Why People Book Their Holidays Online
August 12, 2021
How do you book your holidays? The days of going into travel agents to explore holidays are almost over, as more and more people book their holidays online. As a nation, we’re more tech and mobile-savvy than we’ve ever been before and this has never been truer in the travel industry.
As the summer season approaches or during the dark winter months when we’re daydreaming of warmer climates, people go searching the internet for the perfect sunny destination. Brits love their holidays and often save for months, maybe even years, to ensure that they can get exactly what they want. Once they have settled on their decision, it’s time to go through a number of online booking procedures in order to pay. That’s why when booking a holiday online, people need a booking system that they can trust. That’s one of the reasons why we created BookingLive!
We’ll explain why people book their holidays online, and how BookingLive can help the booking journey.
1. Convenient
Booking your dream holiday should be exciting and stress-free. The traditional process of organising a time to visit the travel agent, trekking into town and sitting in a stuffy office for hours on end doesn’t always get you in the holiday spirit.
When booking a holiday online, you don’t need to worry about any lengthy conversations with travel agents. Using your smartphone, laptop or tablet, you can browse holiday packages, view availability and pay at any time of the day, from any location. It can’t get any more convenient than that!
2. More choice
Travel agents can sometimes be restricted to certain airlines and travel companies. This means you can’t compare the whole market and you could be missing out on a more suitable holiday.
Booking online allows you to search as many websites as you wish to get the peace of mind that you’ve chosen a perfect holiday package. You’ll often find better deals and hidden treasures when doing the research yourself.
3. Get a better deal
With a travel agent, you never know if they’re selling the best deal for you or the best deal for them. Travel agents earn commission and they often try to upsell features that you may not need, or at a price that can be found cheaper elsewhere. It can be overwhelming as they list off optional extras and you may feel pressured to say yes in the moment. When you’re parting with so much cash, it’s important to take your time and understand exactly what’s included in the deal.
Booking a holiday online allows you to shop around and understand which extras you can’t live without. For example, the price of travel insurance can vary from provider to provider; some holiday packages include insurance, and some don’t. With so many things to consider, people move to online bookings as it allows them to see the price of everything they add to their basket. There are no hidden fees, and people can shop with confidence.
4. Easy to make changes and cancellations
With a few clicks of a button, customers can amend their booking details or cancel their holiday altogether. There’s no waiting around to get through the hotel reception desk or airline representative, customers have complete control of their booking.
Enabling faster booking changes and cancellations benefits holiday providers too. As online booking systems are updated in real-time, employees can accommodate changes without delay. This improves the customer experience, as well as organisation and communication between teams in the hotel.
5. It’s fun!
Being your own travel agent can actually be fun! Researching different destinations and viewing villas all day can be exciting, and it’s great to be in control of all the planning.
Booking online allows you to manage your budget and ensure that every detail suits your needs. The process is quick and easy, so you don’t have to make any compromises.
How BookingLive can help the booking journey
Sometimes, using an online booking system can be a challenge. That’s why we developed a booking system that is easy to use for both customers and holiday providers. Designed with ease and simplicity in mind, BookingLive’s online booking system is easy to use and has a whole host of user-friendly features.
For customers, things included in the holiday package will be crystal clear, and you can choose from a variety of methods to pay for your booking. It’s easy to amend your booking and make cancellations.
For holiday providers, you can send automated email and SMS booking confirmations and reminders. Another benefit is that you can view detailed reports to evaluate which packages are most popular, so you can invest more in what people want. BookingLive has a whole host of integrations so you can build a custom system to suit your needs.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help take your business to the next level, email sales@bookinglive.com or call 0800 1310 342. To see our booking system in action, book a demo here. Already convinced we’re right for you? Sign up for a free account now.