Online travel industry adapts to consumer wants

With more consumers turning to online resources to plan vacations and daytrips, it is no wonder that travel websites are among the early adopters of features that consumers really want. According to a recent report from Tealeaf, online travel sales will reach $142 billion this year.

by Kristina Knight

According to the report about 90% of American business travelers first turn to the web to make their plans and about 83% of leisure travelers go online once each month to plan a trip.

However, many travel hubs are falling behind because the sites aren't offering what consumers really want. The report indicates that travel hubs which offer personalization services, peer-to-peer reviews, simple navigation and cross-channel experiences will do the best in the coming years. These sites will get the most benefit from the expected $213 billion that online travel revenue will bring in by 2010.

To help with the change to a more consumer-friendly online travel hub, Tealeaf has created a Customer Experience Management platform to help hubs create a more useful space for travel consumers.

Rebecca Ward, chairman & CEO, Tealeaf said, "Our travel customers are not simply resting on general market momentum, they are truly committed to proactively delivering the best possible online user experience. We are proud to be a part of their business strategy by providing actionable insight into the dynamic online interactions of each user on their sites."