Upgrades in the highly competitive travel space abound as Travelocity.com
today deployed a speech-driven customer service application and Hotwire
delivered more cities, more hotels, detailed maps and an improved Hotel
Ratings Guide.
Fort Worth-based Travelocityrolled out a voice
application
from iVB Enterprise Solutions, a division of InterVoice-Britethat uses advanced speech technologies from SpeechWorks International Inc.to provide callers with the ability to review their existing
travel plans by phone.
Travelocity said the new voice service will combine automated speech
recognition capabilities with voice portal technologies including natural
sounding text-to-speech and the ability to ask for and retrieve Web-based
information. Customers can now confirm travel information while on the road,
including airline, hotel and car reservations.
“This is a direct response to our customers’ request to provide fast, easy
access to their travel information — anytime, anywhere from any telephone,”
said Terrell B. Jones, president and CEO of Travelocity.com. Financial
arrangements among the companies were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, Hotwire, which began last year as an air travel site and launched
its hotel division only six months ago, added 16 new U.S. cities, allowing
customers to find “Hot-Rates” in 39 locations. Newly added markets include
Austin, Charlotte, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale,
Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Nashville, Norfolk/Virginia Beach,
Portland, OR, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio and St. Louis.
New hotel partners include Baymont Inns and Suites, Drury Hotels, Hawaiian
Hotels and Resorts, Ian Schrager, Kimpton Group, Le Meridien, Prince Hotels
(Hawaii) and Woodfin Suites.
Hotwire said the more detailed city maps make it easier for customers to find
hotel rooms in their desired locations — and give travelers a better picture
of the area where they plan to stay, as well as nearby attractions and
landmarks.
Privately held Hotwire’s founding partners include the airlines American,
America West, Continental, Northwest, United and USAirways.