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Expedia
Helps You Get the Best Deals on Leisure Travel
Microsoft
Broadens Its Web-Based Travel Offerings
Going
on vacation is a great feeling, but leisure travelers have
always been left a little frustrated knowing that they might
have saved some money if they'd had a convenient way to
find the best fares and schedules, then choose from all
the available options. With this week's beta release of
Microsoft Expedia travel services, you can now have that
capability.
Expedia
is a free service that will be available to all Internet
users on the World Wide Web and MSN later this month. To
access the beta, point your browser to http://beta.travel.msn.com/pub/betawiz.dll
and follow the instructions on the page.
While
Expedia is designed to accommodate small businesses as well
as leisure travelers, Microsoft employees should only use
Expedia for leisure travel.
When the
final product is released on the Web later this month, Expedia
will round out the Travel Products Group's online travel
offerings. In July the group announced an agreement with
American Express to develop an online booking system for
corporate travel. The group also publishes Mungo Park, the
adventure travel Magazine located at http://mungopark.msn.com
Search
for Best Fares and Travel Options
Expedia's
Travel Agent taps into the same reservation system used
by professional travel agents to access information from
leading airlines, hotels, and car rental companies. The
product displays all options and up-to the-minute price
and availability information in easy-to-understand language.
Expedia
uses wizards to guide you through the research, reservation,
and purchase process. Because Expedia is a Web-based service,
it's available around the clock.
"With
Expedia you are in control. Expedia automatically finds
the cheapest fares around the day and time that you request,"
said Soraya Bittencourt, Expedia group program manager.
"You can compare and contrast fares and schedules and decide
what's best for you. You can also feel confident that you've
made a good decision because you've seen all the available
options."
Users
can monitor great deals using the product's Fare Tracker,
a free e-mail service that provides updates on the best
fares between destinations that Expedia users select.
When users
want to purchase a ticket or make a reservation, Expedia
asks for their credit card number. Tickets are mailed either
by first-class mail or express mail, depending on when the
reservation was made and the date of departure.
The Travel
Products Group maintains a staff of experienced travel agents
available around the clock for customers who have questions
or problems while they travel.
Comprehensive
Source of Travel Information
In addition
to helping book your travel, Expedia includes information
to help you decide where to go and what to do once you get
there. The Expedia World Guide includes information on more
than 330 destinations worldwide, including photos and maps.
The guide includes tips for planning your trip, plus information
on the history, geography, and attractions of your destination.
"Information
in the World Guide's 15,000+ articles, details in our 25,000+
hotel directory, advice from our forums, tips from our news
briefs, and insights from Surround Videos arm Expedia customers
for travel success," said Mary Ord, Expedia producer and
managing editor. "The content provides the stepping stones
that convert interest into action "
Action
is important because the Expedia business model is based
on transactions: each time people purchase their travel
through Expedia, Microsoft makes money. A secondary revenue
stream is through advertising, in the form of both banners
throughout the product and listings in the Expedia Hotel
Directory.
Corporate
Travel
Early
next year, the Travel Products Group will begin an internal
beta test of its corporate travel product now being developed
with American Express. Code-named Rome, the product is based
on the same Microsoft Travel Technologies that power Expedia
but will be specifically tailored to help companies manage
their business travel processes using corporate intranets.
In doing
so, the product will offer companies substantial savings
and content. That's a big deal-travel costs often rank as
one of the top five controllable expenses in a company,
and corporate America spends an estimated $145 billion each
year on travel-related expenses.
As corporate
travelers reserve and purchase tickets from their PCs and
laptops, Rome will allow companies to capture travel data
critical to managing expenses. In addition, corporations
can include their negotiated fares and rates, plus travel
policy guidelines, into the system. Expedia makes it easy
to search from available options of your leisure travel.
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