Groundbreaking Corporate Travel Tools from Limos.com for Business Poised to Save Companies Millions in Town Car Costs

DENVER, Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Business Travel Association Convention, Booth #581 – Limos.com, the world's largest online marketplace for chauffeured transportation(1) and a finalist in The Wall Street Journal/GBTA Tech Innovation Awards, today unveiled Limos.com for Business, an innovative online solution for management of corporate travel town car programs.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110823/CL56336 )

Businesses worldwide spend $20 billion annually on town cars for employees, with $10 billion spent in the U.S. alone.(2)  However, 95 percent of town cars are still booked offline with antiquated reservations systems, and the industry is highly fragmented with thousands of small, regional operators whose inventory is not broadly available in a GDS or online. In contrast, over 70 percent of air travel, hotel rooms and car rentals are booked online.(3) Limos.com estimates that businesses overspend by 30 to 40 percent on town cars because they lack easy access to quality local operators, transparent pricing and modern online controls, all of which have been instrumental in helping companies save millions in air and hotel spending for more than a decade.

In response, former members of Hotwire.com have spent three years building direct relationships with more than 2,000 professional, licensed town car operators in every major market worldwide and integrating them into the Limos.com marketplace, which has more than a million registered users. To illustrate how much business travelers value the convenience of booking car service on Limos.com for Business, at least half of Fortune 500 companies have 50 employees or more using the Limos.com for Business site.

"Chauffeured transportation should be every travel department's biggest incremental cost savings in 2012," said T.J. Clark, Limos.com CEO. "Corporate town car service is an overlooked, over-budgeted category in most companies, dominated by outdated offline systems and premium prices paid to large chains. At GBTA we're demonstrating how companies can immediately implement solutions to save on town car costs while still delivering five-star service to their most demanding travelers in every corner of the globe."

Limos.com for Business features:

• Cost controls – Up to 40 percent cost savings via specially negotiated rates and inventory from 80 percent of the U.S. suppliers who specialize in corporate car services.
• Advanced policy settings – Centralized online booking, reporting and policy settings make it easy for travel managers to control costs and save time.
• No booking fees or contract required – It's easy to start saving immediately.
• Easy integration – Limos.com for Business is designed to be easily added into a company's travel systems or travel agency, with no disruption to existing technology.
• Transparent, all-inclusive pricing – The total trip cost is shown upfront on the first results page, including the driver's tip – no hidden costs or surprise add-ons.
• Live customer support – Limos.com customer service is available 24/7 to answer questions.
• Quick search – Employees simply search the date and time a car is needed, and will see a complete list of available cars, prices and customer reviews.
• Vehicle photos – Employees can see exactly what type of car they're choosing.
• Mobile access points – Travelers can book town car service via their mobile browser, iPhone or Android mobile apps.
• Rapid response – iPhone and Android mobile apps feature GPS-enabled instant location finder and service within an hour in most major cities.
• Licensed operators – All Limos.com operators are pre-screened, licensed and covered by $5 million in insurance.
• Global service – Users have direct access to more than 27,000 vehicles from professional and licensed car service operators across 15,000 cities domestically and 17,000 cities globally, including every major city in China, India, Africa and South America.

In July the company announced the launch of the Limos.com mobile app for iPhone and Android phones. The Limos.com mobile app is the world's first and only app that enables business and leisure travelers to search and compare prices for chauffeured town cars, SUVs, limousines and more, and to easily book and enjoy curbside pick-up while on the go in thousands of cities globally.

Major online sites, including OpenTable.com, Live Nation/Ticketmaster.com and David's Bridal, have partnered with Limos.com to feature booking buttons prominently on their sites.

About Limos.com

Limos.com is the largest online marketplace for chauffeured transportation worldwide, enabling leisure and business travelers to compare and book pre-screened car services at specially-negotiated discounts of up to 40 percent off standard rates. With exclusive search technology, thousands of quality local vendors and helpful customer reviews, Limos.com consistently delivers more ways to find the perfect car service or limousine for any occasion. Learn more at www.limos.com.

(1) Based on site traffic and unique visitors as measured by Google Ad Planner

(2), (3) Source:  IBIS Research 2010

For more information contact:
Andrea Riggs
Limos.com
917.572.5555 (mobile)
[email protected]

SOURCE Limos.com