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Thinking about your summer vacation yet? Instead of visiting your local travel agent, the convenience of the internet has now made it possible to make your own reservations. With the advent of travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline, you can book and customize your travel plans instantly with a click of the button. We surveyed panelists about making travel arrangements via the internet: what websites they prefer, if they shop around for the best price, and what kind of reservations they make. We think you will find the results interesting. Bon Voyage!
- We asked panelists how frequently they use online travel websites for booking trips. The most popular travel reservations made online are: flight (72.2%), hotel (62.4%), car rentals (40%) and cruises (8.9%).
- All 3000 respondents surveyed said they have booked a trip (e.g. flight, hotel, car) using an online travel booking website. These vacationers have lots of experience using travel websites - almost 57% said the first time they used an online travel booking website was 2 or more years ago.
- Most travelers do not have a preferred site for flights, hotels or cars because the majority of panelists (71.4%) said they rarely or never book travel packages on a single visit. Many prefer to shop around on different websites for the best price. About 60% visit 1-3 websites before making their final reservation.
- In fact, when it comes to purchasing travel, 48% use online travel agencies (e.g., Expedia) to compare prices with direct supplier websites and then choose the lowest price. Direct supplier websites are very popular with 47.6% making most/all of their final bookings on these websites.
- Travelers were asked about the top three reasons for choosing their preferred travel website. Overwhelmingly, 79% claimed the top reason was lowest price. About 37% of those surveyed agreed the second most important reason was depth/quality of information and reviews, and 60% think the Reward Program is the third most important reason.
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