Travel websites confusing customers, says Frommers survey

Half of all travellers have struggled with poorly constructed confusing and inaccurate travel websites, according to a survey carried out by content experts Frommers Unlimited.

A worldwide survey of more than 1,200 people, carried out by eDigitalResearch, found that 50% had encountered confusing sites with information hard to find, insufficient pictures, insufficient information about the destination, hotel, cruise, airline or ferry company.

A third of travellers said they were frustrated by a lack of response to email enquiries and sites which weren’t bookable online, while 40% also reported finding inaccurate, or misleading information and not enough information about things to do.

Just 10% said they got the right tailored material when searching online.

“Our survey has really highlighted the consumer experience problems which travel companies need to address in their websites,” said Joel Brandon Bravo, general manager of Frommer’s Unlimited.

“However we also identified what people most value when they look online and the point at which that information was useful.

“Online research is considered critically important planning tool with more than 80% of people saying this is by far the most important tool for their research, compared to only 18% ranking travel agents most highly.

“We also found clear signals about the importance of providing online descriptions of the destination, images and maps because more than two thirds of respondents wanted this when planning and booking their trips. “

Dominic Bean, head of business development for eDigitalResearch, added: “We were concerned but not surprised by the dissatisfaction shown by travellers’ experiences online.

“We regularly research and report on the consumer experience of using major high street retailers’ websites and have seen online standards in general retailing transform in the past two years. It appears that travel has a long way to go to match these levels of online service.”

According to the survey, the most important factors for people when deciding where to go were:

price (86%)
activities to suit special interests (68%)
length of trip (65%)
weather (63%)
food (58%)
exchange rate (45%)
beaches (38%)
length of flight (37%)
off-the-beaten track information (36%)
child-friendly details (20%)
nightlife (19%)
carbon footprint (15%)

When booking a holiday travellers say the following items are important or very important to them:

online pictures of accommodation and facilities (76%)
a written description of the destination (72%)
a destination map (70%)
destination activities and events (67%)
weather information (65%)
travel information such as time zone currency and visa requirements (60%)
local dining information (51%)
local sports and leisure information (33%)
a video of accommodation (30%)
video of the destination (25%)
details of family and children’s activities (20%).

By Bev Fearis