International research highlights how overwhelmed customers feel when booking travel due to newfound proliferation of offers
Combining international independent research, cross-industry comparisons and consumer insights, Travelport’s 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report asserts that searching and booking travel directly from travel providers has become more time-consuming and complicated than ever.
Key Study Highlights
More choices leaves travellers feeling overwhelmed
- It is estimated that air travel options have gone from about 500 economy/ business options available in 2010 to over 10,000 options in 2024 (economy, economy plus, flexi- family, business, first, etc.). That’s a 1,900% increase.
- The majority of travellers (58%) feel that the volume of choice is overwhelming.
- 56% of travelers say that airline offers are more difficult to understand now than they were 10 years ago.
- 61% of travelers also believe there are more penalties now when changing a flight than there were 10 years ago, with 66% citing that there are too many hidden fees.
- The majority of travellers (71%) sometimes feel anxious about whether they got the best deal after they’ve booked their trip, with 42% feeling like airline offers have become ‘less suitable’ over time in meeting their personal preferences.
DTC (Direct to Consumer) Feels More Like Difficult to Compare
- Most travellers (80%) agree that comparing fares from different airlines is very time-consuming, with more than two-thirds (69%) feeling that information is often restricted on some airline booking sites.
- When it comes to shopping for all components of their trip, 60% said they spend an average of one to four hours planning, while more than one-third (36%) spend more than five hours searching and comparing options before booking.
- Most respondents (88%) agree they would prefer to see all flight options and fares on one screen, which is likely the reason that more than half (54%) said they frequently use a comparison site to search for information before purchasing their ticket.
- The majority of Millennial (70%) and Gen X (64%) travellers often use online travel agencies (OTAs) to book, citing choice and price transparency as the primary reasons.
- Travellers are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more than just a chatbot, and agencies will increasingly rely on their technology partners to implement AI and ML (machine learning) in creative ways.
Amenities That Matter Most
- When booking flights, respondents said that luggage allowance (63%), cancellation and change policies (50%) and seat selection (50%) are the most important factors to compare.
- Most travellers (63%) also stated that they feel airlines do not put the customer first when it comes to customer servicing matters (flight cancellations, exchanges, etc.)
- The hotel features that were cited as most important to travellers were WiFi availability (48%), complimentary breakfast options (47%), and hotel facilities (45%).