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Travel Booking - US - June 2018

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Overview
The issues
Move to experiential vacationing
Figure 1: OTA activities booking habits vs desires, February 2018
Sharing economy rising in popularity
Figure 2: Types of vacation lodging, all vacationers, February, 2018
Differentiation is a problem among OTAs
Figure 3: Average percentage point difference of not visited to visited, among Gen X, Baby Boomer, and WWII generations, February 2018
The opportunities
Travelers desire to have information centralized
Figure 4: Booking site feature importance, any and most important, February 2018
Bespoke travel services on the horizon
Consumers trust experience for planning
Figure 5: Outlets for destination discovery, February 2018
What it means
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Travel booking market on track for 4-5% annual growth
Travel industry expected to grow, despite bumps
Americans feel good about their financial state
Booking options have expanded
Millennials are all grown up and having little Millennials… wait
THE MARKET
Travel booking market continues to grow
Figure 6: Travel arrangement and reservation services revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2013-23
Figure 7: Travel arrangement and reservation services revenues and forecast, at current prices, 2013-23
MARKET BREAKDOWN
Online booking is here to stay
Figure 8: E-commerce share of total revenues of travel arrangement and reservation services, 2013-2018
Direct providers and OTAs continue to fight
OTAs approaching duopoly status
Figure 9: Share of US bookings between top two OTAs, 2016-2017
MARKET FACTORS
Economic data
GDP growth decline
Figure 10: GDP change from previous period, Q1 2007-Q1 2018
Shrinking DPI gains
Figure 11: Disposable Personal Income change from previous period, January 2007-April 2018
Consumer sentiment remains high
Figure 12: Consumer sentiment index, January 2007-May 2018
Fuel prices fueling decline
Figure 13: US gasoline and diesel retail prices, January 2007-May 2018
Net neutrality repeal
MARKET PERSPECTIVE
Millennials in the driver’s seat
Figure 14: Population by generation, 2018
Americans feel good about their finances…
Figure 15: Current financial situation, 2013-18
…and want to get out into the world
Figure 16: Where extra money is spent, February 2018
KEY PLAYERS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 
Direct platforms are at war with OTAs
OTAs focused on expansion
Airbnb is worrying everybody
Travel agents have a place in the market
KEY PLAYERS 
Booking Players Overview
Direct Platforms
OTAs
Expedia Group
Booking Holdings
Figure 17: Share of US bookings between top two OTAs, 2016-2017
Metasearch
TripAdvisor, Inc.
Google
Figure 18: Travel planning resources, February 2018
Airbnb
Travel agencies
Figure 19: Travel agent usage, by age group, February 2018
WHAT’S WORKING?
OTA email strategies
Flagships lead the way
Figure 20: Monthly email volume, February-April 2018
Companies view weekends differently
Figure 21: OTA email volume by day, in millions, February-April 2018
Thursdays are a battleground
Figure 22: Share of daily email sends, by day of the week, February-April 2018
Travelocity and Orbitz have their day
Figure 23: Read ratios of OTAs, by day of the week, February-April 2018
Mobile booking reigns; mobile check-in grows
OTA domination
Hotels Fight Back
WHAT’S STRUGGLING?
Loyalty
Figure 24: Q1 2018 Direct Mail Volume
Television not convincing targets
Figure 25: Average percentage point difference of not visited to visited, among Gen X, Baby Boomer, and WWII generations, February 2018
Sharing economy hurting car rentals
Travel hacks – the bad kind
Demand for a centralized service still unaddressed
WHAT’S NEXT?
Airbnb doing it all
Exclu$ive cont€nt
More seamless hotel experiences
Independent apps look to disrupt the process
Multigenerational travel
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Travel booked in advanced, activities booked in the moment
Personal recommendations matter most
Experiences are key
Tide coming back in on cruises
Push men, support women
Agents staking their claim
Sharing isn’t just for vacation slides
THE VACATION BOOKING PROCESS
Consumers prefer online booking
Figure 26: Typical travel booking methods, online vs in-person – nets, February 2018
Figure 27: Online booking for airline tickets and rental cars, hotels/motels, and activities, by generation, February 2018
Most booking done two to six months in advance
Figure 28: Booking lead times, February 2018
Older generations cautious, younger generations spontaneous
Figure 29: Booking advance times, by reservation and generation, February 2018
Booking sites are a one-stop shop and increasingly mobile
Figure 30: Research and booking platforms, desktop vs mobile website, by generation, February 2018
Youth taking to the seas
Figure 31: Cruise booking, by generation, February 2018
Figure 32: Cruise booking, by age and income, February 2018
Opportunity for providers to get ahead in cruise booking
Figure 33: Cruise booking, provider website vs booking site, by age, February 2018
RISE IN ACTIVITY BOOKING
Goers are also doers
OTAs are coming up short
Figure 34: OTA activities booking habits vs desires, February 2018
Young travelers book activities through a provider, not an OTA
Figure 35: Activity booking behaviors, by generation, February 2018
Experiences worth the investment
Figure 36: Activity booking behaviors, by age and income, February 2018
DECIDING ON A DESTINATION
The personal is practical
Figure 37: Outlets for Destination discovery, February 2018
With age comes (listening to) experience
Figure 38: Sources of travel inspiration, by generation, February 2018
No research for old men
Figure 39: Sources of travel inspiration, men 55+ vs all, February 2018
The boys’ and girls’ clubs of young travel researchers
Figure 40: Destination discovery methods of 18-34 year olds, by gender, February 2018
DESIRED ATTRIBUTES OF OTAS
Show me what you got
Figure 41: Desired features in a booking website, February 2018
iGens show interest in local and late night
Figure 42: Desired features in a booking website – activity recommendations, by generation, February 2018
Young women want to stay informed
Figure 43: Desired features in a booking website, by age and gender, February 2018
Bring it all together
Figure 44: Booking site feature importance, any and most important, February 2018
TRAVEL BOOKING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS
Booking is fun, but not a hobby
Figure 45: Vacation planning opinions, any agree, by generation, February 2018
Older adults set it and forget it
Figure 46: Vacation planning online behaviors, by age, February 2018
Figure 47: Vacation planning opinions, any agree, age 55+ vs all respondents, February 2018
THE ROLE OF TRAVEL AGENTS
Travel agents still provide value
Figure 48: Travel agency usage, by generation, February 2018
Agents have a strong niche
Figure 49: Booking habits, OTA vs travel agent, February 2018
TRAVEL BOOKING AND THE SHARING ECONOMY 
Home shares make up a significant portion of vacation stays
Figure 50: Types of vacation lodging, all vacationers, February 2018
Figure 51: Travel preferences, February 2018
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data Sources
Fan chart forecast
Consumer survey data
Direct marketing creative
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
APPENDIX – THE MARKET 
Figure 52: Total US sales and forecast of market, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22

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