Launched in 1996 as a subsidiary of Sabre Holdings, Travelocity was the first online travel agency to provide customers with access to Sabre's schedule and fare information and allow them to reserve, purchase and book tickets. The agency's customers can access Travelocity specials and pricing information about hotels, airlines, car rental companies, last-minute vacation packages and other travel related services. Travelocity corporate travel services are available through GetThere product line, along with online expertise of Travelocity.
In addition to its major US-based consumer web-site, Travelocity operates Travelocity Business, a full-service business agency, and similar web-sites in the United Kingdom, the Scandinavian countries, Canada, France and Germany. Among its renowned brands are Site59.com, Showtickets.com and World Choice Travel. In 2000, Sabre Holdings negotiated a merger of Travelocity with Preview Travel, another web travel company. The resulting company was quoted independently on NASDAQ exchange, with Sabre Holdings continuing to own some 30% of the combined stock of the company, and nearly 70% of voting rights. With fortunes of Travelocity suffering from such competitors as Orbitz and Expedia, Sabre remerged the business as a subsidiary.
Today, Travelocity corporate travel services are available through a number of sites tailored to clients domestically and internationally. Some of the company's wholly-owned brands include all-hotels.com, bargainholidays.com, ferrybooker.com, holidaysandmore.com, flight4less.com, a2btravel.com, deckchair.com, First Option, Gemstone Travel Limited, Ticket Service and more.
Over the past years, Travelocity has taken serious steps to secure the rights of its customers by realigning the entire company. Travelocity corporate travel clients are offered the lowest fares from a great number of airlines, more than 17,000 hotels in hundreds of destinations and the most available cars at top car rental companies. In addition, the company features a variety of last minutes deals, full-service cruises and destination guides. With over 1,400 professional agents available by phone to help you with travel related questions, travel emergency or changes in travel plans 24 hours a day, Travelocity corporate travel provider is your secure and reliable partner whenever and wherever you go.
Since its inception in 1996, Travelocity has received dozens of awards, notably the Best Online Distributor Award at the Air Transport and Travel Information Systems, a Stevie Award for the Best New Product or Service at the American Business Awards and the World's Leading Travel Internet Site at the World Travel Awards. The company was also named one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania, and received the highest overall ranking in Online Customer Respect Study conducted in 2003 by the Customer Respect Group.
In 2003, travel agents from about 200 countries worldwide voted Travelocity the Best Travel Internet Site in the World. This was the company's seventh consecutive year to win this award.