Orbitz hopes road warrior site will be a hot spot

By Dennis Schaal

With the launch this week of a Web site for road warriors, Orbitz developed a marketing tool to attract incremental bookings from unmanaged business travelers who may have already been using the online agency site.

The new Orbitz site, at http://roadwarrior.orbitz.com, which is integrated into Orbitz.com, displays inventory -- particularly hotels -- in a business-specific way, and also offers destination-specific displays geared toward business travelers, Orbitz stated.

The hotel search is supposed to emphasize "business" hotels and downplay properties oriented toward theme parks, but there wasn't much differentiation in the results displayed on searches through Orbitz.com and Roadwarrior.orbitz.com.

However, when a user selects Chicago, they can view and use Business Essential in Chicago, a tool with links to Amtrak and information pointing to Wi-Fi Internet hotspots and fitness centers in the area.

Some of the content, too, is geared toward people who work for small businesses who might not have a managed travel program.

For example, Joe Brancatelli, editor and publisher of a business traveler Web site, offers the new Orbitz site tips for business travelers.