Expedia.com Expedia Corporate Travel Expands Growing Client Base with Harvard University and Other New Key Customers
BELLEVUE, Wash. – Aug. 11, 2003 – Expedia® Corporate Travel, a full-service travel management company operated by Expedia, Inc., today announced that it has expanded its customer base with key clients across the country from a broad range of sectors. In the higher education space, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Northeastern University are all using Expedia® Corporate Travel. Separately, salesforce.com, Onyx Software Corp., and Akibia, Inc. have all implemented Expedia® Corporate Travel, showcasing the company’s success with helping high-tech businesses.
Harvard implemented Expedia® Corporate Travel in May, following a nearly two-year search for an online booking provider for its $20 million travel program. Expedia® Corporate Travel fit Harvard’s requirements for a solution that offered full-service agency support, a low-cost structure, and the ability for travelers to see all available fares, including negotiated and Web fares, in a user-friendly interface. Since teaming up with Expedia® Corporate Travel, Harvard has already taken advantage of the lower costs and convenience associated with the service.
“One of the reasons we chose Expedia® Corporate Travel was its strong back-end support, so that if our travelers had a question with an online reservation, they could easily call an agent and speak with someone who knew the intricacies of the Harvard Travel Program,” said Priscilla Campbell, Harvard’s director of travel and reimbursements. “Since going live on Expedia® Corporate Travel, online adoption has occurred with minimal training because our travelers are already familiar with the Expedia interface.”
Harvard, along with MIT, both participate in the corporate travel program of MASCO (Medical, Academic and Scientific Community Organization, Inc.), a charitable corporation established to plan and develop Boston’s Longwood Medical and Academic Area (LMA). MASCO’s 19 member institutions, including medical, academic and research facilities, all operate in the LMA, a 210-acre area that employs more than 37,000 people and generates $2.5 billion in revenues.
Following Harvard’s and MIT’s extensive reviews, the two universities recommended that MASCO work with Expedia® Corporate Travel for all of its travel program participants, which spend a collective $35 million on corporate travel annually. To date, besides Harvard and MIT, Northeastern is also using the solution.
“Expedia® Corporate Travel met the diverse needs of our members and aligned with our mission at MASCO to deliver services that emphasize cost-savings,” said Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd, president of MASCO. “Expedia® Corporate Travel’s willingness to provide a field representative on the ground here in Boston, as well as its travel management features, have already benefited the members that are using the service. We look forward to rolling out the solution in the future at our other member institutions.”
In the high-technology sector, San Francisco-based salesforce.com, a world leader in delivering software-as-service, has been using Expedia® Corporate Travel’s online booking tool as well as its executive services. “With Expedia® Corporate Travel, we are able to improve our travel services for our employees and effectively deal with our increasing travel demands, while maintaining the proper controls and information to support efficient operation,” said Steve Cakebread, CFO of salesforce.com.
Bellevue, Wash.-based Onyx Software (Nasdaq: ONXS), worldwide leader in delivering successful CRM (customer relationship management), and Mass.-based Akibia, which provides infrastructure management and CRM consulting services, have also successfully implemented and are booking on Expedia® Corporate Travel.
“In today’s environment, corporate travel managers want easy-to-use online tools, but with the full-service support of experienced agents,” said Matt Hulett, vice president of corporate travel at Expedia, Inc. “One of the benefits of Expedia® Corporate Travel is our ability to provide powerful technology with customized full-service offerings, depending on the customers’ needs. The comprehensive nature of our product is one of the reasons that our clients in high-technology, higher education and other industries have teamed up with us.”
For more information on Expedia® Corporate Travel, please visit http://corporate.expedia.com or call 1-866-328-0110.
About Expedia® Corporate Travel
Expedia® Corporate Travel is a full-service travel management company operated by Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel service and the fourth largest travel agency in the U.S. Expedia® Corporate Travel brings together the best of technology and corporate support in a single-source solution that drives down costs. Business travelers have access to specialized tools, while companies can take advantage of rich management and reporting features. Expedia is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). CST: 2029030-40
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