eTravel Multichannel Benchmark Results

Private & Confidential© eDigitalResearch 2014

eTravel Multichannel Benchmark

September 2014

Wave 15


eTravel Multichannel Benchmarkmethodology

2

Private & Confidential© eDigitalResearch 2014 3

What did we do?

Took 18 travel brands that offer all three digital channels: online, mobile site and mobile app.

Evaluated the customer experience both WITHIN and ACROSS channels over July and August 2014.

Who provides the best cross channel experience?

What drives a good digital customer experience?


Search functionality: Speed, ease of search and range of options

Search results: Clarity of price, level/quality of information, ease of viewing and refining

Ease of gathering initial information, inspiration and indication of price

Overall measures evaluating navigation, features and services range/quality, ease of use

Live Help/email, telephone customer service, ease of locating support

Ease of making and amending booking, adding options and making payment

4

Comprehensive customer journey coverage with comparable measures across channels

Clarity of brand proposition, initial feel and level of information available


Methodology

PCApp

Mobile sites surveyed using smartphone, Apps surveyed using mobile phone, website surveyed using PC/laptop

mWeb


eTravel Multichannel Benchmark Results

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Booking.com have topped the multichannel overall league table with the highest score in five out of six of the customer journey stages.

Hotels.com were a close second with an excellent App score.

The multichannel rankings were again dominated by the Hotel sector with Late Rooms completing the overall top three.

Best Western achieved a top score in the customer support category.

Booking.com topped the desktop rankings coming first in every stage of the customer journey.

Quality of search experience is improving with an increasing number of brands achieving ‘excellent’ ratings.

Consistent with the recent eDigitalResearch eChannel Retail Benchmark study, the experience on Apps and mobile sites continues to lag behind more established website scores as brands continue to get to grips with optimising the travel customer experience on mobile.

Delivering a quality initial research mobile that is on a par with desktop sites continues to be a the main challenge although brands such as Expedia, Hotels.com and Booking.com are beginning to buck the trend and score well in this area.

Key findings


Overall Multichannel Winner is Booking.com

# BrandMultichannel

ScoreDesktop Mobile App

1 Booking.com 86.3% 91.3% 86.1% 81.6%

2 Hotels.com 85.5% 85.7% 81.3% 89.5%

3 LateRooms 81.2% 84.9% 80.7% 78.0%

4 Expedia Hotels 81.1% 82.9% 79.3% 81.0%

5 ebookers 80.4% 82.7% 77.8% 80.8%

6 Premier Inn 80.1% 82.3% 80.9% 77.2%

7 KLM 79.6% 87.4% 71.5% 79.7%

8 Opodo 79.0% 79.2% 80.1% 77.8%

9 Lufthansa 79.0% 81.4% 79.1% 76.6%

10 British Airways 78.0% 85.4% 71.8% 76.6%

11 Best Western 77.8% 81.0% 73.5% 79.0%

12 Qantas 77.4% 84.2% 77.7% 70.4%

13 Marriott 76.6% 73.9% 78.3% 77.4%

14 EasyJet 75.7% 85.3% 73.7% 68.2%

15 Hilton 72.7% 79.4% 67.5% 71.1%

16 Monarch 72.0% 80.7% 62.2% 73.0%

17 Jet2 71.9% 75.8% 70.6% 69.2%

18 Holiday Inn 69.6% 78.5% 57.5% 73.0%

Multichannel overall rankings

Icons denote top performing brand for each channel


83%86%

93%88%

84%88%

72%

61%

75%70%

63%

71%

First Impressions Initial Research Search Search Results Booking Process Design & usability

9

Booking.com achieves highest multichannel score in five out of six categories

Multichannel: Range of results

Good(80-89.9%)

Very Poor(<50%)

Excellent(>90%)

Average(70-79.9%)

Poor(50-69.9%)


A prominent search box which quickly returns a wide range of

results.

Multichannel best practice: Booking.com

Uncluttered page with menus to access extra information if needed

makes navigation easy.

High quality images and plenty of information for each hotel including

facilities, location maps and customer reviews.

Booking can be completed in only a few steps with clear prices

displayed at all times.

Well optimised well to fit the screen on the

mobile.

Consistent eye-catching and colourful look and feel on all channels and stages of the customer journey.

Results pages displayed well in list format complemented with images and options to filter. Option to change the currency and language of the site with one easy simple

click.


App best practice: Hotels.com

Search results quickly return a wide choice of hotels. Comprehensive options to filter and sort results.

“Special offers for tonight” section which suggest hotels near the location of the user.

Eye catching and colourful app with comprehensive information broken down into sections for easy navigation.

Quality images and extensive information provided, including information on location and surrounding area, make planning a trip easy. Customer reviews offer an

unbiased opinion.

Quick booking covered on a single screen with use of secure payment logos. Clear indication of what is included

in the price before payment details are taken.

Option to share search results with friends on social media.


Best Practice: LateRooms

Prominent search bar at the top of the homepage.

Secure booking site with a range of payment options available.

Detailed information on hotels is available with quality pictures of the hotel rooms

displayed on fast loading pages.

Options to refine search results by star rating, price and facilities.

Results can be sorted.

Easy search thanks to destination box offering suggestions to choose from when typing.


Good(80-89.9%)

Very Poor(<50%)

Average(70-79.9%)

Poor(50-69.9%)

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App and mobile site experiences lag behind conventional websites, particularly for initial research

First

Impressions

Initial

Research

Search Search

Results

Booking

Process

Design &

Usability

Excellent(>90%)


86% 87%90%

83%

89%

70%

74%75%

71% 73%

eTravelMultichannel

eChannel RetailBenchmark

eRetailBenchmark

eRetail AppBenchmark

mCommerceBenchmark

(22 Apps surveyed)(22 brands surveyed)(17 brands surveyed)

Industry ComparisonHigh, Low & Average scores

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Industry comparisons indicate retail brands generally provide a slightly better experience

(22 sites surveyed) (22 mobile sites surveyed)

Good(80-89.9%)

Very Poor(<50%)

Average(70-79.9%)

Poor(50-69.9%)

Excellent(>90%)


Customer journey best practice

15


Booking.com rated highest overall for first impressions with a best in class desktop site

# Brand Multichannel Score Desktop Mobile App

1 Booking.com 83.0% 88.0% 82.5% 78.4%

2 Lufthansa 81.7% 83.3% 81.4% 80.5%

3 KLM 81.2% 85.8% 74.1% 83.8%

4 Hotels.com 81.0% 82.2% 75.9% 84.8%

5 British Airways 78.9% 83.4% 75.5% 77.8%

6 EasyJet 78.8% 84.5% 77.2% 74.7%

7 Qantas 78.5% 84.1% 84.1% 67.3%

8 ebookers 77.4% 78.9% 75.6% 77.8%

9 Best Western 76.9% 79.2% 72.3% 79.1%

10 Premier Inn 76.5% 75.5% 79.5% 74.5%

11 Opodo 76.4% 76.4% 78.1% 74.7%

12 Marriott 76.4% 76.4% 77.2% 75.6%

13 Expedia Hotels 76.3% 77.2% 75.0% 76.7%

14 Monarch 75.7% 81.5% 66.5% 79.0%

15 LateRooms 75.5% 79.8% 76.1% 70.5%

16 Jet 2 75.1% 72.8% 77.3% 75.2%

17 Holiday Inn 73.4% 73.4% 70.2% 76.7%

18 Hilton 71.5% 76.6% 68.8% 69.2%

“The homepage looks dynamic and modern, with many

interesting options available, it does invite customers to browse

further and find the accommodation they require.”

– Booking.com

“The mobile site looked really good and it was very clear what the site was for and what they had to offer

customers. It offered me all the features I would need on the sites main page. I found it really easy to navigate and the site loaded very

quickly on my mobile.”- Qantas

“The app was professional and stylish. I could clearly see what the company was offering, and the app was easy to navigate.”

- Hotels.com

Figures in bold indicate top score within each channel


A clear site which is easy to navigate drives high scores for first impressions across all channels

Clarity what the site offers

Prominent search box

Clearly structured layout for easy navigation

Promotions and special offers

Tips for success


Hotels.com rated highest for initial research driven by Excellent App rating


1 Hotels.com 86.0% 88.1% 78.6% 91.3%

2 Booking.com 83.1% 91.5% 82.8% 75.0%

3 Expedia Hotels 81.9% 85.4% 77.5% 82.9%

4 LateRooms 79.7% 85.8% 77.9% 75.4%

5 ebookers 77.8% 85.3% 71.5% 76.5%

6 Opodo 76.7% 81.0% 77.5% 71.7%

7 Best Western 76.6% 85.4% 67.6% 76.8%

8 Premier Inn 75.6% 80.3% 75.4% 71.3%

9 KLM 71.8% 87.9% 58.9% 68.6%

10 British Airways 71.7% 83.2% 59.0% 72.9%

11 Lufthansa 71.2% 78.2% 71.1% 64.3%

12 Marriott 70.9% 69.3% 73.1% 70.3%

13 Qantas 68.9% 84.0% 64.7% 58.1%

14 Holiday Inn 66.3% 79.2% 49.6% 70.0%

15 Jet 2 65.3% 78.4% 64.7% 52.9%

16 EasyJet 65.2% 85.5% 57.8% 52.4%

17 Hilton 63.8% 77.5% 53.2% 60.7%

18 Monarch 60.8% 81.3% 35.3% 65.9%

“I felt like I could easily find a large amount of information to perform research on this site before starting to make a booking decision. There were

high quality images of the hotels and a lot of information on things to do in and around the area. I could easily check the availability of the hotels as well as clearly see the costs and any current special

offers.”- Booking.com

“The site seems to give all the information you would need to plan your trip. It gives flight offer details, destination information and travel guides, timetables and also the facility to search availability and price up

your flight. The images are excellent quality.”

- Booking.com

“While browsing the amount of information about the hotels was very appealing and assisted the customer in making an informed decision. Each hotel has a vast amount of photos which are

appealing and draw the customer in.”

- Hotels.com Figures in bold indicate top score within each channel


Booking.com achieves highest scores for web and mobile site ratings for initial research

Reviews help make informed decisions

Clearly laid out webpage

Comprehensive information about hotels and facilities

Excellent selection of hotels and good quality photos

Tips for success


Growth in number of ‘excellent’ ratings for search compared to previous waves


1 Booking.com 92.8% 96.3% 93.5% 88.8%

2 Hotels.com 91.0% 90.8% 87.7% 94.5%

3 Expedia Hotels 89.1% 90.6% 88.3% 88.3%

4 LateRooms 88.1% 90.2% 87.7% 86.3%

5 ebookers 87.8% 89.8% 84.8% 88.8%

6 Premier Inn 86.1% 87.5% 87.8% 83.0%

7 Opodo 86.0% 84.0% 87.5% 86.5%

8 Qantas 84.2% 89.6% 84.7% 78.3%

9 Lufthansa 83.7% 84.0% 84.5% 82.7%

10 Marriott 83.7% 78.8% 87.5% 84.9%

11 British Airways 83.6% 88.5% 80.8% 81.5%

12 KLM 83.1% 90.2% 77.5% 81.7%

13 Best Western 82.9% 82.3% 80.3% 86.0%

14 EasyJet 81.4% 86.4% 82.8% 74.9%

15 Hilton 81.3% 83.8% 77.7% 82.3%

16 Monarch 78.6% 80.0% 74.6% 81.1%

17 Jet 2 77.1% 78.5% 73.3% 79.5%

18 Holiday Inn 74.5% 87.3% 60.4% 75.9%

“Excellent range available, very straightforward search tool. A large number of results are returned in a quick manner, which can be filtered and

selected as required.”- Booking.com

“Very quick and easy to enter the search terms. Results were

relevant and quick to load. Well presented. “

- Booking.com

“I liked that the app brought up the best deals first but also had plenty of choice for you.”

- Hotels.com


Hotels.com rated best for search on App while Booking.com perform best on desktop and mobile site

Immediate and accurate search results

Prominent search facility on home page

Easy to complete and filter to produce most relevant results

Tips for success


Booking.com rated highest overall for search results


1 Booking.com 88.0% 90.3% 89.4% 84.4%

2 Hotels.com 87.6% 88.5% 83.9% 90.5%

3 LateRooms 84.7% 85.9% 84.8% 83.5%

4 ebookers 83.9% 84.4% 81.8% 85.6%

5 Expedia Hotels 82.9% 85.1% 80.6% 82.9%

6 Lufthansa 81.8% 82.5% 81.9% 80.9%

7 Premier Inn 81.5% 84.1% 81.4% 79.1%

8 KLM 80.4% 89.4% 73.3% 78.4%

9 Opodo 80.0% 79.5% 80.6% 79.8%

10 Best Western 79.5% 79.8% 77.0% 81.9%

11 Qantas 79.0% 84.1% 77.2% 75.6%

12 British Airways 77.0% 85.9% 72.2% 73.0%

13 EasyJet 75.8% 86.2% 71.6% 69.5%

14 Monarch 74.2% 80.5% 67.9% 74.3%

15 Marriott 73.3% 67.6% 76.0% 76.4%

16 Hilton 72.8% 79.9% 68.8% 69.9%

17 Jet 2 72.2% 77.3% 69.2% 70.0%

18 Holiday Inn 69.9% 83.0% 54.5% 72.3%

“Loved the fact you can share this on social media, or email it to

yourself or a friend. Very useful when booking for others too. Very

user friendly website.”- Booking.com

“The search results could easily be filtered and sorted according to a

range of different criteria. The price was always clear and the necessary

details were also easy to spot.”- Booking.com

“The amount of information provided and the layout of how it

presented is exceptional. As a customer, all the information is on the page. There is a vast amount of photos, guest reviews and even

information about nearby activities.”

- Hotels.com



Booking.com provides consistent search functionality for web and mobile while Hotels.com are best among the Apps

Clear prices and high quality images

Good range of filters to narrow down results

Detailed and easy to read information

Tips for success


Booking.com rated highest for booking process thanks to excellent web score


1 Booking.com 83.6% 91.0% 80.8% 79.1%

2 Hotels.com 81.5% 78.1% 81.1% 85.4%

3 KLM 79.9% 86.3% 70.3% 83.3%

4 Premier Inn 79.1% 81.4% 78.5% 77.4%

5 Marriott 78.6% 80.3% 77.8% 77.9%

6 Qantas 78.3% 83.5% 76.5% 74.9%

7 LateRooms 77.9% 83.5% 76.3% 73.9%

8 ebookers 77.2% 79.2% 76.4% 76.0%

9 Expedia Hotels 76.4% 79.0% 74.4% 75.9%

10 Lufthansa 76.4% 81.4% 75.6% 72.1%

11 British Airways 76.2% 85.1% 67.5% 76.0%

12 Opodo 76.0% 77.2% 76.8% 74.0%

13 EasyJet 74.8% 84.5% 73.9% 66.0%

14 Hilton 73.8% 80.3% 68.1% 73.0%

15 Best Western 73.6% 77.9% 72.4% 70.5%

16 Monarch 70.9% 81.4% 65.6% 65.6%

17 Jet 2 69.6% 75.0% 66.4% 67.4%

18 Holiday Inn 63.4% 72.8% 46.1% 71.3%

“I liked that I could add extras such as online booking and food as well as upgrade

to different room types. The payment options were made very clear on the final

page of the booking process and a security logo below this section made me feel

secure using the site.”- Booking.com

“The booking process is very easy. With only a few clicks I was able to see my booking

summary, which clearly showed the details of the booking I was making. The secure

payment logo gave me confidence that my details would be safe and I was happy that should I need to make an amendment after

completing my booking, I would be able to do so easily.”

- Hotels.com

“Security was shown here and booking consisted of a single

screen which made it very quick to book anything.”

- Hotels.comFigures in bold indicate top score within each channel


Hotels.com top for Booking process on app and mobile

Clarity of what is included Summary of the booking when making payment

Price clearly stated and site security logos providing peace of mind

Possibility to add extras and alter details

Tips for success


Excellent rating for Hotels.com App on Design and Usability


1 Booking.com 88.2% 92.1% 87.5% 85.0%

2 Hotels.com 86.6% 87.3% 81.3% 91.3%

3 Premier Inn 82.3% 85.4% 83.4% 78.1%

4 Late Rooms 82.3% 85.8% 81.7% 79.4%

5 KLM 81.5% 85.8% 76.1% 82.7%

6 British Airways 81.5% 87.7% 77.2% 79.5%

7 Expedia Hotels 80.5% 80.6% 80.6% 80.2%

8 Lufthansa 80.4% 80.2% 80.8% 80.2%

9 Opodo 80.2% 78.3% 81.6% 80.6%

10 EasyJet 79.9% 86.6% 79.8% 73.3%

11 ebookers 79.3% 80.8% 77.5% 79.7%

12 Best Western 78.3% 82.5% 72.2% 80.2%

13 Qantas 77.6% 82.3% 80.2% 70.3%

14 Marriott 77.3% 72.1% 79.5% 80.2%

15 Hilton 74.1% 80.4% 69.5% 72.5%

16 Jet 2 73.7% 74.7% 74.4% 72.0%

17 Monarch 73.2% 81.3% 64.1% 74.3%

18 Holiday Inn 71.4% 75.4% 66.4% 72.3%

“I really liked the design and layout of the site and it was clear what they had

to offer. It was easy to search and navigate the site. I felt like I could

easily find a large amount of information before starting to make a

booking decision. ”- Booking.com

“Really well presented and easy to navigate - nicely optimised for mobile use.

Informative, particularly with regards to hotel information. Really easy to make a

booking.”- Booking.com

“The whole app was very self explanatory and all sections were easy to navigate through. I was delighted

with all the options that were available when doing the searches and the

amount of information about the hotels and their amenities was very good.”

- Hotels.comFigures in bold indicate top score within each channel


Booking.com offer best design & usability on web and mobile site while Hotels.com are top for App

Uncluttered site which is easy to navigate

High quality images on fast loading pages

Tips for success


Leading customer service brands combine quick response, helpful attitude and proactive support

# Brand Customer Service Score

1 Best Western 77.4%

2 Marriott 76.6%

3 LateRooms 68.9%

4 Hotels.com 68.0%

5 Booking.com 66.2%

6 ebookers 65.3%

7 Expedia Hotels 64.6%

8 Premier Inn 64.2%

9 British Airways 63.7%

10 KLM 61.6%

11 Hilton 58.1%

12 Holiday Inn 56.4%

13 Lufthansa 56.2%

14 Jet2 55.6%

15 Monarch 49.0%

16 Opodo 46.4%

17 Qantas 44.3%

18 EasyJet 27.7%

“The customer services operator was extremely friendly and helpful. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble. I was

impressed with her willingness to help.”

“My experience was very good, I found the online contact

form very easily, and easy to understand, I got a reply within 3 hours of sending my enquiry, and the reply was very efficient. They gave me details about the answer very

efficiently. There knowledge was excellent, as was their willingness to help. Overall a fantastic experience.”

Top ranking customer support brands by channel

“A very quick and efficient way to interact with customer service, more immediate than sending an email. I particularly

appreciated this feature.”

Tendency for travel brands to use online forms to manage email queries rather than direct email addresses;

“Sending an online email is quite easy and the online form I completed was easy to find. The reply received was

informative, and the content sounded genuinely friendly. I have no doubt that the Agent was keen to ensure I could find

what I wanted.”



Background to eDigitalResearch and benchmark research

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eDigitalResearch Mission Statement

We help businesses grow by building bespoke insight programmes designed by passionate researchers, technical specialists and graphic designers all under one

roof


Partnership - eDigitalResearch offers you a partnership with an innovative UK based research resource which combines advanced, technical and complex data management expertise with extensive research experience

Client Service - supported by a passionate ‘can do attitude’ and mission for delivering excellent client customer service to your project team and (global) stakeholders

Experience - we currently provide real-time customer satisfaction feedback services and complex push / pull data management to many multichannel organisations including British Airways, BBC, Virgin Media, Arcadia Group, Tesco and Carphone Warehouse

Financial Security - eDigitalResearch plc is a profitable and financially secure privately owned company currently employing over 120 people across a research, technical or client facing capacity. Its founding directors remain actively involved with the day to day and strategic direction of the organisation

What do we offer you?


By…Deploying latest innovative digital research techniques to maximise insight and understanding across global stakeholders

Exploiting our in house technical expertise whilst providing a secure, scalable and stable global platform

Capitalising on our advanced data management expertise

Our web content is built to highly accessible standards, guided by principles from the WAI and W3C – smart phone compliant

delivering thought provoking and engaging real-time client branded customer feedback

Providing fixed cost business model with unlimited digital survey responses, stakeholder feedback dashboards and system licences

Flexible and professional client account management with a committed and ‘can do’ team who enjoy what they do

Not charging for bespoke technical developments provided these developments benefit the eDigitalResearch research platform

Why are we different?


eDigitalResearch - Product overview


eDigitalResearch have been benchmarking the top 50 UK Internet retail sites since 2000.

In 2005 we commenced benchmarking the UK car industry and in 2008 we added UK financial sites. In 2011 we released our first App benchmark.

In June 2009 we commenced our eMysteryShopper eTravel Benchmark. This is our thirteenth report.

eMysteryShopper provides an in-depth and structured study of website usability, functionality, supporting logistics and customer service through our unique panel of profiled UK Internet users. Working under strict Non Disclosure Agreements these profiled individuals are paid to complete ‘end-to-end’ surveys on selected websites.

We currently work with our UK-wide network of eMysteryShoppers (surveyors) carrying out end to end usability studies on over 60 sites at any one time.

eMysteryShopper Background


We believe that ‘usability’ should be based on the opinions of as many profiled users as possible.

Respondents should be using their own equipment and internet connections mirroring as closely as possible the clients’ own mix of users. This is opposed to deploying one-to-one interviews in ‘laboratory’ conditions.

This ‘end to end’ usability technique provided by eMysteryShopper has the following advantages:-

More detailed evaluation than possible via a traditional online survey gathered from a wider range of respondents than typically gained from usability studies

Provides both qualitative and quantitative data that allows both pre and post site change analysis

Allows for quantitative benchmarking versus main competitors and best practice

Users complete surveys when they want; across all times of the day and week with little interference or influence from facilitators or fellow focus group members

Enables the surveyor to give feedback on customer service and support

eMysteryShopper ‘v’ Lab usability


Vanbrugh House, Grange Drive

Hedge End

Hampshire SO30 2AF

Tel: 01489 772920

www.edigitalresearch.com

@eDRtweet

eDigitalResearch

+eDigitalResearch

36

Key Contacts:

Rob Kitchen, Research Manager

[email protected]

Francine Kingma, Research Executive

[email protected]

Contact details

http://www.edigitalresearch.com/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

eTravel Multichannel Benchmark Results

Travel

Transcript of eTravel Multichannel Benchmark Results