Egencia records 200 pc increase in new business travel contracts in India in 2013

Egencia, the business travel brand of the Expedia Group, has, through its commitment to innovative technology and service offerings for Indian corporations and business travellers, reported an increase of 200 per cent in new contracts signed in 2013, compared with the planned target for the year.

In addition to new sales, customer satisfaction was at its peak with 100 per cent retained clients, 100 per cent in renewed contracts and 95 per cent of customers corporate travel spend spent with Egencia.

Egencia India's success in 2013 has also been recognized within the procurement services industry, by it being named the "Best Corporate Travel Solutions Provider" by Facility Managers Worldwide.

"2013 was a superb year of results for Egencia India" said Gaurav Sundaram, Managing Director of Egencia India.

"Business travel growth across our client base has remained strong, we retained clients and signed new ones - all of which is a testament to our team, our comprehensive inventory and Egencia's industry leading technology and service innovation," he added.

In recognition of Egencia driving the future of the business travel industry through market leading technology and the delivery of world class levels of customer service to Indian corporate travellers, Egencia India was awarded the "Best Corporate Travel Solutions Provider" by Facility Managers Worldwide at their seventh Annual and 46th Facilities Management and Business Leadership Award Summit.

"Business travellers time is precious. By integrating our global technology platform with service, we are modernizing the way we engage with travellers to create a more intelligent and consumer-oriented offering. We are pleased to be recognized for our efforts to make the lives of our business travellers as easy and productive as possible - if that is calling our team, booking online, or using our App," said Sundaram.

Egencia's 24 x 7 x 365 customer service team has set a new benchmark in India for service delivery and customer support.

It is a highly efficient and unique operating model that provides traveller support with record levels of customer satisfaction.

Egencia brings modern technology to the travel business by demonstrating the value and efficiency of technology and online self-booking tools over traditional travel booking methods.

"At Egencia, India is a key strategic business market, and we, recognize the important role technology innovation plays in driving economic and social development within India," said Kyle Davis, Managing Director Egencia APAC.

Davis further said: "Our strategy at Egencia is growth through innovation and investment in technology to better serve our business travelers across the globe."

In addition, the Egencia TripNavigator is a "smart travel companion" mobile app for business travellers. Designed with the business traveller experience in mind, and with a consumer-grade interface, the Egencia TripNavigator incorporates technology from Expedia that has been optimized for the more complex world of business travel.

The app aims to improve business travellers in-trip experiences with step-by-step navigation, much like a GPS device offers driving directions and the logical action a business traveller should take next.

And, if schedules change mid-trip, Egencia TripNavigator integrates real-time trip alerts to reduce friction as travel plans change, expectedly or unexpectedly.

The Egencia TripNavigator is initially available to Egencia clients on the iOS platform, followed by a native app for Android phones in early 2014.

Any user, including non-Egencia clients, can download the app and take it for a test drive via the "Explore" option available on the "Sign In" screen.

Egencia is a leading full-service travel management company delivering innovative business travel technology and expert local service to more than 10,000 clients in nearly 60 countries around the world.

It is a part of the Expedia Group, which is the world's largest travel company.