[Chrissy Scivicque]

This question was asked by one of our focus group members:

Does anyone know of a good corporate travel program that individuals can use to book their own travel with ease, at the best rates and reduce or even eliminate fees?

[darrellross]

For SMBs, both Orbitz and Travelocity have corporate travel offerings. Basically, your corporation would establish a corporate account with either service and then be able to take advantage of discounts negotiated by either Orbitz/Travelocity with the major air carriers and hotel/car brands. Depending on the city pair, the discounts could be in the 1-15% range.

[Uhope]

I highly recommend American Express Business Travel. At my last job, the company did not have a travel agency (or policy) in place. Arranging travel from scratch thru Orbitz and airline websites was time-consuming and costly. I received permission to research a travel program that not only had an online booking tool that everyone could use but also provided live travel agents at three levels of service. This allowed for employees to speak to a professional regarding any emergencies or last minute changes.

And a perk very important to my bosses -- all airfare booked with our corporate AmEx card resulted in double rewards points which add up VERY quickly! ;-) Working with the reps was very easy and the price was quite good -- you pay each year for the service.

If anyone is interested, I can hook you up with the rep!

[ExecAdmin126]

Originally Posted by Uhope

I highly recommend American Express Business Travel. At my last job, the company did not have a travel agency (or policy) in place. Arranging travel from scratch thru Orbitz and airline websites was time-consuming and costly. I received permission to research a travel program that not only had an online booking tool that everyone could use but also provided live travel agents at three levels of service. This allowed for employees to speak to a professional regarding any emergencies or last minute changes.

And a perk very important to my bosses -- all airfare booked with our corporate AmEx card resulted in double rewards points which add up VERY quickly! ;-) Working with the reps was very easy and the price was quite good -- you pay each year for the service.

If anyone is interested, I can hook you up with the rep!

I work for a very small, but extremely busy company that travels both US and OUS on a daily basis. Although I was hired as the Executive Assistant to the CEO, I spend minimally 75% of my time researching, scheduling, canceling, rescheduling and tracking the company's travel. I've been doing this for the last six months, and to be perfectly honest it has become a nightmare! Since the CEO has very specific criterion; will only travel certain airlines, non-stop, first class, no bulk head, first or last row seating, consistently misses the early morning departures and will not even consider next day arrivals, will not approve anything without using award miles, stickers or credits, ALWAYS waits until the very last minute to okay a flight (because his plans change so often,) and consistently cancels 9 out of 10 flights scheduled, I am completely at a loss. I spend countless hours every month trying to reconcile his three corporate credit cards - tracking all the fees, reimbursements, miles, and airline credits and feel I am just spinning my wheels. Early on I recognized the need to write a Travel Policy and Procedure in order to simplify the process, minimize the amount of time I spend on travel, as well as lower the cost of having to cancel and reschedule, and also to show him how much time, effort, and money he could be saving by having a company policy in place. But due to constant changes in his schedule, and most recently, the airlines cutting their flight schedules, I am really struggling. I could sure use some assistance, any ideas?

[Uhope]

Wow -- I totally feel your pain! That sounds like the situation I wasin. Like you quoted, if you're game, I can hook you up with the Amex Business Travel Rep I worked with. Her name is Elizabeth Anderson, 877.778.1735. I think you would be very satisfied with the service they provide.