Going places on the web
Last year online travel bookings rose by 30% and are expected to make up a third of all bookings by 2006. At Flybe online bookings have gone from 6% to 80% in less than two years while easyJet now takes 95% of its bookings online. Online booking is easy, accurate and economical for traveller and operator alike.
By Sara Goodwins
You'll find contacts for all companies mentioned in this article at the bottom of the page
Most travel websites, whether nominally concerned with travel tickets, car hire, etc., now offer the option to book accommodation and travel together, or even book travel with rival organisations. British Airways Corporate Travel, for example, books tickets on over 200 airlines. Travelocity, while not having a specialist business site, does cater for business travel and allows online bookers to reserve the booking for 24 hours without obligation, in case they need to check final details or get approval (travelocity.co.uk, click on 'tools and service'). Best of all, the holding system cancels the reservation automatically and without charge if you do not confirm purchase within 24 hours.
Up in the air
Many operators offer special services to online business customers, once they have registered. Expedia Corporate for example, offers a centralised payment and billing system as does British Airways Corporate Travel. Flybe and EasyJet offer email updates and monthly downloads of management information. TravelStore business and corporate travel site offers the useful facility of storing frequently-used routes to make booking easier, while Ebookers' corporate travel website claims to offer savings on hotels and flights of up to 65% for account holders.
On the rails
Many business travellers go by train, and the National Rail enquiries website offers helpful online journey planning. The site includes the facility to text journey details to a mobile phone plus a TrainTracker service providing current information about arrivals and departures. The website does not offer online booking itself but, once journey details have been selected, it connects with online retailers without users needing to re-enter journey information.
Travellers looking for a website dedicated to business train travel might try The Train Line for Business while European rail travel, including Eurostar, can be booked online between 7 and 60 days before departure through Freedom Trains Ltd.
Streetwise
Carrying equipment or visiting somewhere a little out of the way often means journeying by road. 5th Gear offers online car hire for worldwide travel. One advantage with 5th Gear is that airport (and occasionally ferry) surcharges - an additional fee paid to use airport car hire facilities and one which is usually paid in local currency - are included within the price of the car rental. Most of the major car rental companies including Hertz and Alamo offer online booking. Europcar recognises the different needs of small businesses and has special packages for SMEs including a cashback incentive scheme - an annual cheque or car voucher the amount of which depends on what you have hired during the year - and discounted holiday car rental for staff.
E booking = E-asy booking
Booking online offers all sorts of advantages. For one thing it's cheaper. You can take advantage of last-minute deals, you don't have to pay any third party booking agencies and many travel companies now put a surcharge on tickets which are not booked online. Some companies such as easyJet actively encourage online booking by restricting access to the best advance fares to its online customers. For easy comparison of the best online travel products and services, including tickets, car hire and insurance, go to corptraveller.co.uk.
Online booking is also much quicker than other methods. Expedia estimates that online booking takes an average of two to three minutes, which compares favourably with the ten minutes you might spend on the phone. Even insurance - an important part of safeguarding your business journey - can be booked online (try insureandgo.com/travel-insurance/business-travel-insurance.htm ). No more queuing, no more abortive phone calls and access to up-to-the-minute information. Everything you need for your business travel can be booked online and all without leaving your desk.
A freelance writer for over twenty years, the last ten of them full-time, Sara Goodwins has researched and written about a multitude of different topics. She tends to specialise in business and education and her features are regularly published internationally.
