Travelport, a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, released its 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report. Combining international independent research, cross-industry comparisons and consumer insights, the headline of 2024’s report asserts that searching and booking travel directly from travel providers has become more time-consuming and complicated than ever.

“Despite travel providers favoring direct-to-consumer connections, the sheer volume of options is overwhelming to travellers, making them less confident in their booking choices,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer at Travelport. “Our research found that instead of feeling excited after booking a trip, most travellers are left feeling anxious, wondering if they got the best deal. For the travel industry, this signals a growing need and opportunity for travel agencies. Their expertise in comparison shopping aids travelers in confidently booking the best option, based on their personal preferences.”

KEY STUDY HIGHLIGHTS:

More Choice Leaves Travellers Feeling Overwhelmed

• Travelport estimates 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 travelers (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 travelers (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.
• Travelers 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, such as Travelport’s Content Curation Layer.

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%).

International Insights

• Dynamic pricing and offers among US-based airlines could be complicating the retailing experience for American travellers, as more US respondents (49%) feel shopping for flights takes more time than comparing hotels (40%), car rentals (8%) and restaurants (3%).
• Additionally, more US travellers (47%) feel like airline offers are not customized to their needs, compared to travellers from Germany (34%), South Africa (35%) and the U.K. (45%).
• Unlike American respondents, hotel shopping is the more time-consuming experience for travellers from Germany (52%), South Africa (54%) and the UK (59%).

“Travel providers are continually refining and expanding their offerings to fit their customers unique needs and preferences,” Catto added. “Prioritizing partnerships with agencies will ensure a truly personalized service to their travellers. That will make the shopping experience seamless for all.”