In an effort to cut costs, three-quarters of North American businesses have been examining and revising their travel policies. The effects of the global economic downturn has resulted in two-thirds of companies either prohibiting or dissuading employees, who have to travel for work, from choosing first- or business-class options with airlines.
A new survey reveals how the majority of employers are now asking their employees to look for what is termed as the ‘lowest logical fare’, and, when appropriate, purchase cheaper non-refundable tickets. The survey is being published by the National Business Travel Association Foundation and Egencia.
Last year, US companies spent [...]

Online travel agencies are voicing their concerns over the acquisition of airline flight information aggregators ITA Software by Google. ITA is a Massachusetts-based firm which was set up in 1996 by a group of MIT scientists. The firm provides data on airfares, flight times and ticket availability to the travel industry. In short, it is the bridge between the airlines and the customer facing travel agents.
Google said that it has acquired ITA in order to supply users of its search engine with an easier and more convenient tool with which to access information about flights and airfares. The internet giant [...]

Property website operator, Rightmove, has sold its holiday rental properties site, Holiday Lettings, to TripAdvisor, the travel website operator. The deal for the country’s largest independent holiday lettings site was announced last week and an undisclosed sum has been paid for the company. Rightmove is a subsidiary of travel giants Expedia.
In March 2007, Rightmove purchased a just over two-thirds stake in Holiday Lettings. It said recently that it intended to declare in its half-yearly report that the company is a discontinued operation.
By securing Holiday Lettings the TripAdvisor Media Group will increase its number of travel brands to 17. The website [...]

A report by online travel experts, Expedia, suggests that British holidaymakers like to book their trips well in advance and commonly opt for package deals. Those booking a holiday also tend to do so on a Monday evening, with only one in ten waiting for the weekend to come round to book a holiday on a Saturday. The report showed that Sunday was the quietest day of the week for the Expedia website.
Customers using the travel site tended to go for the most luxurious options they could find at the most competitive price. 40 per cent of bookings made are [...]

Online travel company, Expedia, has announced the launch of a new charity initiative. TravelRelief has been set up by Expedia Affiliate Network to provide customers with the opportunity of donating money to charitable organisations participating in the scheme. Through TravelRelief.org, those booking a hotel through Expedia will now be able to contribute at least eight per cent of the booking price to a participating organisation of their choice.
According to senior director, marketing and strategy for EAN, Lily Cheng, TravelRelief has been designed to help non-profit organisations see moral support converted into financial support to help fund their projects. TravelRelief has [...]

Expedia, the online travel giant, has announced the launch of its Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) in the US. The program will now allow travel agents across the US to tap into Expedia’s world wide inventory, and at the same time, earn commissions on bookings.
The scheme was first set up in Italy in 2002 and has since expanded into other European territories, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Expedia is currently the only full-service travel provider operating online to offer the service to travel agents.
Expedia.com’s senior vice president and GM Tim MacDonald said that the company was well aware of how [...]

Expedia.com, one of the world’s best known online travel agents, has announced that in celebration of the 40 years since the first Earth Day, it will be expanding its Green Hotel program. The program is aimed at travellers who wish to place the environment high up on their list of priorities when it comes to choosing a hotel.
The program features a list of more than 1,700 hotels, all of which have been certified as being ‘green’ by a number of organisations including STEP, LEEDS, Green Key and Green Seal. Expedia.com’s Green Hotel program was set up in April 2008. It [...]

To celebrate CruiseShipCenters’ newest launch of Celebrity Solstice during the fall, Expedia is giving 25 cruises away. There will be one cruise given away once a day for 25 days straight, starting in September of this year. Each prize includes entertainment, beverages, meals, and gratuities while on board a cruise leaving from Port Everglades in Florida.

This new ship will be introduced as the first of four from the Solstice Class. As it is the first ship from this class, the ship will reveal the new vision of Celebrity innovation combined with style and service. Celebrity Solstice [...]

Expedia is adopting an approach that is less aggressive to their marketing spend for the United Kingdom in their response to the current climate of the economy, and they are looking to have new market growth in continental Europe. Dara Khosrowshahi, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, told analysts that the market in the United Kingdom continues to display weaknesses, and they do not want to aggressively spend into an environment that is weaker. He stated that the United Kingdom makes up nearly one-third of their business in Europe, and they make more profit there than in [...]

Expedia announced on Tuesday, July 15th, that they have entered into a deal to acquire Venere, a web company based in Italy, from Advent International and its founding partners. Venere.com has founded relationships will about 29,000 B&B properties and hotels all over Europe and the United States. The deal will consist of adding over 10,000 European, Middle Eastern, and African incremental hotel properties to Expedia’s offered hotels across the globe. Venere has targeted offering hotel accommodations to consumers in Europe and gives hoteliers a geographically diverse demand. The company has relationships directly with about 29,000 hotels globally, where 26,000 of [...]