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`THE INTERNET 233
`
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`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 242
`
`

`
`allow the consumer to purchase a wide variety of
`travel products; examples include TravelWeb and
`Travelocity. Boutiques are the smaller niche sites
`specializing in a single product only; good ex-
`amples are Marriott and British Midland. This is
`a helpful analogy in today’s retail Internet envir-
`onment. Marriott belongs to several of these clas-
`sifications. It participates within a Supermarket
`by way of its presence in TravelWeb but because
`it has its own site, it is also a Boutique. Boutiques
`can respond more quickly to environmental changes
`by introducing enhancements to meet the needs
`of the developing global hospitality market. Evid-
`ence of this can be found if we compare Marriott’s
`original Web site with the latest version released
`in May 1997. The original site was highly customer
`focused and enabled visitors to carry out a wide
`range of functions including: (a) check availability,
`(b) view rates and conditions, and (c) book rooms.
`In May 1997 these basic functions were enhanced
`to include:
`
`Interactive mapping This is a USA—based
`mapping facility that is supported by a data
`base of 16 million points of interest and major
`business locations. The user simply enters his/
`her departure address and the site responds
`with a route map of how to find the nearest
`Marriott hotel. This map may be downloaded
`and printed by the user.
`Enhanced search capabilities A search engine
`has been introduced that enables the user to
`
`specify a number of search criteria including, for
`example; property features, meeting space attri-
`butes, nearby airports and geographic location.
`Simplified reservation process The number of
`clicks and keyboard entries required to book,
`confirm and cancel Marriott reservations has
`
`been reduced by enhancing the user/system
`dialogue.
`Improved navigation Some of the pages have
`been re—structured and re—indexed thus allowing
`users to find their way around the site more
`quickly and efficiently.
`Meeting planning data base A new section
`has been added to the site’s data base that
`includes more detailed information for those
`
`who need to arrange meetings and conferences
`for their companies. The new information in-
`
`234 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`cludes function room space, room dimensions,
`capabilities and floor plans.
`Travel agent area and commissionable book-
`ings Marriott pay travel agents full commis-
`sion on reservations made for all published
`transient rates that are booked via the Internet
`site.
`
`Other services make use of the Web site infrastruc-
`
`ture. For example, the secure payment processing
`functions have enabled Marriott to introduce the
`sale of Marriott Gift Certificates in denominations
`
`of US$25, 50 and 100, which may be paid for by
`credit card. Marriott is now increasing the use of
`e—mail for marketing purposes and plans to intro-
`duce some interesting new initiatives in the next
`phase of development. This will include a Con-
`cierge Service that will
`remind customers via
`e—mail of personal gift giving dates, anniversaries,
`birthdays and other events. No doubt Marriott
`will continue to develop and grow its site to
`meet the ongoing demand generated by Internet
`consumers. It will be interesting to observe how
`bookings shift between GDSS, travel agents and
`consumers as time marches on. No doubt Marriott,
`like many other travel vendors, would like to see
`a lot more business being done directly with its
`customers in both the leisure and business areas.
`
`If this does happen, the impact on GDSS and travel
`agents could be significant.
`
`UTELL'S HOTELBOOK
`
`Utell’s Web site (Fig. 5.43) branded Hotelbook
`was launched in November 1996 and may be
`found at http://www.hotelbook.com. Utell intends
`this to become the world’s premier hotel site on
`the World Wide Web. The number of locations
`
`featured will grow from 3,000 to over 6,500, thus
`embracing the entire portfolio of Utell’s interna-
`tional hotel customers. The site is designed for
`use by all Internet consumers, be they individuals
`or travel agents. However, because only about 28
`per cent of the world’s hotel bookings come from
`travel agents, there is a significant opportunity to
`attract automated hotel bookings directly from
`the consumers, which represent the other 72 per
`cent. The following presents the major highlights
`of the Hotelbook site:
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 243
`
`

`
`g The basic Hotelbook service Utell’s particip-
`ating hotel customers are allocated three Web
`pages within the Hotelbook site, free of charge.
`Each hotel is represented by at least these three
`free Web pages, which include:
`1. Welcome A page that shows a full colour
`35 mm photographic image of the property
`together with a full textual description. A
`menu of further information is provided,
`along with the hotel’s own e-mail address.
`. Features
`Information that describes the
`
`facilities and services
`its location,
`hotel,
`using text and a graphical image (Fig. 5.44).
`Scrollable windows on this page show the
`hotel’s features and services.
`
`. Rates The rates for each hotel, which are
`shown within a series of pages automatic-
`ally generated from the information stored
`within the core Utell system (see Chapter 4
`for more information on Utell’s systems).
`Consumers navigate their way around the site
`by means of a powerful hotel search engine
`specifically designed for Hotelbook.
`Hotelbook’s magazine
`In addition to the
`product information, Utell’s Hotelbook also
`includes travel news and information. This
`is sourced and editied by the Frequent Flyer
`magazine, which also provide sections on
`entertainment and current promotions. Hotel-
`book includes special awareness information
`on Utell International Summit Hotels, Insignia
`Resort and Golden Tulip Hotels, all of which
`are owned by Utell. Each of
`these pages
`allows each hotel to promote its own market-
`ing partner, spread awareness of its special
`promotions, describe its products and distribute
`press information. The site also has a number
`of interesting features, two of which are: (i) a
`weather link that enables guests to review the
`weather reports for the time of their stay at
`their chosen hotel, and (ii) a rates conversion
`facility that enables customers to view rates in
`their own local currencies.
`
`Electronic Brochure product Participating
`hotels may elect to expand their coverage by
`purchasing five additional Web pages of their
`own. These can be used to promote informa-
`tion that is relevant to their own locations,
`such as:
`
`Meeting facilities This can show images
`of meeting rooms, a description of the spe-
`cialized meeting services available and the
`various meeting room hire rates.
`Location This page can include a map
`of where the hotel is located, a description
`of how to get there and a list of nearby
`attractions.
`
`Room facilities Pictures of the property’s
`rooms can be shown as well as a descrip-
`tion of the facilites available in each type
`of room.
`
`Dining facilities Again, a full colour pho-
`tographic image of each dining room can
`be shown along with links to other optional
`pages.
`Recreational facilities Pictures and textual
`information enable the hotel’s full range of
`recreational facilities for the use of its guests
`can be shown on this page.
`Extended hotel pages are particularly appeal-
`ing to smaller
`independent properties that
`may not wish to invest in developing and run-
`ning their own sites. Utell International is able
`to provide consultancy advice and guidance
`as well as Web page design services to hotels
`using these extended pages.
`Group Display product This is aimed prim-
`arily at larger hotel groups, i.e. those that are
`part of a group of ten or more properties. It
`enables them to promote their properties using
`a common corporate marketing message. This
`is supported by one of Hotelbook’s optional
`features — the Group Display product, which
`is a sort of Web site within a Web site. This
`
`enables a hotel group to use several Customiza-
`tion features such as:
`
`— A branded home page of its own design
`(Fig. 5.45) — this is the first page that the
`consumers will see when they enter the URL
`of the hotel group (besides distinctive logos
`and product branding, this page can show
`special offers and promotions).
`A customized colour scheme for all pages in
`the hotel group’s site — this adds consistency
`and uniqueness of product from a market-
`ing and product design perspective.
`Supplementary pages to promote products —
`the hotel group may have special products,
`
`THE INTERNET 235
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 244
`
`

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`236
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`MBRU0TDNALEVARTR0FYG0LONHCETNDTAMDH0FN
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 245
`
`

`
`unique to them. These may be explained
`and presented pictorially on special graph-
`ical Web pages.
`Partners and promotions — pages may incor-
`porate hypertext links from the hotel group’s
`own page or pages, to strategic partners such
`as frequent flyer sites.
`The ability to default Hotelbook’s search
`engine to the hotel group’s specific brand —
`this means that when consumers visit the
`
`site, their searches of the Utell hotel data
`base will always default to displays of the
`group’s own properties.
`The Group Display product is ideal for small-
`to medium—sized hotel groups because it allows
`them to enjoy the benefits of a full presence on
`the World Wide Web without the overheads
`
`of running their own sites.
`Hotelbook reservations To make a reser-
`
`vation via Hotelbook, a consumer has three
`options: (i) they may call any one of Utell’s 52
`telephone reservations offices around the World,
`(ii) they can send an encrypted e—mail message
`to the Utell Web server, or (iii) they can use
`Hotelbook’s on—line booking system. Con-
`sumers who are nervous about entering their
`credit card details into the Internet will prob-
`ably be attracted to the first option. However,
`there are many advantages to the second, more
`convenient method. One advantage is the re-
`turn of a positive booking confirmation within
`30 minutes of the original secure e—mail mes-
`sage being sent. However, because this is rather
`slow in today’s instant ‘here and now’ busi-
`ness environment, Utell has developed a full
`on—line booking system. The on—line booking
`system produces a return confirmation within
`7 seconds.
`
`Hotelbook is marketed primarily through stra-
`tegic business relationships. This means that Hotel-
`book can provide other Web site providers with
`a hotel
`information and booking system as an
`integral part of their site. This allows Utell Inter-
`national
`to benefit from the Web site’s strong
`brand name and enables the Web site partner
`to offer a full hotel product, which may not be
`possible for them to do alone. For example, a
`national newspaper may have a site that enjoys
`
`a high hit rate on information that is not solely
`accommodation based. The newspaper may decide
`to add a ‘places to stay’ guide. This can be pro-
`vided to their site visitors via a hypertext link to
`Hotelbook. The link would be almost transparent
`to the consumer who would see Hotelbook pages
`modified and customized to the newspaper’s own
`particular ‘look and feel’. Other examples may be
`drawn from airlines, car rental companies and
`tourist board sites.
`
`The development of this site is an example
`of Utell’s belief and commitment to the Internet.
`
`The reason I say this is because the site is not
`expected to generate significant revenues for some
`years. In fact, in its early years, Hotelbook will be
`very much a loss-leader product. Revenue streams
`are primarily expected to be derived by charging
`hotels a commission for reservations delivered via
`
`the Internet channel. However, a secondary source
`of revenue will come from selling the Group
`Display and Electronic Brochure products. Some
`revenue may also flow from offering the hotelier
`on—line advertising opportunities. All of
`these
`revenue streams will no doubt take some time
`
`to develop and will not become significant until
`the critical mass of the Internet is reached.
`
`INTERFACING SUPPLIER SYSTEMS TO
`THE INTERNET
`
`There are many countries where non—air products
`are distributed to travel agents and consumers
`by old technology, like videotex in the UK, or by
`proprietary national distribution systems, such as
`START in Germany and Esterel in France. These
`systems often limit their suppliers in terms of what
`can be offered to end users and how their services
`can be extended to other markets. End users
`
`frequently compare them to Windows-based sys-
`tems and the Internet, against which they look
`decidedly dated. Take Videotex for instance. Many
`of the current videotex systems that are widely
`used by UK travel agents to book package holi-
`days have been around for the past 20 years. These
`systems are cumbersome to use because they are
`character based, slow to respond to user’s requests
`because they use old telecommunications techno-
`logies, subject to data corruption if accessed over
`dial—up lines and very limited in terms of their
`
`THE INTERNET
`
`237
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 246
`
`

`
`appearance. The new Internet technologies offer
`suppliers a solution to most of these problems,
`while at the same time opening up completely new
`distribution opportunities.
`The supplier’s problem to date, however, has
`always been; ‘How can these new distribution
`technologies be used to boost bookings without
`incurring substantial development costs to replace
`in-house legacy systems?’ One possible solution is
`to combine various new software technologies with
`standard Internet tools to produce an interface
`that supports both Intranets for private or limited
`access and the Internet for public access by con-
`sumers. This means that end users, whether they be
`travel agents or consumers are then able to access
`the supplier’s core legacy system using standard
`Internet browser software that runs on virtually
`any PC. A new company that has recently entered
`this field is Gradient Solutions (a trading name of
`NewPage Systems Limited), based in London.
`Gradient offer travel suppliers the opportunity
`to interface their legacy systems to the Internet
`while also improving the quality and usability of
`their booking screens. This has the dual benefits
`of:
`(a) enabling the supplier to continue using
`legacy booking systems without the need for any
`costly systems changes; and (b) allowing end users,
`whether they be consumers or travel agents, to
`enjoy the benefits of simple and dynamic Web-
`based pages of information for booking purposes.
`Gradient offers these services to suppliers in one
`of two possible ways, either:
`
`0 Facilities management The supplier contracts
`the development and operation entirely to
`Gradient who runs the interface software on
`
`its own computers. The Gradient computers
`are Sun Netra Web Servers, which use Cisco
`routers and fibre—optics to link both to the
`Internet and the supplier’s legacy system, by
`high speed data lines. This computer has an
`uninterruptable power supply and incorporates
`firewall software to prevent unauthorized access
`to other parts of the system, virus detection
`routines, secure encryption algorithms and tape
`back-up systems. It runs 24 hours each day,
`seven days per week and reports on the number
`of end—user site visits and bookings made, for
`each supplier.
`
`238 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`o Supplier’s Internet server For suppliers that
`already have their own Internet or Intranet
`server computer facility, the Gradient interface
`software can be added. This software comprises
`several layers including: data communications,
`legacy system interconnection, legacy—to—Web
`middle—ware, added—value business logic and
`World Wide Web presentation. Once developed
`and loaded, however,
`the responsibility for
`running the network and handling the security
`issues lies firmly in the hands of the supplier’s
`own IT department.
`
`The interface software does more than simply con-
`vert a legacy screen format into an Internet page.
`It also enables new dialogues to be implemented
`by combining data from more than one legacy
`system screen into a brand new Internet page,
`complete with drop down lists, check boxes and
`radio buttons. An Internet—based approach also
`enables suppliers to distribute a great deal of de-
`scriptive information about their products to end
`users. This information can be created and stored
`
`using HTML techniques. This can be linked to
`booking response screens to create new items of
`information for users. Finally, the new pages can
`easily be ‘e-mail enabled’. This means that when
`a user wants to receive more information, person-
`alized to their own situation, they can request an
`e-mail response from the supplier. It is far easier
`and (perhaps more importantly), far more cost
`effective, for a supplier to respond to a prospective
`or current customer in this way, rather than by
`using the telephone.
`But
`the overriding benefit of this approach
`is the ability of Internet—based technologies to
`broaden the reach of travel suppliers. A supplier
`may, for example, decide that the first step along
`the road towards a more widespread distribution
`strategy might be to open their system up to a
`specified group of travel agents, perhaps in a cer~
`tain area of their home market. This is character-
`
`ized as the Intranet approach. It allows the supplier
`to retain a tight level of control over who can
`access their system and what functions are pro-
`vided. Later, when a sound base of experience
`has been accumulated, the supplier might decide
`to open the system up to all travel agents in their
`home domestic market as well as some overseas
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 247
`
`

`
`agents in other countries. Finally, the supplier has
`the option of allowing consumers to access the
`system on a global basis. This final step may in-
`volve some tailoring of the system to make the
`functionality less complex for the occasional, un-
`trained users. The important point is, however,
`that the basic infrastructure can remain relatively
`unaltered. The supplier may continue to use their
`legacy system and is able to control the degree of
`system roll—out without being hampered by costly
`changes to their core system. In summary, a Web-
`based distribution system for travel suppliers offers
`the following advantages:
`
`0 The screens are easier to use than many legacy
`systems and other national distribution systems
`like videotex, START and Esterel, which means
`training is minimized.
`Screens appear more high-tech and can incor-
`porate graphics and images that enhance the
`image of the supplier company.
`Several legacy system screens can be integrated
`into a simpler and more comprehensive end—user
`page with up-front editing that can speed up the
`booking process and reduce the transaction
`load on the supplier’s central computer system.
`The booking process reflects the current busi-
`ness logic of the legacy system upon which the
`new Web—based distribution system is based.
`The Web page can be presented in the end user’s
`own local language. Pages can be constructed
`as and when needed in most languages.
`Tariffs and fares can be displayed in the local
`currency of the country in which the travel
`agent or consumer is located.
`Core legacy system booking products can be
`integrated with fringe products such as travel
`insurance and foreign travel money to gener-
`ate new revenue streams.
`
`The use of HTML techniques enables the sup-
`plier’s Web site to incorporate an electronic
`brochure that describes the supplier’s products
`in pictorial as well as textual terms.
`An on-line Web site enables suppliers to offer
`special promotions such as last minute bargains,
`late availability and the re—sale of cancelled
`bookings.
`
`their systems to end users via the net, is the relative
`cost to receive a customer booking via the tele-
`phone versus the equivalent cost over the Internet.
`Because it
`is estimated that a typical
`telephone
`booking costs around US$10 and an Internet
`booking costs only US$0.50, you can see that
`there is a powerful argument for suppliers to con-
`sider this approach. The costs involved are really
`threefold:
`(i) there is the cost of developing the
`interface between the supplier’s legacy system and
`the Web server,
`(ii)
`the facilities management
`charge for running the travel agent Web site, and
`(iii) a unit charge of around US$0.50 for each
`booking made over the network. With Internet-
`based solutions such as those offered by Gradi-
`ent, it is possible that the long awaited migration
`from videotex to PC—based booking systems is
`about to commence.
`
`Business travel on the Internet
`
`Much of the above has focused on the way sup-
`pliers use the Internet to make direct Contact with
`leisure travellers in their homes. But another sig-
`nificant opportunity is to use the Web to support
`business travellers and the companies for whom
`they work. Not only are suppliers entering this
`field but so are GDSS, travel management com-
`panies and new suppliers. Using the Internet for
`business travel functions is particularly attractive
`because: (a) business travellers are relatively soph-
`isticated and are sufficiently confident to make
`their own travel arrangements, (b) business trav-
`ellers often carry their own lap—top PCs with them
`when they travel, (c) many companies are seeking
`to use technology to increase the effectiveness
`of their travel policies, and (d) networking is an
`excellent way of integrating the complete business
`travel cycle from trip planning, through ticketing
`to expense reporting and administration. So, all
`in all,
`there are some very compelling factors
`that make the Internet an excellent platform from
`which to launch the next generation of business
`travel support systems.
`As a result of advances in the field of techno-
`
`The key economic statistic that suppliers will no
`doubt use to determine whether or not to interface
`
`there are now a number of new travel
`logy,
`oriented Internet sites and associated tools. While
`
`THE INTERNET
`
`239
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 248
`
`

`
`some of these are perceived as posing a threat to
`travel agents, some maintain the travel agent firmly
`in the loop between the customer and the sup-
`pliers. However, there is no doubt that the use of
`business travel Internet-related technologies will
`change the role of the travel agent considerably.
`One leading site is American Express Interactive
`(AXI), developed by American Express.
`
`AMERICAN EXPRESS’ AXI
`
`American Express is uniquely placed to provide
`an integrated business travel management service
`because it operates two components that are crit-
`ical to the success of a company’s travel needs: (a)
`a global business travel service that is provided by
`a network of offices in most major countries of
`the world, and (b) a comprehensive range of card
`services, many of which are focused on controlling
`company expenditure. These two critical ingredi-
`ents have now been combined with the technolo-
`
`gical capabilities of Microsoft to create the next
`generation of business travel services delivered over
`the Internet. It was in July 1996, that American
`Express and Microsoft announced a strategic alli-
`ance jointly to create an intuitive corporate solution
`for on-line air, hotel and car rental reservations
`(Fig. 5.46).
`Over the course of the next year or so ‘project
`Rome’, as AXI was initially called, was developed
`by "staff from both companies. In developing AXI,
`American Express has used the Microsoft Travel
`
`Technologies (MTT) platform, a suite of software
`products that specifically support Web-based travel
`applications. The result of the development pro-
`gramme is an Internet—based system designed ini-
`tially for the USA corporate travel market called
`AXI. AXI was launched by American Express in
`July 1997 at a leading USA business travel con-
`ference held in St Louis in the USA. This initial
`
`product is designed for USA companies that want
`to provide their employees with the convenience
`of end-user travel management tools while at the
`same time retaining the control necessary to max-
`imize their overall travel budget. American Express
`plan to launch an international version of AXI
`in 1998.
`
`The AXI product is an integrated set of travel
`management services (Fig. 5.47)
`that uses the
`Internet as its distribution medium. It
`takes a
`
`holistic approach to business travel. By this I mean
`that it is built around the business travel life cycle,
`which comprises: (a) establishing and maintaining
`the company’s travel policy, (b) supporting trav-
`ellers with their trip planning activities,
`(C) mak-
`ing reservations and bookings either prior to the
`trip or modifying arrangements during a trip, (d)
`ticketing and boarding,
`(e) processing payment
`and expense reports (normally the paperwork bane
`of a traveller’s life), and finally (f) providing man-
`agement information that can be used by the com-
`pany to negotiate better deals with suppliers and
`closely monitor internal expenses. Let’s take these
`stages of the business travel life cycle in more
`detail and explore how AXI supports each one.
`
`lNTFRAC'?l".”’
`
`Figure 5.46 The AXI home page
`
`REXPQH ."
`
`Weather
`Ticket Status
`
`-is
`World _.
`Fxpen.-4 Manauuw
`Twvei Management
`
`. Corporate
`fiaervlces-
`Jsmwh
`.A we nologies
`
`INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 249
`
`

`
`Travel Policy
`Expert
`
`0n4ine air/car/hotel
`booking and destination info.
`
`Manager
`
`Smart Card
`
`Card Power
`
`Trip Power
`
`WW
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`
`.
`
`am“ i andhiiolilna ‘andboardng
`
`Reservation
`
`Ticketing
`
`Traditional
`
`Consulting services
`
`agent
`
`Corporate
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`
`MIR
`
`National Account Manager
`
`Figure 5.47 The American Express travel and entertainment management process
`
`Travel policy
`
`A travel policy is invariably established at main
`board level within a company. At this level,
`it
`usually comprises an overall set of guidelines out-
`lining key directives such as when different classes
`of travel may be used by staff travelling on com-
`pany business and the various entitlements of dif-
`ferent grades of employees. These policy statements
`are expressed as unambiguous guidelines for trav-
`ellers and define a set of rules governing how
`travel suppliers are chosen. Despite the fact that
`this process may appear simple, it is often quite
`challenging for companies actually to implement
`their travel policies consistently throughout their
`organizations. Although it is at the heart of virtu-
`ally all business travel activities, it is surprising
`how many companies either do not have formal
`travel policies or which do not communicate the
`policies effectively to their employees. A corner-
`stone of AXI is therefore the Policy Editor, which
`automates this process.
`AXI’s Policy Editor supports the formalization,
`communication, execution and monitoring of a
`company’s travel policy. Access to the travel policy
`maintenance functions are of course restricted
`
`to a senior level within the company’s organiza-
`tion. This is often the designated travel manager,
`head of personnel or chief financial officer. AXI
`enables a data base to be maintained of travel
`policy parameters. This is sufficiently flexible
`to allow different groups within a company to
`each have their own slightly different travel policy.
`AXI recognizes different policy groups and other
`
`underlying environmental factors, such as the base
`currency, by means of codes assigned by Amer-
`ican Express as part of the initial set—up process.
`Several other parameters and data elements com-
`bine to form a company’s integrated travel policy,
`including for example:
`
`0 Policy text AXI’s Policy Editor supports the
`inclusion of a company’s full travel policy in
`textual form. The policy may be indexed and
`stored using HTML, which supports hot links
`to other related sections and relevant para-
`meters within the Policy Editor. Eventually,
`AXI will be enhanced to include context sensit-
`
`ive help functions that support automatic back
`referral to specific sections within the travel
`policy, as appropriate to the user’s query.
`Preferred and excluded airlines This is a power-
`ful way for the company to keep a tight con-
`trol on precisely which airlines its employees
`use for their business trips. Airlines can, under
`the complete control of the AXI user, either
`be included on the preferred list or specifically
`excluded. The old accusation frequently made
`by airlines during the negotiation process that
`the company has very little influence over which
`flights its employees choose, is groundless. With
`AXI, a company can instantly de—select a given
`airline or add a new carrier to its preferred list;
`any changes such as this take effect immediately.
`Similar functions also apply to hotels and car
`rental services (see the note on filtering below).
`City airport selection A travel manager may
`choose the precise airports that are included
`
`THE INTERNET 241
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 250
`
`