The conference is over.  The iPhones have been given away and the booth's packed up.   What could possibly be left to tell?  Well, there is one thing...  

Expedia Corporate Travel and JetBlue got together to throw a party to thank all of the customers of both companies that made it to NBTA.  As you might have guessed, it was an absolutely raucous affair (which should have been no surprise given that we held it at Gypsy Bar, the kind of place usually reserved for the upper crust party crowd.  Truthfully, the kind of place that would have turned 90% of us away on a normal night...)

So what happened?  Take a look at the pictures and see if you can spot some of your friends from the convention:

First, our amazing events team:

All of the Pictures from the Party!

The party exceeded all expectations from any of us at ECT.  Here are some of the most notable happenings from the eventful night:

1. Repeated funny shouts from the bar that customers should leave the Harry Potter at the door and stop calling the Patron tequila "Patronus,"
2. The amazing number of shots that I saw people put away.  Seriously.  At one point I seriously thought I had stumbled in fraternity party only to realize that the liqour was way too nice for that.
3.  An absolutely packed dance floor.  ECT Canada employee Megan Rideout was surprisingly convincing at getting folks out on the floor but the persuasion was hardly needed.  The place was wall to wall.
4.  Attractive bartenders are a bigger draw than a band.  
 
This last one was really a surprise.  I was personally worried that people would really wish we'd had a band.  Right next door to us was another NBTA party featuring the Aphrodisiacs.  All night long there was a steady stream of people coming over to ogle the staff.  (When we picked the venue, I swear I had no idea the place was voted to have the best looking staff of any bar in Boston two years running.)

All in all, it was a great event.  Thanks again to JetBlue for their sponsorship and the free tickets they handed out to happy partygoers throughout the night.  And finally, thanks to the amazing Expedia events team for pulling it off!

Posted by Eric at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm back in Seattle basking in the glow of a successful NBTA.  Thank you to all of the current and prospective customers who came by to meet us, talk candidly about what's working and where we can continue to improve, and learn more about Expedia Corporate Travel. 

I was somewhat surprised by the amount of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) some of our competitors try to put into the marketplace.  Tip to you marketers out there - if you decide to FUD the competition be sure you are making somewhat credible statements.  For example, a number of customers came up to me to say that a couple of our competitors, who shall remain nameless, were saying that Expedia Corporate Travel has no call centers and no agents.  One current customer corrected a competitor, who went on to say that they heard we only had a small number of agents and they only worked a few hours a day. 

Let me set the record straight.

Expedia Corporate Travel has a dozen call centers in North America, Europe, and Asia.  We have over 200 experienced travel agents who are available 24/7, every day of the year.  Customers tell us that our service levels are some of the best in the industry, and we routinely receive very high recommend scores in post-travel surveys.

We have integrated the offline support function and the online travel management product, an industry first.  When a traveler calls an agent for help that agent sees travel plans the same way that a traveler would, which cuts the time required to understand the incoming request.  Each agent assisted transaction is captured in the data warehouse and becomes part of the travel manager's reports.  Heck, our customer service supervisors participate in quarterly and annual business reviews for a number of our customers. 

To anybody who heard the opposite I invite you to check out what we can do for you at expediacorporate.com.

And again, thank you for making this NBTA a success for Expedia Corporate Travel.

-Stan Sorensen, VP Marketing, Expedia Corporate Travel

Posted by Tom at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NBTA Boston 2007 closing reception was a success…from the moment you walked into the party you felt the LA vibe, which was perfect since the soiree was hosted by LA INC (Los Angeles Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureaus), their partners and the LA NBTA team. They dreamt up an outstanding closing reception!

Paparazzi snapped photos as you entered the reception, as if you were walking down Hollywood Blvd to a movie premiere. The food was amazing and the drinks kept flowing. In addition to the DJ, we were treated to the vocal stylings of Lori Jenaire. A great time was had by all…we can't wait until NBTA 2008!

Gypsy Bar: Expedia Corporate Travel and JetBlue hosted another fabulous party at NBTA. The party was well attended by customers,suppliers and invited guests. The venue is among the most popular in Boston and the dance floor was packed! The Gypsy Bar even features a unique aquarium, can you guess what's in the tank? Answer here.

 -Shani DeSantis, Account Manager, Expedia Corporate Travel

Posted by Tom at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO & President of Expedia, spoke to the audience about what we call the " 3 waves."  The 3 waves is how we think about the evolution of corporate travel.

Wave 1 was the growth of online booking. 
Wave 2 is the integration of online and offline travel into the larger procurement and line of business environment of a company.  This is the wave we are in today.
Wave 3 is just beginning, and is the integration of user generated content into the corporate travel management world.

Dara pointed out the inherent tension that exists in Wave 3, namely that user generated content means that control of the content is handed over to the traveler, but corporate travel management is based on controlling the travel process.  He asked whether the industry is ready to hand control  over to the traveler, and if so to what extent.  It's an interesting question to ponder.

Doris Kearns Goodwin spoke about leadership and shared a number of stories, mostly from her most recent book Team of Rivals, which discusses the composition of Lincoln's cabinet during the Civil War.  Having read much of the book it was particularly interesting to hear her insights.  Her premise was that being a great leader means seeking out and acknowleding competing points of view and being able to know when to say "I have enough information, here is my decision."  As an aside she pointed out that this is something that we are not likely to see in today's political climate.

After the talk Doris signed books for our customers.  And I got to talk a little baseball with her, which was nearly as much a highlight as the talk itself.  At least for me.

Signing off from Boston.

-Stan Sorensen, VP Marketing, Expedia Corporate Travel

Posted by Tom at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I took some time yesterday afternoon to walk the show floor and was surprised by two things:

1.  It's never too early to find someone handing out drinks.  (The booth next to ours had fantastic Bloody Marys from the very beginning and it was hard to find an attendee without a Cosmo from Boeing or a cappuccino from Delta.) 

2.  You're a nobody without a lay flat seat.

This second one is a truly amazing concept.  As someone who has attended many trade shows and even been occasionally involved in booth design (including ours here at NBTA) I feel like I have some idea what will be eye-catching for trade show goers.  Each show has its trademark booth attractions:  bikini-clad models at car shows, giant 170" plasma screens at CES, and even a white water kayak rafting demonstration at Outdoor Retailer.  At NBTA, without question, you have to have a lay flat seat. 

Without fail, nearly every booth with real honest-to-goodness airplane seats in it has people lined up waiting to try it out.  EOS, American, Qatar, Malaysian Airways have all hopped on the bandwagon.  I have to confess, I'm not immune to the allure.  How many of us can really afford to travel this way?  How many of us have travel programs that book travelers in these seats?  That said, the marketing behind this booth design is pure genius.  Who wouldn't want to fly this way and who wouldn't want to tell everyone that they have to fly X airline because the seats just have to be seen to be believed?  Showing the seats at NBTA and getting people into them is like test driving the top of the line car at the dealership and then buying the one you can afford.  In your mind, you will associate the car you took home with the souped up version you first tried.

My takeaway?  Sure, we may be a corporate travel management company but next year our booth will feature the all new Expedia Corporate Travel lay flat seat!  We will commit to lead the (corporate travel management) industry in comfort and quality.  (Design submissions welcome.  All promises of said airline seats made on blogs should be considered vaporware until proven otherwise...)  :-)

Seriously, if you're a big follower of these seats, take a look at this excellent blog, which rates them and talks about how to nab one on your next flight.

Eric Heller :: Director of Marketing :: Expedia Corporate Travel

Posted by Tom at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had an opportunity to spend time with one of our airline partners yesterday discussing United's announcement that they are updating all of their international business class cabins.  I knew that this is not a decision to be taken lightly - load factor, what you can get for a ticket, etc - all come into play as you might expect.

What I didn't know was the extent to which an airline does usability testing before deciding what type of changes to make.  Perhaps this partner is unique, but they told me that they actively seek out customer input, do mock-ups, and test.  Just like we do when we build product.  Needless to say I offered to participate in future studies.

And speaking of cabins nearly every airline here has a model cabin on the floor.  I was on the floor this morning before the show opened and took an opportunity to try a few out.  It became clear pretty quickly who makes the investment in gathering passenger input and who doesn't.   

-Stan Sorensen, VP Marketing, Expedia Corporate Travel

Posted by Tom at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As always, NBTA is a reunion of all the people you’ve known throughout the years working in the travel industry, which is somewhat of a barometer of how long you’ve been in the industry so it seemed like a saw old friends and past co-workers at every turn yesterday (I.e. I’ve been around a long time!).

Posted by Tom at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...Make That Test Drives [Insert Industry Here] 2.0 

Posted by Tom at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Tom at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cannes has its film festival; Calgary its stampede. Pamplona runs with the bulls and Boston…well, Boston is where all things and all persons connected to world and ways of business travel convene at NBTA, July 22 - 25, 2007.

The best and brightest from Expedia Corporate Travel are planning to descend upon the National Business Travel Association's convention and immerse themselves in travel presentations, demonstrations, education and elation. Yes, we love our business of business travel.