Web 2.0 Becomes Travel Standard

By Jennifer Merritt

OCTOBER 23, 2006 -- During the past few months, BCD Travel, GetThere and Rearden Commerce have rolled out features, such as improved search capabilities and easy access to content, that meet the new specifications of Travel 2.0. An application of Web 2.0, Travel 2.0 enhances the online experience by making it more interactive through the aggregation of disparate information sources. TRX also is moving to adopt the 2.0 specs into ResX by January and American Express plans to do so in 2007. Still, Travel 2.0 is not without its hurdles. As the specs are applied, the ability it eventually could offer travelers to generate comments about suppliers may have unforeseen implications for travel buyers and their travel programs.

Web 2.0 uses technology based protocols to display information from multiple sites and categories and lets users organize that information in different ways on the screen or do more flexible searches. Common consumer examples of Web 2.0 include the social-networking Web site MySpace and YouTube, which allows users to post and watch videos via the Internet. In the travel sector, many industry experts point to Travel 2.0 examples in Web sites like Farecast, which uses predictive modeling to advise travelers when to book flights to get the best price and the search engine Kayak, which presents a matrix with fares culled from all the major carrier and leisure booking sites.

"The full deployment of Web 2.0," said TRX president and CEO Trip Davis, "is when the user has more flexibility in the navigation and in searching and as a result reduces the steps to search, reserve and book and reduces the time to make a reservation." Davis said that the industry is in the earliest stages of deploying Web 2.0 and that there is still room for interpretation for the specifications regarding Travel 2.0. Davis said in addition to concerns about how the spec becomes standardized, there is a cost. "Any time you are writing code, it is a major investment," he said. "For any company that decides to embark on a 2.0 interface, it requires a significant investment and good planning and process mapping."

"These tools enable consumers to take control of the booking process," said Cathy Schetzina, director of information services at PhoCusWright Inc., the company credited with coining Travel 2.0 and host of an upcoming conference on the subject in Hollywood on Nov. 13-15. Schetzina said it is yet to be determined which Travel 2.0 functionalities will stick. Even so, there are definite hot topics in Web 2.0 and two of the most talked about aspects are social networking and mapping. As an example of social networking, Schetzina noted TripAdvisor‘s recently added "Wiki" feature, a capability based on the online collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia. "They‘re set up so that people can define travel locations and include opinions in separate sections," she explained.

As for mapping, Schetzina said there are a few examples of mapping "mashups" being applied to the travel space. Such innovations are just the beginning of Travel 2.0. "There‘s going to be more convergence of different technologies and that‘s going to enable a lot of new things we‘re not even talking about right now," Schetzina said.

Historically, the corporate travel space has lagged behind consumer online booking tools, but there is evidence in today‘s market that corporate booking tool providers are implementing Travel 2.0. "The leisure tools have really caught on to Travel 2.0 and since now the leisure tools own the corporate tools, you‘ll continue to see features bleed over pretty quickly," said Steve Reynolds, vice president of technical solutions at Management Alternatives. Implementing such technology is becoming a main strategy for remaining competitive, Reynolds added. "The only way you can differentiate yourself is through features and this can do it," he said.

For buyers, Travel 2.0 is more than simply having a user-friendly booking tool. "What we‘ve learned is that leisurizing the process and the information that‘s provided has absolutely improved adoption rates," said Susan Steinbrink, travel analyst at PhoCusWright. "The move to leisure to support the needs of the traveler and bringing more of those tools and strategies to the market is key going forward." A by-product of increased adoption, Steinbrink added, is better data to meet Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. "As SOX requires companies to institute standardized procedures for auditing processes, when travelers use these tools they then provide the company with specific reporting as to what that T&E data is," she said. "It‘s an important component companies are embracing as procurement gets more involved in travel."

"With Travel 2.0, we‘re bringing everything that‘s contextually relevant to the user that would otherwise be all over the web," said Tony D‘Astolfo, vice president of travel services at Rearden Commerce. "What we try to understand with Travel 2.0 is your identity and that is everything about you—your frequent flyer number, your meal preference—and then your presence—do you like to use your calendar or your BlackBerry?—and then the context—is this business or is the family coming along?"

GetThere earlier this year rolled out an enhanced air booking interface that features a new display matrix and uses Web 2.0 to provide expanded search capabilities that include alternate airports, connecting cities and shopping by reference point, enhancements many leisure sites had for some time (BTN, March 20).

Aided by partnerships with FlightStats, AccuWeather and MapQuest, BCD Travel‘s Travel Source portal offers real-time flight status alerts, customized weather reports and interactive maps and directions, bearing a resemblance to customizable homepages, such as My Yahoo. Other individual traveler-oriented content it offers includes city and airport guides, streaming news, health and safety information and restaurant and entertainment options. (BTN, Sept. 11).

TRX, which is publicly held, is beta-testing in November a new ResX interface that includes such features as an airfare matrix display with more flight options and more robust hotel mapping and information. ResX also soon will allow users to look at content from multiple sources (BTN, July 17).

Some industry experts believe corporate travel has yet to reach its full potential with Travel 2.0. Noticeably absent on most corporate booking tools are features like those on Hotels.com, which includes user-generated reviews of suppliers and virtual video tours of hotel rooms. Also missing are Web logs, or blogs, a forum many business travelers have used to voice their opinions of travel suppliers.

While several corporate booking tools have access to these capabilities, they have not yet deployed them, as such features can put employees at odds with company policy on public statements and may open the corporation to legal action.

"The Web is moving toward user-generated content, and in the corporate travel world, there is an awful lot of desire from frequent travelers to have a forum to express their views on things," said Norm Rose, president of Travel Tech Consulting in Belmont, Calif. "There is a fear among corporate travel managers that if they allow their travelers to post comments or reviews of hotels, all they‘re going to do is blast the corporate travel agency, or blast the corporate travel organization." Instead, such an application, according to Rose, could be put to good use during supplier negotiations. "When it comes down to it, the overriding discipline that‘s really driving travel management forward is the concept of total cost of ownership, which involves more than price," he said. "User reactions to things—that bottom line of knowing what your users think about the service—should be a factor in your negotiations and should act as leverage to try to find the best value for the corporation."

Yet, there is a downside to the innovations of Travel 2.0 and it‘s something Gene van Grecken, vice president of product development at Sabre Holdings is taking very seriously. "We‘re about to find out what corporate cultures are like when you go down this path," van Grecken said. "It‘s one thing to have this social Web of data in the public space, but in the corporate space it‘s an entirely different story. There are some challenges around these laws that govern companies but not individuals that will challenge how fast corporations get into Travel 2.0."

Even as Travel 2.0 faces its challenges, Web 2.0 is evolving into Web 3.0. Both Rearden Commerce and GetThere are looking at ways to use technology to anticipate conflicts with itineraries, such as flight delays caused by inclement weather. Current booking tools only alert travelers or agents to problems when they arise. "What if the algorithm was proactive and on the day of travel put you on a direct flight instead of your booked connecting flight that was going to be hit by a snow storm at the connecting point?" GetThere‘s van Grecken said. "Travel 2.0 still relies on the human to know that data."