Rosenbluth offers business travel security suite

PHILADELPHIA -- Rosenbluth International, a business-to-business travel management company, has announced the launch of what the company is calling "the travel industry's first ever suite of interactive global security products." A major component of the Web-based system includes e-mail notices sent to a traveler's wireless device.

Designed to address safety and security issues of corporate travel managers and business travelers worldwide, and developed with market research and feedback from corporate travel managers, Rosenbluth International has created a customizable source for safety and security information for international business travel and travel management. The suite of products offers services from e-mail alerts on breaking news (of travel consequence) to in-depth, Web-based, real-time views of travel itineraries as well as timely updates on business conditions in key geographies, political structure and much more. 

"The tragic events of September 11 kick-started our development of the Global Security Suite," said Hal F. Rosenbluth, chairman and CEO, Rosenbluth International. "We were called upon by our clients to provide critical information on their corporate travelers' locations and safety -- information that until today was held in disparate resources, often taking hours to retrieve. Now, as the first to bring this to market, we have completely transformed accessing vital global data into a two second process."

A top concern

According to a recent survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), safety and security information is one of the top three concerns for the travel industry today. Currently, corporations call upon multiple organizations, such as internal security and travel management personnel to manually aggregate key travel-related information from disparate and often dated sources, resulting in information that is neither comprehensive or timely. 

"We all operate with a heightened sense of vulnerability these days," Rosenbluth said. "We are hopeful these products provide timely information that make our customers smarter, make their jobs more efficient and perhaps, most importantly, help to make business travel easier again."

Rosenbluth said his company's Global Security Suite of products addresses both of these issues, acting as a one-stop-shop for integrated, real-time information focused on business travel types from the CEO to the VP road warrior to the occasional business traveler.

Travelers' whereabouts

"On September 11 we went through a resource and time-intensive process to determine the whereabouts of our travelers worldwide," said Lisa Meehan, director of travel services for Merck & Co. "With the introduction of the Global Security Suite, Rosenbluth International has completely changed the safety and security landscape of the travel industry. They have enabled us to have this crucial information in real-time at our fingertips."

She added that Merck annually has 40,000 international trips to as many as 125 counties. "Rosenbluth International's security products will allow us to track and deliver automated safety and security information tailored to our travelers abroad -- all in a matter of seconds," she said. "Features such as the automated U.S. Embassy registration and breaking news bulletins will be especially important for our travelers in developing countries and high-risk locations."

Rosenbluth International's Global Security Suite will feature the following:

Real-Time Notifications on New Travel Developments 

The first component offers real-time notifications on new developments (i.e. labor strikes, weather emergencies, airline disruptions, etc.) regarding their trip destinations from one week prior to take off throughout their journey. Available in mid-March 2002, this tailored solution is a perfect tool to help empower travelers with breaking news that may impact their travel plans.

▪ Information Tied Directly to Traveler's Itinerary. The notification is e-mailed or sent to any e-mail enabled wireless device. It provides custom news and travel alerts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which pertain directly to an individual traveler. From one-week prior through the duration of one's trip, the traveler will know immediately about any news or information that may affect their travels. This knowledge is key to being able to react quickly to meet potential challenges or issues. 

▪ Headline Format with Significance Meter. Each news alert is formatted as a headline and one-line summary, along with an urgency level that rates each story as to it's importance for the traveler to read. This helps cut down on information overload for the traveler. 

▪ Automatic Embassy Registration. Currently for US-based travelers going overseas, this service automatically takes a traveler's itinerary and submits their information (name, hotel, air information, duration and dates of visit) to the local U.S. Embassy in case of an emergency. 

Web-based Global Database

Available in mid-February 2002, the second component of this security package provides complete overviews on every country, including political structure, monetary policy, business conditions, safety information, and more. Gone are the days when travel managers or security departments had to manually collect this information.

Instant Access to Global Travel Information Travelers have anywhere, anytime access to reports on a complete list of countries. The Web-based global database is monitored constantly for any breaking events and information so that travelers are made aware almost immediately after an event has occurred. The information provided centers around business conditions, protocols, customs, language considerations, political structure, monetary policy, travel security warnings, health issues, and safety information.

▪ Significant Events Database. This searchable database provides historical events whose anniversaries might fall during their trip. Many world events occur on or near the anniversaries of significant political, social or civil events, and this information helps make the traveler aware of potential risks. 

▪ Headline Format with Significance Meter. Each news alert is formatted as a headline and one-line summary, along with an urgency level that rates each story as to its importance for the traveler to read. This makes it easy for the traveler to scan through materials for critical information. 

▪ Consular Information. Provides the latest information on how to obtain visas, passports and entry/exit regulations to all major countries. 

Interactive Travel Locator 

Available in the next 60 days, this proprietary solution provides companies with an easy-to-use, interactive application that will determine the location of their travelers on an as-needed basis. This component is designed to help travel managers to be more efficient in their daily tasks. 

▪ Global information is provided instantly and succinctly. This product provides critical information about travelers worldwide in one place that is easy to view and understand. 

▪ Information is protected and secure. The product abides by the highest security standards. All information is protected with secure password protected logins. 

▪ Information is provided via a graphic interface or easy to use search method. Not all people use Web-based interfaces in the same way. Some are more visual while others are more text oriented. Also use of the product differs based on the situation and the information needed. This product takes different users and their unique situations into consideration and offers multiple methods to find and retrieve information. 

▪ Information is provided on a summary or detail level. Not all situations will require full travel itinerary details. With this product users see a quick summary of traveler's locations or view the full details of individual traveler's itineraries.

▪ Information is customized with client branding. The product offers an area where the client can have their logo displayed. This provides a customized look to the product for each client. 

The Global Security Suite will be made available to current Rosenbluth International clients. Pricing will be based on an annual subscription fee. With annual sales in excess of US$6 billion and 5,500 associates, Rosenbluth International owns and manages locations in 24 countries with joint ventures and affiliations in several other countries.