Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | B | Business Travel News

Online booking tools now being used by a majority of companies that manage European travel.

Article Excerpt
Europe today is not at the point where self-booking tools can be considered ubiquitous, but the first-ever survey in this marketplace suggests it has at least passed a tipping point. BTN's European Travel Management Technology Survey of 457 buyers responsible for managing travel in Europe reveals that 42 percent have purchased one or more sell-booking tools. Another 9 percent said they are in the process of buying or implementing a tool and 6 percent said they would choose one this year.

Respondents that described their organizations as aggressively managing their travel programs, as opposed to fully or lightly, appear further along the line. A clear majority of respondents, 57 percent, said their companies have installed at least one booking tool, although only 5 percent are in the process of implementation and just 1 percent said they would choose a tool this year.

Adoption rates also have taken off in Europe, according to the survey, and among users are well past the 30 percent level at which self-booking tools generally are considered to provide corporations a return on their investment. Survey respondents from companies that have implemented a tool report that 58 percent of air bookings are online, up from 49 percent in 2005 and 34 percent in 2004.

Curiously, small companies seem to be faring better in this respect. Their adoption rate is 70 percent, compared with 50 percent for large companies. Companies with global headquarters in the United States also report superior adoption rates, 63 percent versus 52 percent for those with global headquarters in Europe.

It is now five years since self-booking tools became standard technology among the biggest corporate travel buyers in Line United States. Business Travel News in September 2001 reported that 83 of the top 100 U.S. business travel buyers had implemented an on+ line booking tool.

Travel management experts commenting on results of the new findings generally agreed that self-booking tools finally are hitting their stride in Europe, although estimates vary and some dissenters said the success of the tools remains overhyped. Carlson Wagonlit Travel said 30 percent of its European clients have implemented a self-booking tool, compared with 80 percent in the United States. The average length of time Carlson Wagonlit's European clients have had a tool is 2.2 years, against 3.4 years in the United States.

Cutting the figures a different way, American Express said 30 percent of its U.K. clients' bookings are made online, compared with 20 percent for Benelux and 5 percent to 7 percent for Spain and Italy, although these last two are growing quickly. However, among clients that retain Amex in more than one country, Europe, Middle East and Africa vice...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!