Companies with high-frequency travellers see a growing need for a single online booking tool (OBT) platform.

Customisation, education and surpassing a consumer-grade experience are important to improving OBT adoption. This was revealed by a survey titled “Booking Tools and Technologies: One Size Does Not Fit All”.

The survey of corporate travel buyers was undertaken by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) from the American Express Global Business Travel (GBT).

Education to drive adoption

Low rates of employee adoption may be due to a lack of internal education on how to use the tools. Less than half (47%) of respondents communicate regularly with employees about their booking tools.

Correcting misinformation among employees

Employees might not understand the true value of using OBTs to book corporate travel, resulting in lower rates of compliance. 39% of travel managers say the primary reason employees aren’t booking through a company’s OBT is that travellers believe they can get a better price and save money elsewhere.

Shifting expectations

Individuals are increasingly using highly integrated platforms and technologies for online and mobile shopping, which furthers the expectation that OBTs should have the same user-friendly functionality.

Only 11% of respondents state that chat and instant messaging (IM) channels are currently being used to book travel, but more than a third (35%) plan to add them as options for travellers in the future. This data reflects a desire to keep pace with consumer retail trends and an opportunity for the industry to strive to surpass them – something travel managers and technology providers should consider.