travel, hotel and booking Information

Louisiana, Travelocity team up on booking engine

Hotel Booking The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism in the U.S. and Travelocity have announced a new shopping and booking engine on LouisianaTravel.com.

Groople In the News Travelocity Teams with Groople to Offer Group Hotel Bookings New shopping tools added to Travelocity's hotel booking engine let travelers book 5+ rooms in a single reservation SOUTHLAKE, Texas and DENVER (February 1, 2005) Planning this summer's faraway family reunion Or maybe you're a coach needing a bunch of rooms for that upcoming youth tournament If so, you'll want to check out new functionality on Travelocity that makes planning and booking group travel a snap. Today, Travelocity announced an agreement with Groople Inc., a leading provider of online group travel bookings that gives Travelocity customers a specialized groups section with discounted hotel rates, group content and new planning features that are unavailable on other travel sites.

Travel Agency In addition, Travelocity will power online travel shopping for the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and the convention and visitor bureaus in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport.

Book hotels for sports team travel for youth, college and adult sports teams. Baseball, football, volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball and more. Make group hotel reservations, get travel tips and make all of your sport team travel plans here.

Cheap Hotel Under the terms of the multi-year agreements, Travelocity's (www.travelocity.com) World Choice Travel (www.worldchoicetravel.com) division will power the booking engine for each organizations' Web site, providing a variety of travel products ranging from flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and last minute packages for visitors around the world interested in traveling to the Bayou State.

In addition to more than 60, 000 hotels and six top cruise lines, Groople offers group bookings for air, car, bus and rail. In February, Groople partnered with Travelocity, allowing broader distribution of Groople group rates and inventory on Travelocity.com when users select more than 5 hotel rooms. The past year has also brought partnerships with Choice Hotels International, Cendant Hotels, Best Western and La Quinta Hotels, increasing Groople inventory and thus providing even more hotel options for groups booking through the Groople website and call center.

Flight Booking This marks the first time Travelocity has simultaneously entered into comprehensive agreements with a statewide group of destination marketing organizations.

Travel agents obtain some of their information from the same sources as online booking sites such as Orbitz and Travelocity. They also receive daily emails and faxes with new specials from resorts and hotels that may not be published on the internet. Travel agents can also call a place directly to see if they can work out other kinds of special deals for you, something an online site can’t do.

Travel Agent "The launch of this new shopping and booking engine is the next major milestone in Louisiana's tourism industry's rebirth," said Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu.

Groople In the News Groople Introduces First Online Booking Engine For Group Cruises Denver, August 17, Groople, the leading online group travel resource, rolls out the first online group cruise booking engine, allowing cruisers to research, book and manage their group bookings online with six of the world top cruise lines. Through Groople.com, groups requesting eight or more staterooms can also tap into special group rates and amenities, which sometimes include a free stateroom.

Hotel Chicago "The bottom line is that we need to get the message out that Louisiana is back open for business and pique the interest of tourists wanting to experience firsthand our great state."

Online Booking "Travelocity is proud to be playing such a key role in revitalizing tourism throughout Louisiana," said Richard Harris, senior vice president, strategy and distribution for Travelocity.

Travel Health Insurance "We are eager to help reintroduce the zest and spice each of these destinations has to offer to travelers everywhere."

Hotel Reservation "We are looking forward to raising the awareness and reach of our tourism message through this new alignment with Louisiana Tourism and Travelocity," said Sandy Shilstone, president and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.

London Hotel Booking "Working through Travelocity to reach the millions of tourists who will travel to New Orleans is the right move in making our region's rich cultural heritage and unique attractions available to online shoppers. We are thrilled to be working with Travelocity and teams throughout its organization in achieving this goal."

Discount Travel The Web sites in Louisiana that Travelocity will be powering through WCT include:

Orlando Hotel -- Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism: www.louisianatravel.com

Booking Agency -- New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp: www.neworleansonline.com

International Travel Medical -- Baton Rough Convention & Visitors Bureau: www.visitbatonrouge.com

New York Hotel -- Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission: www.lafayettetravel.com

Online Travel Booking -- Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau: www.shreveport-bossier.org

Travel Medical Insurance This partnership with Travelocity for the new shopping and booking engine is part of the ongoing efforts outlined in "Louisiana Rebirth: Restoring the Soul of America," a strategic plan released immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by the Office of the Lt. Governor to rebuild the tourism industry.

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