Changing customer behaviour in travel bookings
Julie Kyse, VP, Global Air Partnerships, Expedia Group, explains how new patterns in the airline and booking industry are emerging following a shift in traveller behaviour
The recovery of the travel industry following the difficulties endured throughout the pandemic is hugely welcome - but still fragile. Seven in 10 Brits plan to take a trip abroad in 2022, according to WTM’s Industry Report 2021, but the duration of stay, and the destinations that customers are choosing, paint a very different picture from two years ago.
The ever-changing nature of the pandemic means that travellers’ priorities have been harder to capture and are changing quicker than ever. Our latest analysis of global airline sales data from Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) reflects the changing attitudes of holidaymakers as they make up for lost travel time over last two years.
Last minute and risk averse
The data shows that in recent months, British travellers have had more of a last-minute, risk-averse approach to holidays, revolving perhaps unsurprisingly around short-term bookings and trips closer to home as they battle against fluctuations in Covid-19 cases and ever-changing travel guidance.
Our analysis found that over the summer period, 52 per cent of all international flight bookings from the UK were purchased in just a four-week window during July and August this year as restrictions eased, compared to just over 40 per cent of bookings over the same period in 2019 and 2018. Additionally, over the same period compared to 2020, we noted a 70-per-cent surge in short-stay flights, which were stays of up to two weeks.
The uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions has undoubtedly led to domestic destinations dominating flight searches for UK travellers throughout the summer. The most-searched destination by UK travellers on Expedia Group sites this summer was London (35 per cent), followed by Manchester (10 per cent) and Edinburgh (10 per cent). These UK destinations leapfrogged popular international destinations such as New York, Sydney and Paris, which topped the list just two years ago, as the effects of the pandemic prevented trips to these destinations.
But the success of the vaccine rollout in the UK is already having a significant effect on our industry, with booking patterns beginning to change again. For the first time in two years, over half of UK tourists said they were planning to head overseas for the October half-term holiday period at the tail end of 2021. This changing pattern is reflective of new Covid-19 testing rules from the middle of October – with lateral flow tests replacing PCR tests – which made returning to the UK much cheaper.
Higher expectations for travel providers
At Expedia Group, we envisage customers engaging in longer-term planning for travel in 2022, providing the vaccine booster rollout across the UK continues successfully. However, the future of the travel industry for 2022 remains uncertain. It is therefore vital for airlines and online agencies to stay ahead of some key trends to better understand their consumers and steal a march on their competitors.
Customers now, and for the foreseeable future, have higher expectations of hospitality service providers and are much more demanding of the services a company provides when booking. As shown by Expedia Group’s Traveller Value Index, which revealed that travellers now value enhanced cleaning and disinfection measures above all but the ability to get a refund, travel providers must now demonstrate their loyalty to travellers by providing a personal commitment to, and understanding of, an individual’s health, hygiene and safety – the new currency for earning customer trust.
Airlines and other operators in the wider air ecosystem that performed well in terms of bookings last October half-term will have been those who use available data to create a personalised experience for travellers that focuses on hygiene measures, appealing to those craving a last-minute getaway but who were conscious of rising Covid-19 rates across Europe.
Being flexible
Another trend that will remain a priority for travellers far into 2022 is flexibility. ARC’s data reveals that refundable lodging rates are around 15 per cent more expensive than non-refundable, but remain more popular.
This emphasises the value that travellers place on the ability to change or cancel their trip without penalty or financial punishment. It shows the transition away from cost as the main driver of travel booking decisions towards other considerations within the booking process. Agents, airlines and hotel companies that can ease the stress and strain of cancellations, last-minute government policy changes and complex Covid-19 airport procedures will be able to build stronger brand loyalty in the long term.
Notably, Expedia Group’s Traveller Value Index shows generational differences for what these groups value in air travel. Younger generations value in contactless experience and low pricing more, whilst older travellers in Europe rank the ability to get a full refund, especially in the UK (31 per cent), as their top consideration.
We envisage customers will begin engaging in longer-term planning for travel next year, providing the vaccine booster rollout across the UK continues successfully
Planning for the future
With change comes opportunity. People are spending more time than ever researching trips before booking. At Expedia Group, our customer service teams are working hard to provide guidance and responses to travellers before they travel. By July 2020, we had hired an additional 500 representatives to add to the 6,000 total across 30 countries in order to handle the increase in enquiries.
In addition, we recently launched the Covid-19 Travel Advisor, an interactive tool powered by Sherpa that helps customers find up-to-date information about travel restrictions in the destination they plan to visit, such as quarantine, face mask and Covid-19 test requirements.
More than 1.6 million travellers have used the Covid-19 Travel Advisor across Expedia Group’s brands since November 2020. All in all, we want to ensure that travellers receive the perfect blend of instant seamless information on our website and through human interaction to instil customer confidence.
Going forward, as coronavirus hasn’t disappeared, and there are vaccine uptake struggles in Asia and Africa, it is too soon to predict the long-term behavioural trends for our industry. Nevertheless, it seems that the immediate future of travel will centre on people’s priorities around safety and flexibility. Ensuring customers feel valued, confident and relaxed – right from their initial enquiries until they land in their dream destination – by providing a personalised customer experience, will be vital. And with uncertainty still the watchword, travel businesses will need to be data-driven and nimble to capitalise on rapidly fluctuating demand patterns.