Travelocity Business Expands its Services in Europe; Launch of U.K. Service Center Marks First Phase of European Expansion
June 15 2006 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Travelocity Business(SM)today announced the launch of its first
wholly-owned service center in Europe, and its plans to pursue
business local to the United Kingdom this summer. As part of this
effort, Travelocity Business will move its current U.S.
multinational customers that use Travelocity Business in the U.K.
from an outsourced facility to its own full-service fulfillment
center in Amersham, U.K. The state-of-the-art facility will act as
a base for its European operations, supporting new business local
to the U.K. in its first phase. In the second phase scheduled for
this fall, the service center will support the corporate travel
requirements of Travelocity Business customers that have offices in
other European countries. The announcement comes following the
acquisition of lastminute.com by Travelocity in 2005, whereby
Travelocity Business acquired the company's U.K.-based corporate
travel offerings, Travelstore and First Option. Both offerings have
been re-branded as Travelocity Business, with Travelstore now
serving as Travelocity Business' local fulfillment center, and
First Option continuing to serve as a hotel reservations specialist
that provides Travelocity Business customers with valuable non-GDS
hotel content. As part of the rollout, Travelocity Business is
deploying localized versions of its unique technology and processes
within the U.K. facility, providing U.K. corporations with the
opportunity to gain efficiencies and cost savings already
experienced by its U.S. customers. This centralized approach also
will offer its multinational customers consistent service and
consolidated travel data across the United States and United
Kingdom. In addition, Travelocity Business is providing local
agents and account teams that cater to the specific needs of U.K.
companies and their travelers. Ellen Keszler, president of
Travelocity Business, explained: "Travelocity Business has been
very successful at serving the needs of multinational corporations
in the United States and we want to extend that success into
Europe. Leveraging Travelstore and First Option as the base for our
operations is a natural progression that will allow Travelocity
Business to compete in the global marketplace with a consistent
brand and service offering." Jason Stockwood, a former
lastminute.com executive, who was named managing director of the
U.K. corporate offerings in May 2005, will continue to lead
Travelocity Business' efforts in the region. "This is a hugely
exciting opportunity -- not just for the staff and clients of
Travelstore and First Option, but also for corporations across
Europe," said Stockwood. "We are creating a stronger entity that
will ultimately offer a wider portfolio of products and services to
our existing and new customer base." About Travelocity Business
Travelocity Business is a full-service corporate travel agency that
helps companies easily manage travel and reduce costs, while
providing more choices to travelers. Travelocity Business leverages
its own innovative technology to streamline travel processes, and
complements this with experienced corporate travel agents,
strategic account managers and in-depth consulting services.
Travelocity Business combines the expertise, service and travel
choices of Travelocity(R) with corporate experience gained from
serving more than half of the Fortune 200 companies. For more
information, companies can visit www.travelocitybusiness.com. Sabre
Holdings Corporation (NYSE:TSG) is a world leader in travel
commerce, retailing travel products and providing distribution and
technology solutions for the travel industry. More information
about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
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