travel, hotel and booking Information

Cruise, air check-in goes online

Hotel Booking Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises' guests can complete airline and luggage check-in process for their flights at home before they step off the ship.

Groople In the News Groople Selected by Bizbash as Provider for Group Travel Bookings June 1, BiZBash, the preeminent resource for the event planning industry, today announces a partnership with Groople.com, making Groople the exclusive online group travel partner for BiZBash's thousands of event professionals. BiZBash users now have Groople's group travel tools, with the unique ability to research and make group travel arrangements online. While most travel booking sites don't allow for group reservations at all, through BiZBash, hotel bookings for 5 rooms or hundreds of rooms are now simple to book and include special group rates. With an initial offering of hotels, the service will expand to offer airfare, cruise, car and rail bookings online. free number ( 4316) is available for arranging air, cruise, car and rail, as well as more complicated hotel requests.

Travel Agency The new service enables guests to bypass the traditional airport check-in process, adding convenience and reducing wait time by an estimated 45 minutes to two hours.

8mong many firsts for the group market, the new technology platform enables consumers to do something that other sites haven k allowed to book travel and accommodations for more than five rooms in a single online session. Featuring more than 56, 000 hotels, including 7, time group rates, Groople is primed to become the industry largest automated solution for unmanaged group leisure travel, a market estimated at $18 billion to $24 billion. Under its hosted inventory and commission models, Groople generates group bookings niche by niche for hotels and plans to add air, car, cruise, bus and rail later this year.

Cheap Hotel The service is being rolled out at ports across the United States, based on approval by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Patrol, as well as seaport, airport and airline security personnel.

As the premier online booking resource for the $20+ billion leisure group travel market, Groople provides group rates and inventory, allowing consumers to easily plan, book and manage all group travel needs in a single setting. In addition to more than 60, 000 hotels and six major cruise lines, Groople also offers group bookings for air, car, bus and rail.

Flight Booking Called "Onboard Check-in and Luggage Valet," the service is now available to Celebrity Cruises' guests whose cruises conclude in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Miami; San Diego; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Seattle.

Groople is the leader in online group travel, stop group booking on hotel, cruise, air, bus, and rail, and is backed by partnerships with the largest travel suppliers worldwide. Groople is group travel made easy, offering discounted rates, individual payment options and a single point of contact. With more than 60, 000 hotel choices worldwide and six top cruise lines brought together in an online group booking website, Groople offers unrivaled benefits for the group travel consumer. Groople customer sales center provides personal attention and offers group travel experts to advise leisure group travelers on weddings, family reunions, religious groups, sports teams, and more. Created by twenty travel industry veterans, Groople pioneered the online group travel space and continues to lead the group travel industry in technology, inventory and convenience.

Travel Agent The service is available for Royal Caribbean guests whose cruises end in San Juan and Seattle. Both brands also offer the service for arrivals in Vancouver, British Columbia. To qualify, guests must fly to a U.S. city on an expanding list of airlines on the same day their cruise ends.

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 Before leaving the ship, guests confirm with cruise staff their flight information and the number of bags to be checked. Based on that information -- which also is electronically forwarded to the airlines -- boarding passes, luggage tags and claim checks are printed and given to guests.

Online Booking Guests with afternoon flights can take advantage of shopping or city tours before going to the airport directly to security checkpoints and on to their gates and flights.

Travel Health Insurance While guests take in the sites, their luggage is securely transported to the airport, processed and moved directly to their aircraft.

Hotel Reservation There is a nominal fee for the service, ranging from $10 to $20 per guest, which varies by port and service offering.

London Hotel Booking The service was first piloted at the port of Vancouver during the 2003 Alaska cruise season.

Discount Travel The 10-week test program involved two airlines and approximately 2,000 guests. In 2004 and 2005, the Vancouver service was expanded to include eight airlines and about 52,000 guests. Up to 75 percent of eligible guests used the service, averaging more than 500 guests per sailing and nearly 65,000 pieces of luggage this year.

Orlando Hotel "The luggage valet service makes returning home easier than ever," said Nick Hafner, vice president of Air, Sea and Hotel for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

Booking Agency "Our guests don't have to locate their luggage, transport it to the airport or stand in long lines, waiting to check in. Our goal is to provide an improved guest experience and an enhanced security process. We have accomplished both."

International Travel Medical "This service brings innovation to the travel industry by dealing with check-in formalities and luggage before going to the airport, all at a very reasonable cost," said Alexander Gerdts, project manager. "We are adding more airlines and ports with the vision of offering this great service to all of our guests."

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