Expedia Corporate Travel changes name to Egencia

By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 6/30/2008 7:39:00 AM

Expedia Corporate Travel has updated its brand, including changing its name to Egencia, an Expedia Inc. company.

“The new branding is a restatement of our promise to deliver meaningful results to our customers, business travelers, suppliers and partners,” said Simon Tam, senior vice president of product and technology at Egencia in Bellevue, Wash., in an interview with Purchasing.  “Egencia serves as our platform for further defining and differentiating how we as a company are pushing the industry forward and driving the next evolution for our clients.”  

To that end, the company also announced that it has acquired Synergi Global Travel Management, a corporate travel management and meetings and incentives company based in Mississauga, Ontario, and has introduced new tools for travel managers and travelers. 

New tools for travel managers consist of: 

• A ticket performance report. New functionality helps travel managers monitor usage of unused ticket inventory, review tickets that are about to expire, evaluate lost credits and determine overall savings.
• Customized hotel tools. New tools give travel managers control to customize hotel policies, allowing them to configure how hotels are displayed in the online booking tool based on preferred suppliers and deliver personalized usage message to travelers.
• Global customer service support.  Egencia measures performance of its travel consultants down to the individual level, bringing additional accountability and oversight to a travel program, ensuring travelers receive the same quality experience each time they travel with Egencia.
• The Egencia preferred program. In addition to negotiating hotel rates and services for its customers, the company has expanded this service to include air and car rates.

These new tools are for travelers:

• SeatGuru, a color-coded interactive airplane seating chart that outlines the pros and cons of different seats for more than 275 airplanes and more than 40 airlines. Provided by a community of frequent business travelers, the tool takes convenience and comfort factors into account, such as legroom and ability to recline. The content is integrated within the seat selection process.
• Hotel reviews. Feedback from leisure and business travelers sorts choices within hotel search results by opinion rating and link to content from a “My Itineraries” page.
• TripAdvisor City Guides give business travelers access to destination information that links to the traveler’s itinerary.

“With today’s news I want to send another loud and clear message: Egencia will continue driving innovation within the industry, not because of trends or the latest headlines, but through a focused and strategic approach,” said Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Egencia. “The Egencia brand reflects who we truly are as a company.”

See: Online travel tools provide travel buyers a new level of travel spend visibility and How supply chain execs can deal with canceled flights