They also can do their expense reports - no more paper forms to fill out. The systems can be accessed through the Internet or a company's internal Web site or intranet. The products aim to save companies money by improving compliance with corporate travel policies, increasing use of negotiated discounts and reducing the time it takes to plan and process a trip. The products also offer services that aren't available when travelers call a travel agent. Travelers can view a seat map of a plane and reserve the seats they want.
Travelers also can call up maps of the city they're visiting and view the closest hotels.
About 100 companies, including Charles Schwab and McDonnell Douglas, are testing BTS, which was launched last fall. The savings will come from companies tracking their travel habits and negotiating with airline and hotel suppliers for bigger discounts, Smith says. The bigger savings is in time, product users say. Using expense reporting software from Captura, Lokker says consultants can e-mail their expense reports to the office. Expense reports are approved or rejected online.