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: “This 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.â€
The research also found that 58% of users book online, but 42% prefer to book via the phone.
Ray Mason, managing director, said: “Sometimes, a customer wants the advantages of booking online. Maybe it’s out of the agent’s working hours, or they like the depth and breadth that supporting information and enhanced content online can offer.
“At 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, they’ll have a conversation then book online, or look online then phone to book. This is nothing new, but it’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: “Online and offline are very different metrics so really cannot be compared.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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