London, UK – 12 January 2010 – Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) announced that its marketing services group, Sapient Interactive, has been selected by online hotel booking site, Octopus Travel, to implement a new online booking system offering customers greater choice and improved levels of service. Following the appointment, Sapient Interactive has developed a new, more scalable IT infrastructure to integrate multiple inventory providers and payment gateways, allowing Octopus Travel to triple its range of hotels available for online booking to over 44,000.
Since launching the new booking system in April 2009, Octopus Travel has experienced a 100% rise in the number of hotel bookings made on its site. The technology platform – which incorporates improved user-centric design features, search performance and merchandising – has also reduced the time taken for consumers to make bookings and doubled look-to-book conversion rates. It empowers Octopus Travel to expand its affiliate network, providing business partners with their own customized, branded hotel booking channel.
The new solution features hotel ratings and reviews from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel community with over 30 million reviews and opinions, giving customers the ability to learn from and share experiences with fellow travellers. It provides seamless back-office integration with hotel providers enabling Octopus Travel to make faster updates to its services such as room rates, as well as speed up the collection of commissions. Sapient Interactive has also incorporated analytical tools into the solution so that Octopus Travel can achieve real-time insight into user activity and make more dynamic changes to the site.
Gareth Gaston, managing director, Octopus Travel commented: “The new platform makes it simple for customers to make hotel bookings and is far more user friendly than the previous system. The new booking solution is much more scalable, making it easier for us to expand our product range and target new markets as our business grows. We have benefited from Sapient’s technology expertise and consultancy around our online marketing strategy. In the coming months we are keen to make use of Sapient Interactive’s social media expertise to increase levels of traffic to the site.”
Nigel Vaz, vice president and head of Sapient Interactive Europe said: “As more people head online to book travel and accommodation we are finding companies are extremely keen to improve levels of online customer service and boost conversion rates. Working with Octopus Travel has allowed us to demonstrate our ability to combine strategy, design and technology expertise and implement solutions that deliver real business results.”
About Octopus Travel
Octopus Travel, a Travelport company, is a leading online hotel retailer displaying real-time availability and confirmations in multiple languages. We provide access to a huge inventory of over 50,000 hotels in more than 6,000 cities, spanning 129 countries, ranging from independent hotels, chain hotels and B&B’s. No matter where customers are going, we aim to provide the most relevant accommodation at the most competitive price. Our fully inclusive pricing means there are no hidden charges such as booking fees, extra taxes or surcharges.
About Sapient Interactive
Sapient Interactive, a division of Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE), is the largest independent interactive marketing services firm in the world. Through combining strategy, creative and technology, the firm creates immersive multi-channel brand experiences that result in more profitable customer relationships and revenue growth for clients, including Celebrity Cruises, Sony Electronics, Honda Jet and Times Online. Headquartered in Boston, Sapient Interactive has operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, go to www.sapientinteractive.com.
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