Carlson Wagonlit Travel will retire a proprietary booking tool used by several hundred North America clients and migrate travelers to a CWT-branded tool from Rearden Commerce.
Under the arrangement, CWT, one of the largest global travel management companies, agrees to become a reseller of the Rearden Personal Assistant as CWT phases out CWT Horizon [pdf], a proprietary booking tool which debuted in 2002.
CWT will integrate some of its own proprietary tools -- profile management systems, unused ticket tracking and reporting features -- into the Rearden Personal Assistant, which will be rebranded for clients as the CWT Traveler Assistant.
Brian Hace [pdf], vice president of client services for CWT North America, says CWT Horizon served a purpose, but the Rearden solution provides an improved user experience and other services, from airport parking and dining reservations to shipping, that clients have sought.
Hace claims clients will feel minimal impact when they transition from CWT Horizon to the CWT Traveler Assistant.
CWT is targetting North America clients for the migration to the Rearden platform, Hace says.
But the reseller agreement may loom even larger for Rearden as CWT, with its thousands of global clients, integrates the new platform into its sales process, Hace says.
"It's significant for downstream economics," says Patrick Grady, Rearden's founder and CEO. "I think it's a big deal."