TOKYO, April 15, 2013 –Rakuten Travel Inc., today announced it will expand its Racco reservation service to include international flights, in addition to its current domestic flight and hotel reservation services available for travel within Japan. The expanded service offering begins May 8th.
Based on the number of solo traveler bookings, Rakuten Travel estimates that around 60% of the overseas travelers using Rakuten Travel do so for business. To meet the needs of these travelers, the Company is expanding its Racco service offering. Businesses will now be able to comprehensively settle all payments for corporate international flight tickets simultaneously, while Rakuten Travel will have greater opportunities to process overseas hotel and accommodation bookings for an increasing number of business travelers. Racco is Rakuten Travel’s first service for corporate customers in Japan aimed at improving overseas travel services.
Racco was first launched for domestic travel reservations in Japan in 2006. The number of corporate users has increased each year since the service launched and is currently being used by over 10,000 companies. Compared with the previous year, business flow has grown at a remarkable rate of around 60% (based on the 2012 Annual Results). Going forward, Rakuten Travel plans to expand this corporate service by introducing its Dynamic Package service for overseas travel and hotels, which enables a high-level of customization in travel logistics.
Rakuten Travel is strengthening its efforts to reach out not only to leisure travelers but also to corporate customers by expanding its Racco service for even greater ease and convenience of use.
* Racco (Rakuten Travel Cashless Check-Out System):
At present, over 10,000 companies have adopted Racco, Rakuten Travel’s BTM (Business Travel Management) service. Of the approximately 27,000 domestic hotels and accommodation providers that have signed up for the service, around 24,000 accept deferred payment for accommodation through the direct billing system. With the possibility of cashless checking-out, business travelers no longer need to worry about receipt management and making payments that need to later be reimbursed. Furthermore, Racco provides the management division of a company with centralized control of the accommodation information and whereabouts of the employees, wherever they are, acting as an effective risk management system in the event of a disaster.