Travel.com.au: Business Case

'It's like building a brand name. The next phase is about converting many more people over to the actual booking process,' says Bill Gair, company director.

Travel.com.au uses online booking as the business model, recognising the opportunities provided by the Internet to deliver travel services nationwide, 24 hours per day.

At the core of their online business is the 'Fare Finder' - a consolidated database of the cheapest fares from around the country, rating prices independently from cheapest to the most expensive. Other offerings include a trip planner, related tourist and travel services, and an online booking service backed up by a team of customer representatives, who are on call 7 days a week. In addition to this, Travel.com.au offers specialised services.

When the company first went online, the challenge was to attract people to the site. The initial service offered a full range of fares at the best prices. Travel.com.au consultants used the Internet as an aid to providing clients with the latest information and research tools. The next step was to give the client access to information on fares that only travel agents had access to in the past.