Buckley began her career in the travel business 18 years ago, working in operations and account management. Formerly Director of Sales & Marketing at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, she has held various senior roles within the travel industry. At Rosenbluth International she was Global Sales Manager, and headed up marketing across Europe for the company.
Here she talks about the latest product developments at Capita.
Capita Business Travel has recently launched a new suite of products - what is OOTO?
Ooto (out of the office), is an online travel portal, tailored around a corporate company and its dedicated travel policy. This is not a ”one-size fits all” product ” it is custom-made to exact requirements. This is where CBT has thought about a system that best suits each individual client and that is what sets CBT apart.
How does that work ” isn”t it terribly complicated and why haven”t your competitors come up with something like this?
Each traveller has a unique ”ooto” login (Myooto) where they can access company specific travel information. They are also able to retrieve their own personal profile in a secure environment, allowing them to house passport and payment information required for self-booking regardless of the applications being used. I can”t answer for our competitors but we pride ourselves at CBT in attracting the best in the industry.
So it must cost a fortune then?
No ” absolutely not ” not for the product the TMC is getting. Myooto is a flexible product which incorporates a number of ”ooto” modules ” rail (Railooto), hotel (Hotelooto), air (Flyooto), car (Carooto), meetings (Meetingooto) as well as a traveller profile tool and management information reports.
Should a client require the entire suite of products, Travelooto is the ultimate one stop travel shop - a self-booking tool with complete functionality for air, hotel, rail, meetings and car bookings. Should only one element be required - rail travel for example; they are able to purchase just the one module ” Railooto.
Hasn”t this taken a long time to develop?
A year ago, our clients told us they wanted an easy to use system which could save them money and allow them at the same time, to keep track of travel expenditure. Utilising the expertise of our parent company, Capita, we have incorporated common requirements into this new suite of products which we believe will revolutionise the way business travel is booked. On the strength of our new offering, we are happy to report that we have secured more than ”32 million of new business. We have done so because we took the time and expertise to fully develop an easy-to-use system that was what the industry asked for, at a price they have obviously found acceptable.
And any other tips?
We believe that booking online can form part of a cost-effective solution for an organisation”s business travel and are seeing a definite shift in this direction. In the UK, industry figures suggest a take-up of 15% and we expect this to increase significantly. What”s more, at CBT we take the time to train companies properly so that they can maximise the effects of the new system quickly and effectively. If implemented properly the positive results are obvious immediately so proper training is of the essence.