Online customers take flight from poor travel sites

Online travel companies are missing out on bookings or driving customers to rival sites because of poor web site design or user experiences, according to new research.

The study of more than 25 travel web sites suggests that cumbersome search engines, hard to find booking forms and hidden charges are the biggest mistakes.

Webcredible, who carred out the research, says a lack of print-friendly page designs and not promoting competitive prices on home pages also caused people to click away.

'The travel sector experiences one of the highest levels of comparison shopping online. A massive one in four visits to travel web sites come from another site in the same category,' said Webcredible director Trenton Moss.

'Users are unlikely to hang around for long if they can't find what they are looking for, but by making a number of easy-to-implement changes online travel companies can significantly improve the satisfaction of their web site visitors. This would ultimately lead to increased bookings and revenue.'

Get Webcredible's "Online Travel Sector Usability Report"

Hoteliers eye podcasting

A number of hotels and hotel companies are testing the waters in what some believe might be the next big tool in the electronic marketing toolbox: podcasting.

With initial investments being small, these hoteliers feel that it's worth a shot to experiment with the medium in case it does take off.

"We see podcasting as alternative radio," said Ryan Bifulco, president of Travel Spike, an electronic marketing consulting company. "You do not need an iPod or other MP3 player to download a podcast. In fact, you can listen to a podcast at your desk, on your computer or you can listen to it on satellite radio.

"Think of it as a radio show or audio blog that you can also listen to on your computer or iPod," he said.

Bifulco sees huge potential for podcasting. At the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International Internet Travel Marketing Conference in New York, he drew attention by saying, "Podcasting will be bigger than blogging."

Get the full story at Hotel & Motel Management