27% of consumers say watching a video of a hotel influenced them to book online

Travel Marketing, a digital marketing service from Speedie Consultants Limited aimed at hotels, tourist boards and online travel agents, said it published its first report describing the online buying habits of holiday makers.
 
The survey reveals that:

• 90% of people book a holiday online
• More than three-quarters (78%) primarily use an online travel comparison site when booking a holiday
• An almost equal amount of people then use either a travel operator’s website or book directly with a hotel (33% and 34% respectively).

 
When asked what attracted them to booking a particular hotel when looking at a website:

• 78% said both the description and images were equally important
• Over a quarter (27%) said that watching a video of a hotel helped with the decision to book
• 18% already knew where they wanted to stay
• Nearly one in ten (9%) use online reviews to help them make a decision.

The respondents were also asked: Do you tend to book optional extras at the same time?

• 40% book airport transfers
• 28% book airport parking
• 24% buy their travel insurance at the same time
• 22% buy tickets for attractions
• Over one in five (21%) book a hire car.

Of the people who don’t book their holidays online:

• Nearly a third (32%) found a hotel’s website too hard to navigate
• 20% are worried about the security of a website
• Almost one in five (18%) said that the hotel they want to stay at has no online booking facility
• Some hotels do not have the facility to book a disabled room online.

*Independent study commissioned by Speedie Consultants October 2016 via Usurv.