03 September 2008

Surprise findings by travel.co.uk

The average value of online bookings is 6% higher than offline bookings, according to an analysis of booking patterns by recently-launched holiday comparison site travel.co.uk

The company, which released a report on its first two months booking patterns today, said it was surprised by the findings.

Marketing manager Vicky Smith explained: Ã¢â¬ÅâœThis could be down to the amount of content we offer online to support consumers' buying decisions, or possibly because we offer the available different room and flight options as a stage in the online booking process which users may find very easy to upgrade to, so users may be in effect upselling themselves.Ã¢â¬~

The research also found that 58% of users book online, but 42% prefer to book via the phone.

Ray Mason, managing director, said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœSometimes, a customer wants the advantages of booking online. Maybe itÃ¢â¬â¢s out of the agentÃ¢â¬â¢s working hours, or they like the depth and breadth that supporting information and enhanced content online can offer.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœAt other times, a customer may prefer to speak to an agent because they just prefer the personal touch and the ability to talk to a real person, want to ask questions or make special requests. Sometimes, theyÃ¢â¬â¢ll have a conversation then book online, or look online then phone to book. This is nothing new, but itÃ¢â¬â¢s very interesting to see what they do."

In the first two months of operating, retailers on the site have been converting calls at 50% on average, with some reaching 80% conversion rates.

When asked to provide stats on its online booking conversions, Smith said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœOnline and offline are very different metrics so really cannot be compared.Ã¢â¬~

By Bev Fearis

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Your Comments (1)

No surprise at all

Anyone who has had their ear to the ground should have known this years ago. So are travel.co.uk really ahead of the game? I think not.

By Gary Phillips, Wednesday, September 3, 2008