cultural databases on the site, Getting Through Customs makes it easy to find tips on business practices, etiquette, religious and legal holidays and appropriate gifts for more than 65 countries--and even cultural I.Q. quizzes testing users' knowledge of the details that can make or break a deal in the new global world. Country-specific business practice tips include how to present a business card, set appointments, negotiate and entertain.
The latest redesign of the site adds interactive maps of various world regions and makes gift giving as easy as clicking on an icon. In a deal with Magellan's, Getting Through Customs has selected a handful of gifts at varying price ranges that can be ordered right off the Website, including pens, travel wallets, candles and a unique clock. Many more gift options are on the way, said Morrison, as she strives to source historic American-style gifts such as quill pens. Portions of the Getting Through Customs database also appear as content on Sabre Business Travel Solutions, as well as on intranets of several Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, AT&T, Lucent and DuPont.
<a name="2"><B>TheTrip.com Offers Airfare Benchmarks</B>
From Thetrip.com, a new benchmarking tool called Fare Aware (thetrip.com/flight/f_aware.html) lets travelers or travel managers compare average fares paid on the top 1,000 U.S. city pairs for the latest quarter for which data is available from the Department of Transportation. It also identifies the carriers with the largest share--and lowest fare--in each market, as well as the flying distance between the two city points and the average number of daily passengers on the route. The only problem is that on some routes, 1996 data is the latest available.
<a name="3"><B>Do You Know the Way To San Jose?</B>
It's not surprising that one of the most technologically savvy bureau sites hails from Internet ground zero, Silicon Valley. With interactive maps and turn-by-turn directions for every business listed, the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau's online headquarters (sanjose.org) offers more for corporate planners than the brochure ware posted by other CVB powerhouses. An interactive form enables meeting planners to request information by e-mail, list the meetings they are currently planning or add a new event. A section aptly named Silicon Valet houses listings for an endless array of business services, complete with maps and directions. The site also features weekend packages for business travelers at online-only, rock-bottom rates. Breaking new ground for a CVB site, San Jose features a fast-acting search engine that lets users retrieve data by keyword or business name, rather than drilling down through endless menus. You also can specify additional criteria for each search, such as availability of free parking or accessibility by public transportation. Site listings and content always are current thanks to a software feature that automatically removes time-sensitive data after the date passes.
<a name="4"><B>SkyTel Web Paging</B>
Providing another reason not to take your hands off the keyboard, SkyTel goes the extra mile by offering a convenient utility for paging via the Internet, rather than by phone. At skytel.com/Paging, three separate screens allow users of SkyTel's SkyWord, SkyWord Plus or SkyTel 2-Way products to send messages of up to 500 characters to other U.S. users with alphanumeric SkyTel pagers. They may include up to nine customer responses with two-way messages or choose from 16 preset responses. Users also can check message status as well as create address books and group messaging lists. A list of access numbers for connecting with SkyTel outside of the United States also is available, as are links to the Websites of SkyTel providers around the world.
<a name="5"><B>Riding The Online Rails</B>
Need to catch the next Channel Eurostar from London to Paris? Look no further than The European Rail System Online Travel site, at eurorail/railindx.html, for a one-stop source of Chunnel and other continental train schedules. Enter your origin and destination (using European city name spellings, like Milano, not Milan), as well as date and time of departure. But make sure to click the "search/schedule connection" button, not the return key, or you'll be waiting endlessly. You also can access a map that shows station stops and transfer points. Although it's mostly information-only, you can book tickets for German Rail online, get pricing for rail passes, look up train connections from European airports or find details on Eurostar service.