Online Travel Booking Benchmarks

We’ve studied 50 of the biggest transactional travel websites to discover how effective their booking process is in 10 key areas.

As a result we’ve produced an interactive benchmark tool to help you spot opportunities to beat your competition or identify areas for improvement in your own booking process.

It will take you less that 5 minutes and we’ll provide you with a breakdown of how you compare to the biggest players in online travel.

Benchmark Yourself Now!     

8 out of 10

 

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8 out of 10

 

More info
 

Does your travel eCommerce site use…

1. Auto complete in search fields?

As users type a destination, the site suggests possible matches for the user based on the text entered.

2. Flexible search options?

It allows people to search beyond specific days. For example, searching for flights from any London airport, or searching for available holidays three days either side of the dates entered.

3. Mobile friendly?

Travel sites should be optimised for mobile and therefore easy to use whatever device visitors are using.

4. Maps in search results?

Maps are a great way to help travel shoppers understand their destination better. For example, they can be used to show how close a hotel or villa is to key locations such as the nearest beach, town centres or restaurants.

5. Useful content about the destination?

Content on-site, ideally available during research and booking, about the destination. This could be a little local history, information on sites of interest nearby, or useful details like average temperatures.

6. Traveler reviews?

Reviews of hotels and destinations left by other travelers

7. Contact information during the booking process?

A visible phone number or a live chat option that can be found easily during booking. It may be shown on the side of the page or in the site header, large enough to stand out.

8. Address entry shortcuts?

Postcode look-up tools or autosuggest options as users type an address.

9. Live trends or urgency messaging?

Key information showing customers how many people are booking, how many hotel rooms available on a given date, or how long they have left to take advantage of a special offer.

10. Booking abandonment emails?

Booking abandonment emails are sent when users start but don’t finish a booking online. They remind users of the flight or holiday they were about to book, and provide a fast route back to checkout.

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It speeds up the process for travellers, and avoids mistakes which could lead to inaccurate or zero search results. Google claim autocomplete can speed up searches by 25%.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you’re visitors will expect this feature, so one to look at.

Why is it useful?

It speeds up the process for travellers, and avoids mistakes which could lead to inaccurate or zero search results. Google claim autocomplete can speed up searches by 25%.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

50% use this - you’re among the top performers here.

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

50% use this - so you have a chance to stand out from your competitors by adding this.

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

96% are - it’s just expected.

Why is it useful?

Travel websites receive more than 40% of traffic from mobile, but just over 18% of sales. Making booking easy on mobile can generate more sales. Helps customers to easily see location of hotel and how close it is to key locations. For example, in walking distance to town centre. Helps them to quickly assess search results and find the information they need.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

96% are - it’s just expected so get to it!

Why is it useful?

Travel websites receive more than 40% of traffic from mobile, but just over 18% of sales. Making booking easy on mobile can generate more sales. Helps customers to easily see location of hotel and how close it is to key locations. For example, in walking distance to town centre. Helps them to quickly assess search results and find the information they need.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

Used by 54% of sites. All but one of sites without maps were airlines i.e. 98% of hotel and holiday sites used maps.

Why is it useful?

Helps customers to easily see location of hotel and how close it is to key locations. For example, in walking distance to town centre. Helps them to quickly assess search results and find the information they need.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

Used by 54% of sites. All but one of sites without maps were airlines i.e. 98% of hotel and holiday sites used maps.

Why is it useful?

Helps customers to easily see location of hotel and how close it is to key locations. For example, in walking distance to town centre. Helps them to quickly assess search results and find the information they need.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

40% feature content - you’re in the big leagues

Why is it useful?

Helps users to research their holiday without having to leave the site. Gives them useful information at the point when they’re considering a purchase.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

40% feature content - this is a real opportunity to help your visitors complete their booking with richer detail about their chosen destination

Why is it useful?

Helps users to research their holiday without having to leave the site. Gives them useful information at the point when they’re considering a purchase.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

Great social proof, helps customers to decide what’s right for them, avoid hotels with poor service or smelly bathrooms. People don’t often book without them - 95% of travellers read reviews before booking.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It’s a complex process where users may have questions, need help there and then. A clear option means sites can help customers through the process and avoid abandonment.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

Speeds up the address entry process, making booking easier. Also helps avoid address entry errors.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

Used well, it helps customers with relevant information which nudges them into making a decision more quickly. I.e if there are just two rooms left in hotel they want, they’d better move fast.

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

You answered : Yes

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

81% of travel bookings are abandoned. These emails are a great way to reconnect and see a typical conversion-from-click rate of over 30%

Top Performer:

You answered : No

Against the top 50 Benchmark:

100% use this - you're in good company!

Why is it useful?

It allows people to see what’s available without pinning them down to specifics. Good for a broad search when they start researching holidays, and means they don’t have to narrow down their options or carry out lots of separate searches.

Top Performer:

Please select an answer