Lack of engagement causing missed revenue opportunities for OTAs and metasearch companies

OTAs and metasearch companies are leaving money on the table by not considering the day-of-travel engagement scenario, FlightView has found.

The research, available here, queried 2,066 travelers (32% business, 68% leisure) about their history with travel search on OTAs and metasearch companies. The goal is to reveal more on what these companies can do to increase loyalty, and thus revenues, via increased engagement.

Popularity of the various travel search sites

A quick breakdown of the respondents' relationships with the various sites provides a backdrop for the results:

Most popular sites are Expedia (27%) and Kayak (27%)
36% of travelers search for tickets on airline websites
29% search on OTAs
22% of respondents use metasearch engines
3% use mainstream search engines

This last result shows how the ongoing fears of the Google takeover might be (at this present moment) misplaced. Or, from Google's perspective, the market is primed to grab.

Given some of the further results below under "Lessons Learned," Google is in a solid position to leverage much of its technologies to provide the seamless travel experience.

What drives respondents' repeat business

Understanding the reasons why consumers return for repeat business is vital for any travel brand focusing on retention and loyalty as a revenue generating strategy.

This crop of respondents is focused the most on ease-of-use:

50% preferred the site for its ease-of-use
41% chose the site due to the visual organization of flights
30% liked the accuracy of flight information
29% said it was due to the extra data provided, such as on-time ratings and fee inclusion
13% identified the mobile experience as a key differentiator

For travel brands wanting to expand their offerings, the respondents wanted to see the following in the extra information column:

Mobile experience

Another key component of the survey was inquiring about the consumer expectation of the mobile experience. This information allows for a deeper understanding of how this particular cohort uses mobile during the travel experience.

Note that only 8% of respondents want itinerary changes to be automatically sent to their workplace - perhaps due to a Big Brother concern, or maybe so the respondents can have more flexibility to enjoy the new schedule. Airlines are the first company that respondents want notified, followed by hotel, family and ground transportation.

Lessons learned

The survey respondents provided enough insight for the following conclusions, the top lesson being that respondents are very much interested in automatic re-bookings due to travel delays. Technology easily allows this, and is a huge stress reliever for travelers.

By knowing that they are seamlessly taken care of in times of distress, consumers appear to be more likely to be loyal to a site or airline.