Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market overview
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- Figure 1: Travel arrangement and reservation services revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2014-24
- Top takeaways
- Key trends
- Booking with a travel brand is more popular than booking with an OTA
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- Figure 2: Direct vs OTA booking, November 2019
- OTAs aren’t a first stop for most travel bookers
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- Figure 3: Initial booking site visitation, by age and by HHI, November 2019
- More specialized booking sites are gaining on the big OTAs
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- Figure 4: Brand usage, by age group, November 2019
- Short-notice booking is the future
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- Figure 5: Booking lead time of less than one month, by age group, November 2019
- Travelers want sites to help them optimize and personalize
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- Figure 6: Desired booking site features, November 2019
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Growth in reservations market will continue
- OTA duopoly status is called into question
- Mobile adoption forces OTAs to update
- Hotel growth streak stalls
- Google squeezes OTAs
Market Size and Forecast
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- Travel booking market slowing, but stable
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- Figure 7: Travel arrangement and reservation services revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2014-24
- Figure 8: Travel arrangement and reservation services' revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2014-24
Market Breakdown
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- Key market players
- Booking Holdings
- Expedia Group
- TripAdvisor
- Airbnb
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- Figure 9: OTA global revenues, 2017-18
- Hotels, flights the most-booked offerings
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- Figure 10: Travel verticals booked on last trip, November 2019
Market Perspective
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- The booking process is important
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- Figure 11: Attitudes toward negative booking experiences, February 2019
- Mobile ownership is on par with PC ownership
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- Figure 12: PC and smartphone ownership, 2015-19
- Increase in wearables foretells a new frontier in booking
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- Figure 13: Appeal of wearables for travel purposes, by age group, August 2019
Market Factors
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- Hotel upcycle ends
- Google’s expansion disrupts the OTA landscape
Booking Trends – What You Need to Know
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- Direct platforms are using their loyalty programs effectively
- OTAs are being spread thin
- Booking providers are accommodating the practices of younger travelers
- Overtourism could disrupt OTA practices
- The future of booking is seamless experience
What’s Happening
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- Hotels effectively leverage perks to encourage direct booking
- OTAs punish properties with resort fees
- Megabus leverages the old-fashioned giveaway
- The hotel/homeshare blur forces OTAs to widen their net
- Foursquare/TripAdvisor partnership is good for younger travelers
- Personalization is coming to travel search results
What’s Next
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- Overtourism threatens to disrupt OTA supply
- Instagram going beyond inspiration
- Data vulnerability can hit OTAs hard
- In five years we’ll book with a glance
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- Figure 14: easyJet Look&Book how-to video, retrieved January 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Most vacations are 1-3 nights
- Younger travelers book closer to their departure date
- Direct booking is winning
- New players threaten the duopoly
- Larger parties turn to TripAdvisor
- Bookers want sites to give them guidance
- Travelers see direct booking more favorably than OTAs
Number and Length of Vacations Booked
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- Three quarters of Americans book leisure travel
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- Figure 15: Number of leisure trips booked, November 2019
- Vacation incidence high across age groups
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- Figure 16: Booked a trip in last 12 months, by age group, November 2019
- Most people can manage two leisure trips
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- Figure 17: Number of trips booked, by HHI and by parental status, November 2019
- Short vacations offer multiple customer opportunities
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- Figure 18: Length of last booked vacation, November 2019
- Three-day weekends are the sweet spot
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- Figure 19: Length of last trip booked, by HHI, November 2019
Booking Time Frames
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- Booking is most popular within a month of the vacation date
- Transportation
- Accommodations
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- Figure 20: Transportation booking time frames, November 2019
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- Figure 21: Accommodation booking time frames, November 2019
- Younger travelers comfortable with shorter booking windows
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- Figure 22: Booking lead time of less than one month, by age group, November 2019
Booking Platforms
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- Direct providers are ahead of aggregators in ease of use
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- Figure 23: Platform used to book, brand vs aggregator, November 2019
- Direct is winning with everyone
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- Figure 24: Direct vs OTA booking, by age group and HHI, November 2019
- Desktop booking will lose its dominance soon
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- Figure 25: Method used for OTA booking, November 2019
- Apps capture the highest-income bookers
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- Figure 26: App usage for booking, by HHI, November 2019
- Bookers want to go it alone
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- Figure 27: Booking through assistants, by age group, November 2019
Booking Companies Used
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- OTA “duopoly” faces threats
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- Figure 28: OTA brands used in booking last trip, November 2019
- Airbnb’s flexibility allows it to thrive
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- Figure 29: Homeshare brands booked, November 2019
- Big umbrella sites are losing ground to more specialized booking players
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- Figure 30: Brand usage, by age group, November 2019
- Specialized OTAs are also making inroads across income groups
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- Figure 31: Brand usage, by income, November 2019
- Larger families find TripAdvisor to be a big help
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- Figure 32: TripAdvisor usage, by number of children in household, November 2019
Desired Booking Site Features
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- Travelers are interested in optimization
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- Figure 33: Desired booking site features, November 2019
- Travel expertise will entice travelers to a provider
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- Figure 34: TURF Analysis – Desired booking website features, November 2019
- A suite of advisory solutions appeal to men and women
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- Figure 35: Desired booking site features – Select items, by gender, November 2019
- Age of traveler impacts booking interests
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- Figure 36: Desired booking site features, by age group, November 2019
- Personalization is popular across income levels
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- Figure 37: Desired booking site features, by HHI, November 2019
- Homeshare providers can use travel guidance to build trust
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- Figure 38: Desired booking site features, by type of reservation, November 2019
Direct vs OTA Characteristics
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- Direct booking stands out more than OTAs
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- Figure 39: Descriptions of booking direct vs through OTAs, November 2019
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- Figure 40: Booking.com “Live Curious” commercial, February 2019
- OTAs struggle with older, wealthier travelers
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- Figure 41: Perceptions of direct booking and OTAs, by age, November 2019
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- Figure 42: Perceptions of direct booking and OTAs, by HHI, November 2019
- OTAs aren’t top-of-mind
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- Figure 43: Initial booking site visitation, by age and by HHI, November 2019
- OTAs have trouble retaining onlookers
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- Figure 44: Option comparison, by age and by HHI, November 2019
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 45: Travel arrangement and reservation services' revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2014-24
- Figure 46: Inclination toward new booking companies
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Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 47: Table – TURF analysis – Desired booking website features, November 2019
- Methodology
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