New Technologies Rolled Out at GetThere Summit 2009

GetThere(R), the world’s leading online business travel procurement solution, formally rolled out its latest collection of enhancements for business travel programs. Unveiled at July’s GetThere Summit in front of a record number of corporate travel managers and travel management company resellers, the latest bundle of enhancements meets a number of needs for today’s complex travel programs.

A Sabre Travel Network business, GetThere has self-booking deployments in 76 countries. More than $9 billion in business travel bookings are made annually via GetThere, with the majority of America’s 100 largest corporate travel programs using the solution. GetThere will showcase the enhancements detailed below in booth number 1319 at next week’s National Business Travel Association Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.

GetThere’s unmatched record of delivering travel procurement technology will be extended with the completion of its robust new global platform. The industrial-strength platform, finished after months of significant financial and resource investment, now serves its entire global customer base. The platform streamlines developmental and operational tasks, accelerating the introduction of new features and ensuring that traditional staples such as speedy air and hotel search results are even faster with more options.

The latest release contains 15 enhancements now available to clients using GetThere either directly or via a travel agency reseller. Highlights include:

Live hotel availability, delivering up-to-the-second hotel rate detail, while fully incorporating corporate policy and preferences at the point-of-sale;

Mobile access to trip and flight status information on any WAP enabled device, delivering timely, relevant information to travelers. A recent Sabre Travel Network survey of travelers using mobile devices found that access to flight status information is among the top three priorities for road warriors;

New out-of-policy reason displays, ensuring travelers are aware why they should not select an option during the shopping process. This improves compliance, savings and traveler satisfaction; and

Eurostar rail for U.K. and U.S. customers, providing another supplier option to GetThere’s growing global rail footprint. Rail bookings via GetThere are growing at a 30 percent year-over-year pace as business travelers focus on lower fares, intra-city convenience and environmental impact.

Travel procurement executives from a host of leading corporations – representing more than $3.5 billion in annual air volume alone – and travel management companies met at the GetThere Summit in Fort Worth last month to learn more about the new features and discuss strategies for deploying them to drive the most savings. More importantly, travel managers interacted with their mid-market and global peers, networking and sharing tales of travel management success in a challenging economic climate. With other annual corporate meetings down as much as 50 percent, the record attendance is testament to the value of the presentations and information shared at this unique gathering.

“The recession has put a major spotlight on corporate travel managers to demonstrate their value,” said Suzanne Neufang, GetThere’s vice president of corporate market strategy and solutions. “GetThere’s mix of global products, services and local expertise is having a hand in helping travel procurement professionals at both corporations and TMCs excel under the pressure. Our latest collection of enhancements extends that fundamental premise by giving corporations more choices and options to optimize their travel program.”

About GetThere

GetThere is the world’s leading global online business travel procurement solution, surpassing $9 billion in annual bookings. GetThere’s proven technology and unparalleled global service infrastructure helps corporations collectively save millions in air and hotel costs. Through its unique relationship with Travelocity(R), GetThere provides a familiar online booking experience for travelers of more than 3,000 companies, including a majority of multi-national Fortune 200 firms that deploy online booking. GetThere works with all major global distribution systems (GDS). Companies using GetThere and the Sabre GDS together can optimize efficiency and cost savings across the entire travel procurement process. More information is available at http://www.getthere.com.

Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.