9 out of 10 Americans find cheaper or more convenient holidays using online travel agents such as eDreams
- New consumer research reveals that US travellers prefer to book their trips via OTAs like eDreams - enjoying greater savings and a wider range of options than on single airline websites
- Consumers booking on eDreams will save a combined one million hours this year compared to booking directly with an airline
LONDON, March 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over nine out of ten (93%) adults in the USA have found a cheaper or more convenient route when searching for a holiday via an online travel agent (OTA) like eDreams.net by comparison to booking directly with an airline. New data from independent market research commissioned by eDreams ODIGEO, one of the world's leading online travel companies, reveals how travellers who are planning future trips can avoid the elements of journey planning they enjoy the least – the time it takes to research the best possible price (43%) – by booking with an OTA.
According to the survey findings, while the vast majority of US adults appreciate that an OTA offers savings, most of them still underestimate the level of discounts that an online agent can generate for them, with 78% of people believing that the saving is likely to be less than 15% compared to booking directly with an airline. In reality, eDreams customers can save an average of $234[1], the equivalent of 19%, when booking a dynamic package holiday (where travellers can create their own packages by combining accommodation and travel)[2].
Though travel continues to be affected by lockdown restrictions around the world, positive progress in vaccination programmes is starting to create an uptick in searches for the summer months across eDreams ODIGEO's USA travel brand eDreams.net.
Remove the research from holiday planning
When asked which element of the travel booking process consumers find least enjoyable, nearly half (43%) referenced the time taken to find the best possible price. According to an analysis of booking time by eDreams ODIGEO, consumers booking on its OTA websites will save a combined one million hours this year compared to booking directly with an airline[3], avoiding the least enjoyable element of travel planning.
Another significant frustration felt by US travellers when planning travel is the difficulty in aligning dates and times for flight with available accommodation, with 41% finding this element of travel planning unenjoyable.
Furthermore, just over a third (35%) of respondents stated that they find organising flight connections for multi leg trips an unpleasant part of the travel booking process. OTAs such as eDreams.net can alleviate these frustrations by amalgamating multiple options from travel providers to provide different route and price options in one place, depending on whether convenience or price is the traveller's top priority.
Pablo Caspers, Chief Air Supply Officer at eDreams ODIGEO, commented, "We are starting to see consumer confidence rebuild following positive news around vaccination programmes. As people start to dream and plan for trips overseas, we spoke to US travellers to understand what their pain points are when it comes to planning and booking travel and how eDreams as a travel agent can work to relieve these.
"Despite many people still being in lockdown with plenty of spare time, nearly half of US consumers still find researching price to be the least enjoyable element of travel planning, and this is a place where OTAs like eDreams can really help. Our technology carries out eight billion price calculations every hour, taking the pressure off consumers by ensuring they are presented with the widest choice whilst also allowing them to make easy price and route comparisons.
"With many travellers grounded for much of 2020 and now into 2021, we know people are keen to start travelling again and when they do, they will be seeking convenient, hassle-free booking options so they can focus on relaxing and re-connecting with family and friends after so many months apart."
eDreams ODIGEO is one of the world's largest online travel companies and one of the largest e-commerce businesses in Europe. The leading travel brand offers 274,000 flight routes from over 650 airline partners, giving travellers access to the widest choice and combination of air fares and airlines to secure the best price. Under its four leading online travel agency brands – eDreams, GO Voyages, Opodo, Travellink, and the metasearch engine Liligo – it serves more than 17 million customers per year across 45 markets.
Methodology: An independent poll was carried out by OnePoll between 25th and 28th January 2021. 2,000 US adults who have travelled as an adult were surveyed.
[1] 194 EUR to USD. Exchange rate calculated on 02.03.21
[2] Price saving is worked out by comparing average gross booking value of eDreams ODIGEO's dynamic packages compared to the same trip booked separately on top airline and hotelier websites. It is not a like for like comparison of the exact same flight, it could be for the same destination via a different route and airline provider.
[3] Calculated by eDreams ODIGEO based on an internal study that shows that consumers save on average 4.95 minutes when booking via the eDreams ODIGEO OTA brands compared to booking the same products on the airline website directly. The 1M figure is the aggregated time saving expected in 2021 for all eDreams ODIGEO customers, which includes single airline and multi airline trips combined.
SOURCE eDreams ODIGEO
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