Buyers Voice OBT Dissatisfaction in ITM Survey

More than half of travel buyers said their current online booking tool is not equipped to meet their needs in the future, though most also indicated they have no immediate plans to change their current provider, according to a survey published by the Institute of Travel Management.

The survey, fielded July 22 through Aug. 15 and which incorporated feedback from more than 60 ITM buyer members and other travel managers, showed that 45 percent said the booking tool is not “fit for purpose” for their current needs, and even more, 57 percent, said the same for the mid- and long term. Three-quarters of respondents said their current provider is not listening to their needs, according to ITM.

Buyer respondents largely were happy with some OBT functionality, with 90 percent indicating they are satisfied with policy configuration capabilities and 80 percent indicating their tool is user-friendly. However, only about half were satisfied with functionality around sustainability and traveler well-being, the survey indicated.

“As travel resumes at scale and buyers look to support their [travel management companies’] resource challenges, it could be argued that the online booking tool is more critical than ever,” ITM CEO Scott Davies said in a statement. “Yet, during numerous conversations with ITM’s buyer members, it became evident that for many there are challenges with OBTs being able to deliver on today’s post-pandemic needs for both the travel manager and the traveler.”

Three-quarters of respondents said they are satisfied with their OBT’s basic air and lodging content, but rail content is more of a dissatisfier, according to the survey. Forty-five percent indicated they are dissatisfied with rail content in the U.K., and 75 percent said they were not happy with rail continent in the EU. Only a quarter said they were satisfied with New Distribution Capability content in their tool, which was among the top five items buyers said they wanted to see in their tool, according to ITM.

Despite any frustrations, 75 percent of respondents said they have no plans to change OBTs over the next year, though some said contractual obligations or limited internal resources were barriers to change.

Michael B. Baker  www.businesstravelnews.com