Lessons learned in the search for the right technology
From Travel Technology Update - 13 Jan 2009

Many people with no technology background have had to make decisions about technology purchases. It often involves a leap of faith. The buyer is likely to lean toward well-known names. In the end, the buyer may realize that the technology may be sound, but it does not satisfy one's particular requirements.

When Costco Travel formed a partnership with HyperTech Solutions in 2005, it was the second time around for the subsidiary of the big-box membership store company.

Peter Gruening, general manager of Costco Travel, began working to get the operation online in 2001, a few months after Costco's parent purchased Pacific Escapes and restyled it as the travel agency for its 40 million members.

"Developing a consumer-facing Web site has been a primary focus for us for many years," Gruening said.

"We began with a relationship with another company to develop our internal and external booking engines," he said. That relationship proved unsuccessful.

"We made a mistake the first time around," he said. "So we looked around for existing booking engines and technology partners."

Gruening's search spanned the globe. He researched about 20 companies.

And this time, he enlisted the aid of Blue Star, a noncompetitive company with technical knowledge and no axe to grind.

"We took a step back and said, this time we'll spend the money to look at this with somebody who has no stake in this," Gruening said.

The search was tough. "The vast majority of booking engines out there, even those that are wellknown, didn't meet our functional testing requirements," Gruening said.

Costco Travel focuses on international leisure travel, primarily to Europe and the South Pacific. Trips often visit multiple destinations. Costco does not offer city stays. It needed a booking engine that went beyond the airline-hotel-car formula.

Costco Travel also was looking for a technology partner, rather than an aggregator of content. The company negotiates directly with "a multitude of suppliers," Gruening said. It does not necessarily offer the lowest price point, but it strives to offer its members the best value.

As the search was under way, the Costco Travel IT director attended the 2004 Travel Technology Conference in London and struck up a conversation with one of the speakers.

That speaker was Rakesh Mishra, president of HyperTech Solutions, based in New York with an office in London.

Mishra was a graduate of BITS Pilani, one of the most prestigious engineering schools in India, but his firm was small, with only 20 employees, and it was relatively unknown. Gruening said he almost dismissed it out of hand.

But as he learned more about the firm, he was drawn to two particular qualities.

"They had the ability to do multi-city bookings," he said. "They also had the flexibility to work with us." Ironically, that flexibility may be a function of the firm's smaller size.

As part of Costco Travel's due diligence, Gruening spoke with some of HyperTech's tour operator clients, who reported that they were satisfied.

To say that the investment in Blue Star was money well spent is an understatement, Gruening said. "Looking at a system demo on somebody's internal network or a PowerPoint presentation does not help you make an effective buying decision," he said.

"You need someone who understands code and the processes. Will this system accept this kind of load? Will it connect to a financial package? Will it connect to a GDS and transmit booking information?"

Gruening said asking the right questions at the right level of detail - down to the nitty gritty - is crucial. For example, "if someone says his system can mark up a product, is he talking about a dollar amount or a percentage?"

By partnering with Blue Star in the search and testing phase, "we found a great partner in HyperTech," Gruening said. The site went live on Sept. 2 with no major glitches, he said.

"It works."

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