New York -- American Express Business Travel has launched a service by which groups can put their meetings business up for bid in an online auction.
Jay Roseman, vice president of the corporate travel agency's meetings-management operation, said the service helps companies "better leverage preferred supplier relationships and more closely link meetings purchasing to their overall travel procurement strategy."
Groups presumably will get the best deal possible when suppliers compete directly against each other in the heat of an auction.
Prior to any online auction, American Express procurement specialists source several suitable suppliers and the meeting owner then narrows the number to a short list of bidders.
The technology was developed by Philadelphia-based StarCite, which markets web-enabled meetings-procurement and attendee-management applications.
The electronic auction tool is available this month for American Express's U.S.-based clients, with a global release to follow later in the year.