Travelers and travel managers have differing priorities and perspectives regarding corporate online booking tools, according to a recent research report from Carlson Wagonlit Travel's CWT Travel Management Institute. Reconciling those differences and better addressing traveler needs can help organizations improve online booking adoption, thereby boosting policy compliance and realizing cost savings, the report suggested.
Conducted between September 2010 and April 2011, CWT's research included surveys of 204 travel managers from around the world and 2,439 travelers and travel arrangers from 15 unidentified companies. On average, according to travel manager respondents from companies that have implemented online booking tools, about 52 percent of all transactions are initiated online.
In comparing travel manager and traveler responses, CWT concluded that "travel managers are more enthusiastic than travelers about the benefits of online booking." For example, when asked if the benefits of online booking tools outweigh the drawbacks, 65 percent of travel managers replied "yes, by far" or "yes, somewhat." For travelers, the number was 52 percent.
Travel managers as a group placed at the top of a list of online booking "benefits" the notion that online tools are "more appropriate for simple bookings," which earned an aggregate score of 8.8 on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 10 (completely agree). Travelers on average also ranked that as the top benefit, with an aggregate score of 7.2.
From there, some differences are evident. For example, travel managers ranked second (with a score of 7.3) the idea that online booking "generally helps travelers book cheaper fares/rates." Travelers on average gave that a score of 5.5, the second-lowest of the eight items examined. At the bottom of the travel manager list was "reduces accessible content," with a 5.1 score. For travelers, the lowest score, 4.5, came in for "forces travelers to book earlier in advance."
Meanwhile, based on its analysis of nearly 270,000 worldwide bookings between January 2010 and May 2011, CWT determined that 78 percent of travelers expressed "high satisfaction" with online bookings while 87 percent did so for offline bookings. At the same, 10 percent expressed "high dissatisfaction" with online bookings versus 6 percent that did so for offline bookings.
These findings were in line across all regions, according to CWT, "underlining that progress can still be made in terms of user-friendliness and travelers' acceptance of this way of booking."
From the travel manager perspective, the booking tool feature that garnered the highest satisfaction score was "compliance with travel policy," at 6.6 on an ascending scale of 1 to 10. It was followed by "accuracy of proposed rates" (6.2) and "ability to steer travelers toward preferred suppliers" (6.0). Travel managers were least satisfied with the degree to which online booking tools satisfy their travelers, as "traveler satisfaction" collected a 5.2 average score.
Online Booking Tool Adoption Tips
The research also reinforced several common observations on online booking, notably that it can generate savings. According to its survey of travel managers, CWT found that companies booking online on average shave 7 percent from their average ticket price when compared with offline bookings. A "key reason," according to the report, is the well-documented concept of visual guilt, whereby travelers feel compelled to choose cheaper fares when they are presented.
But CWT pointed to reasons why online booking may produce less-than-optimal savings results, particularly when self-booked transactions require manual intervention. To combat those occurrences, the TMC noted that corporations "can switch off the OBT's 'add comment' function, which is often used unnecessarily," and require travelers to update their profiles.
"The main reasons for automation failure," according to the report, "are incomplete or outdated credit card information, or missing passport information, such as full name, gender and country of passport issuance," which is required in several countries. "Billing issues that call for manual intervention, such as hotel bill-back (where the travel management company pays upfront and invoices the customer), can be avoided by requiring travelers to use their corporate payment cards when making a reservation," CWT continued. "Companies can also dilute the benefits of OBTs if, for example, the 'repeat trip' feature on OBTs prevents travelers from obtaining the lowest available fare with an alternative supplier at the time of booking."
Other Findings
• According to CWT data encompassing 70 million transactions, Australia leads the way in average online booking rate with 44 percent of all transactions, followed by the United States (41 percent) and Canada (37 percent). CWT noted that those countries "have a high proportion of domestic travel and many simple, point-to-point bookings." Spain (14 percent), Sweden (17 percent) and the United Kingdom (17 percent) were at the bottom of the list of countries included in CWT's report.
• CWT's data also showed that the electronics industry has the highest online booking penetration at 61 percent of all transactions, followed by agriculture (54 percent) and hospitality (53 percent). The government/public sector category ranked last at 17 percent, half the overall average. The variations, CWT explained, relate to corporate culture, Internet usage and "the economic context."
• The report states that "companies are fairly evenly divided in their use of direct agreements with OBT suppliers or reseller agreements. Direct deals are slightly more common, especially among larger companies, but the proportion of reseller agreements is growing." According to CWT, "price" was among the top three benefits cited by clients using both direct and reseller agreements. It added that "small to medium companies will almost certainly obtain better pricing deals thanks to the TMC's negotiations on behalf of all clients." Other benefits of reseller deals via a TMC, CWT said, include consulting, site administration, configuration of tools to include preferred suppliers, local language support and easier geographic expansion. Arguments favoring direct agreements include "fully negotiable licensing, hosting and transaction fees" and "control of the relationship."
• CWT reported that "more than 90 percent" of its global clients use multiple OBTs--perhaps through a best-in-region approach--"despite the higher costs."
• CWT suggested that "to make the most of mobile services," companies may consider available mobile applications as part of their selection of an online booking tool. (Meanwhile, the surveys showed that travelers on aggregate ranked itinerary information as the most important mobile service, followed by flight status updates. Travel managers ranked at the top of their list electronic boarding passes, which for travelers was a close third. Both sets of respondents placed the least amount of importance on tourist information.)
• The travel management company wrote that "web-based expense management solutions are increasingly bundled with online booking tools and corporate payment cards, providing a single interface for all expense management needs." According to the research, 19 percent of surveyed travel managers indicated their organizations' expense management system and online booking tool "are combined." The majority use either an expense system that is part of "a broader enterprise resource planning tool" (38 percent) or an independent tool (32 percent).
• For profile management systems, 9 percent of surveyed CWT clients use an "ongoing human resources feed into online booking tool." The rest use processes and systems not dependent on OBTs.
The article originally was published in Business Travel News.