Popular travel websites Expedia and Orbitz just merged, creating one of the largest online travel booking companies in the world. But the company, along with many of its competitors, is still facing some stiff competition, both from giants like Google and from specific websites for hotels and airlines. So just how popular are these websites compared to other methods?
Travelers
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 8% of respondents said they travel at least once per month. 23% travel a few times per year. 20% travel about once per year. 8% said they just travel every couple of years. 26% said they rarely ever travel. And 16% never do.
Travel Websites
12% of travelers said they always use travel sites like Expedia and Orbitz to research rates before booking things like flights and hotels. 21% use these sites most of the time. 14% use them about half the time. 29% said they rarely use travel websites to research rates. And 23% said they never do. Of those sites, Expedia seems to be the most popular; 48% have used it to research or book their travels. 33% have used Travelocity. 28% use Priceline. 23% use Orbitz. 22% have used Hotels.com. 19% have used Kayak. And 8% have used other travel sites. However, not everyone who uses those websites actually books trips with them. Just 12% of those who use travel sites for research said they always book hotels, flights or whatever amenities they are looking for through them. 22% said they book their travels through these sites most of the time. 20% do so about half the time. 34% said they rarely book travel through travel websites. And 11% said they never do.
Other Methods
Websites like Expedia and Orbitz are not the only methods available for booking vacations. 58% of respondents said they book at least half of their vacations through specific websites for hotels and airlines. 51% use Google to book at least half of their vacations. 48% make reservations on the phone or in person. And 26% book vacations through travel agencies. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Byrd Airport terminal from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on February 18 via AYTM’s online survey panel.