Going in to China for the first time, uncertain where to stay or what to wear? Call Expedia Corporate Travel’s in-country call center or visit their web-site. Sounds lovely to be true. Well, this is what Expedia is promising with the launch of Experdia Corporate Travel (ECT) in China, a first foray in to the burgeoning Asia Pacific Region.
Does it sound tempting? Heck yes and why not. How lots of times have we been stranded at crossroads uncertain whether to head north or south, seldom mind the myriad options the east and the west could offer us. How lots of times have we wondered why in order to answer three simple questions, we have to wade through reams of information either online or in travel books. How lots of times have we asked a colleague who supposedly went the earlier year on the same task, only to have a pair of shoulders shrugged in our direction. How lots of times have we gotten in contact with hotels only to have much information thrown back at us with the final product failing expectations. lots of and perhaps the time is right to take control over our travel programmes. Forget about being able to access Expedia’s plathora of information online, you are able to also call in to ECT’s in-country call center which can answer your questions in a choice of laungauges.
ECT’s entry in to China underscores the company’s focus on balancing each new market’s one-of-a-kind needs while maintaining a consistent, high level of service. In addition to global content across the Asia-Pacific region and the remainder of the world, the partnership with eLong will provide ECT’s customers with access to over 4,700 hotels in over 330 cities across China, as well as flight options to over 70 major cities in the country.
Expedia Corporate Travel will be a full-service travel management company in China and will be strategically partnered with Elong Inc. Elong is the second largest online travel company in China, proof of Expedia’s dedication. Companies and travelers doing business in China will have access to fully localized service and information, global reporting capabilbities in addition to the in-country call center. Customers will also have direct access to their travel data, so the travel nightmares will hopefully be a thing of the past. Database searches will be based on a range of product and service offerings based on specific needs – words from heaven for the time crunched corporate traveler.
ECT has had earlier successes with similar require based models in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Belgium, france, germany and Spain. The Chinese foray will now help increase its global presence in addition to being a critical initial footprint in to the Asia Pacific reagion.
Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Expedia Corporate Travel, said the the entry in to the Asia-Pacific region was part of Expedia’s dedication to grow with the needs of customers. Business travel in to China was an ever expanding market and a clear opportunity for Expedia to better service the needs of clients by being where we were needed.
“It’s thrilling to partner with Expedia Corporate Travel as we enter China to meet the needs of global businesses” said Guangfu Cui, CEO of eLong. “Our local market knowledge and relationships with regional suppliers, combined with ECT’s outstanding level of service designed for the corporate travel market, ensures a powerful corporate travel offering for companies doing business in China and beyond.”
Futuristic thinking indeed which leads us to the one query. what’s India doing to catch up. The astounding India campaign has been hitting us with state-of-art marketing for a long time now, but how is it meeting the needs of this not so new yet still challenging market. India appears to be foundering in the wake of the third parties dedication to doing business in Asia Pacific. From being an ostrich in the sand when it came to discussing the net world a couple of years ago, the Indian hotels have now decided that business from third parties may not be a bad thing indeed. But playing with them or trusting them is an altogether different deal. So, Rates are given albeit reluctantly and usually 30-60% higher than branded sites, commissions are not paid, loyalty programmes revoked and inventory not made obtainable.
Quote: China, Launch, Travel