GetThere, Worktopia partner for online meeting booking

March 14, 2008 | Online Travel

Through Worktopia�s advanced technology, GetThere users can book meeting space, audio visual equipment and catering for simple meetings of up to 100 participants in a single online session.

GetThere entered an agreement with Worktopia, Inc. to offer business travelers the ability to search, compare and book meeting space online from GetThere�s home page. Worktopia�s online shopping capabilities for booking meeting space are ideal for meeting planners and administrative assistants, giving corporations a new tool to competitively price and track simple meeting expenditures.

More than 3,000 companies worldwide used GetThere in 2007 to cumulatively book more than $9 billion in travel. Worktopia offers online small meeting procurement solutions in hotels, conference centers, business centers and airport lounges throughout North America.

Through Worktopia�s advanced technology, GetThere users can book meeting space, audio visual equipment and catering for simple meetings of up to 100 participants in a single online session. A 2007 PhoCusWright report projected the value of the corporate meetings segment to reach $75.8 billion this year, with 67 percent of meetings involving less than 50 participants.

Worktopia provides live, comparable quotes based on specific meeting requirements, allowing planners to book space in venues in more than 150 U.S. cities without having to wait for e-mailed RFP responses. Users can shop and book space in as little as three minutes, making the solution ideal for both long-range and last-minute bookings.

As part of this new capability, participants can also elect to source group room-nights for meeting participants through HelmsBriscoe, which established its successful relationship with GetThere in 2006. HelmsBriscoe offers special rates, promotions, concessions and availability with virtually every major hotel chain and most independent properties.

With HelmsBriscoe and Worktopia working in concert, corporate meeting planners and travel agencies using GetThere can automate the processes of planning, researching, buying, and managing meetings in one corporate travel reservation platform.

�As meeting spend draws more attention in corporate boardrooms, companies that have already successfully deployed GetThere for travel are seeking complementary tools to manage simple meetings,� said Worktopia CEO John Arenas. �Groups with fewer than 50 participants comprise more than 60 percent of corporate meetings. The GetThere-Worktopia offering delivers better visibility and savings throughout the simple meeting procurement process.�

�GetThere is committed to uncovering new savings opportunities for companies. Worktopia�s service brings transparency to a mostly unknown and untracked area of meeting spend, filling a longtime vacant slot for meeting planners,� said Jeremy Stubbs, director of meetings management services for GetThere. �Worktopia is a great addition to GetThere�s unique collection of ancillary services that drive added value for corporations and the travel management companies that serve them.�