Media Releases

Travellers Set To Save As Flight Centre Expands Accomodation Website

Jun 29, 2006

Flight Centre Limited has boosted its online accommodation offering.

The company has upgraded its established quickbeds.com accommodation site to give travellers greater access to last-minute rates at properties throughout Australia.

Customers can now book quickbeds.com’s last-minute specials – which in some cases are 70% cheaper than standard prices – up to 28 days in advance directly on the website or via a dedicated Hotel Hotline call centre (Telephone: 1800 002 333).

Previously, the discounted rates were available up to 14 days in advance.

In another bonus, quickbeds.com has also adopted a Price Beat Guarantee to ensure its customers secure additional bargains at hotels, apartments, bed and breakfasts, hostels, resorts and motels throughout Australia.

This guarantee means quickbeds.com’s Hotel Hotline team will beat any available accommodation price offered by competing Australian registered businesses and websites*.

Flight Centre Limited managing director Graham Turner said the upgrade was part of the company’s ongoing strategy of strengthening its overall sales network of leisure and corporate travel outlets, websites and call centres.

“We expect the broader last-minute offering and the extended guarantee will prove popular with quickbeds.com’s customers because there is now greater opportunity to secure a bargain,” he said.

“Importantly, this is not restricted to online customers.

“Customers that prefer telephone service or want to take advantage of the Price Beat Guarantee can also phone quickbeds.com’s Hotel Hotline and book with a specialist consultant.

“This human element is an important distinction, as is quickbeds.com’s year-round booking facility.
“This allows visitors to book rooms during the busiest times of the year, when most properties will be full and last-minute rates are rarely going to be available.”

quickbeds.com, which features 20,000 properties worldwide, is one of a number of sites in Flight Centre Limited’s increasingly popular leisure online network in Australia.

Other sites include:

  • flightcentre.com.au – Australia’s Number One travel agency site over the past two years in terms of visitor numbers (Source: Hitwise)
  • flightcentrehotels.com
  • studentflights.com.au
  • and escapetravel.com.au

Together, these sites have attracted more than 20million visits during 2005/06.

Earlier this week, the company also unveiled its innovative new shop of the future design, the blueprint for Flight Centre’s next generation shops.

Key features include:

  • An in-store LCD screen with rotating destinational imagery
  • In-store customer terminals for client research
  • An On-sale Now panel featuring current advertising campaigns and specials
  • Swivelling consultant terminals that allow clients to view product and images
  • Improved world maps with feature destinations in brochure format below
  • Dedicated customer areas
  • Comprehensive travel library with magazines, information and brochures

Flight Centre Unveils The Shop Of The Future

Jun 15, 2006

Flight Centre continues to invest in its multi channel sales network, with an upgrade of its global shop network and an enhanced internet offering on the way.

After recently adding Lonely Planet content to its Australian websites and calling for tenders for an enhanced online booking facility, the company has unveiled an innovative new Shop of the Future design.

The design, which has been developed and refined over the past six months, will serve as the blueprint for the company’s next generation shops and will include a host of special features for customers.

Key features include:

  • An in-store LCD screen with rotating destinational imagery
  • In-store customer terminals for client research
  • An On-sale Now panel featuring current advertising campaigns and specials
  • Swivelling consultant terminals that allow clients to view product and destinational images
  • Improved world maps with feature destinations in brochure format below
  • Dedicated client areas
  • Comprehensive travel library with magazines, essential information and direct access to brochures

The first Shop of the Future opened yesterday (June 26) in Melbourne’s Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre.

Flight Centre Limited Australian EGM Sue Garrett said the new design was fresh and modern and would showcase innovative marketing concepts.

Ms Garrett said signage and other key branding elements, including the popular Flight Centre captain, would also be more visible.

“With the continued popularity of our shops, we felt the time was right to really focus on and enhance the holiday shopping experience for our customers,” she said.

“The new shops will be both interactive and dynamic for customers and will highlight the full range of travel products the company’s expert consultants offer.

“Importantly, we have placed great emphasis on creating a welcoming atmosphere that will give customers a feeling that their holidays have begun from the moment they walk through the door.”

Ms Garrett said the shop and internet upgrades were part of Flight Centre’s ongoing strategy of improving its customer experience across all sales channels.