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Amadeus Powers Uniglobe Booking Platform
By —Jennifer Merritt, Michael B. Baker & Chris Davis
JUNE 19, 2006 --
Amadeus Powers Uniglobe Booking Platform
Technology supplier and global distribution system Amadeus is providing corporate travel agency franchisor Uniglobe Travel with one global technology platform across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Asia/Pacific and Latin America, the Madrid-based company announced this month. The move gives Uniglobe's agencies one booking platform available in multiple languages. Though Amadeus' E-Travel Management technology is available to other travel management companies, what makes Uniglobe unique is that it is implementing the technology globally, said Gillian Gibson, vice president of the Amadeus multinational customer group. "If you look at big travel management companies, they have huge amounts of offices in many countries and it takes them a while to implement and change all their offices to this type of technology," she said. "Uniglobe has built a global platform which all of their offices will use for global business. That's pretty special." Amadeus E-Travel Management consists of Vista, an agent desktop, a corporate booking portal and quality control software so agencies can monitor passenger name records while searching for lower fares, seat assignments and upgrade options. Gibson said Amadeus developed similar technology for the Radius network. "The only way you can really compete with the traditional travel management companies is to have a platform that allows you to be consistent, because you're not operating on one technology otherwise, or as a common company," she said. "The only way you can offer a consistent solution to a corporation is if you use technology that allows you to share data." Uniglobe currently distributes Aergo in the United States. Brian Dahl, director of communications for Uniglobe, said the network decided on Amadeus' technology based on two drivers: efficiency and effectiveness in serving clients' needs. "We found first and foremost Aergo was a global product that meets the needs of our agencies and corporate clients worldwide," he said. "What makes it a global product is that it is multilingual and has the ability to process multiple currencies." Dahl said Uniglobe's agencies overseas are conducting Aergo training and testing.
Rental Car Toll Technology Expands
A toll technology company and an urban planning corporation have joined forces to provide electronic toll technology for rental car users. Dallas-based Rent A Toll Ltd. and Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB Corp. on May 30 announced an exclusive marketing and services agreement to tackle toll solutions for rental car companies. Rent A Toll has developed 13 patent-pending processes that allow car renters to use the automated express lanes at tollways and add those charges to rental receipts. "The corporate travel market has long suffered from lost productivity, difficulty in employee toll expense management and growing frustrations from employees who have had no alternative but to sit and wait in long lines to pay minimal fees when traveling on toll roads," Rent A Toll president and CEO Ben Robinson said in a prepared statement. "The Rent A Toll solution will be particularly appealing to corporate travelers who want to maximize their productivity." Besides the travel time element, toll technology also eases the expense reporting process. Rather than keeping up with multiple receipts of a few dollars each, a traveler can use the itemized toll for reporting purposes. Car rental companies also are interested in the technology. Customers who are in a hurry often run through tolls, and it's left to the rental companies to track them down and get the money from the resulting fine. Likewise, businesses often are left holding the bag for such fines, as their travelers write them off as a business expense using the justification of running late for a meeting. Some car rental companies already have taken the toll technology matter into their own hands (BTN, March 20). Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car in March announced that they were making toll-paying technology available in the New York and Houston markets, and the brands plan to broaden that availability in the near future. Hertz Corp. also has reported that it is testing toll devices for its fleet.
Adelman To Offer International SOS Security Service
Milwaukee-based travel management company Adelman Travel Group earlier this month announced a partnership to offer all corporate clients International SOS traveler-tracking, medical-assistance and security services. "The new partnership complements Adelman Travel's current emergency preparedness products and will offer additional peace of mind to corporations with employees living or traveling abroad," said Doris Reiss, vice president of Adelman Travel. The partnership adds International SOS services to Adelman's existing suite of traveler-tracking tools. Trevose, Pa.-based International SOS in March upgraded its tracking service, adding such features as a global overview of travelers and situations, new search functions, e-mail alerts and the ability to edit traveler information (BTN, March 6).
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