|
Article Excerpt
Despite the business splashes of Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, small and midmarket companies thus far have shown no great exodus from traditionally styled managed-travel programs that marry a bricks-and-mortar agency with a third-party booking tool. BTN's research indicates that both small and midmarket companies are looking even more now than last year to their existing agency and technology providers for self-booking solutions. Not only that, it shows this is the year that the percentage of midmarket companies that have purchased a self-booking tool will go from less than half to well more than half.
According to 169 travel buyers responding, the percentage of small companies that direct travelers to online agencies remained flat at 53 percent, while for midmarket companies the figure fell to 17 percent from 20 percent. Fifty-nine percent of midmarket companies this year said they are using managed travel tools, versus 41 percent last year. Further, 34 percent of midmarket firms said they are using a site provided by their agency, about double the prior year's rate. Thirty-nine percent of smaller companies are using an agency-provided booking site, up from 19 percent in 2002.
According to BTN's research, average adoption of self-booking tools by midmarket firms rose to 15 percent from 9 percent the year earlier. While encouraging in its direction, the figure still is modest.
As a result, the agency community's overall support of the technology remains mixed. While some agencies cite the provision of touchiess support for self-service reservations as their whole future, older-school agency managers have done little more than sign on to a product or two...
|
|
More articles from Business Travel News
Co. mandates registration with mtgs. dept. (Managing Meetings At: Aon ..., July 07, 2003
Amex angles for expenses. (News)., July 07, 2003
Disney Institute also heads West. (Meetings Beat)., July 07, 2003
Poll: planners using more mtg. data consolidation tools. (News)., July 07, 2003
Phila. welcomes birth of Constitution Ctr. (Destinations)., July 07, 2003
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
|
