More than half of travel buyers said their current online booking tool (OBT) is not equipped to meet their needs in the future, although most have no immediate plans to change their current provider, according to a survey by the UK-based Institute of Travel Management (ITM).
The survey, which was conducted this summer and incorporated feedback from more than 60 ITM buyer members and other travel managers, revealed that 45 per cent thought their booking tool was not "fit for purpose" for their current needs, and even more (57 per cent) said the same for the mid- and long term.
Furthermore, three-quarters of respondents said their current provider is not listening to their needs, according to ITM.
Buyer respondents were largely happy with some OBT functionality, with 90 per cent indicating they are satisfied with policy configuration capabilities and 80 per cent saying that their tool is user-friendly.
However, only about half were satisfied with functionality around sustainability and traveller wellbeing, the survey indicated.
“As travel resumes at scale and buyers look to support their TMCs’ resource challenges, it could be argued that the online booking tool is more critical than ever,” said ITM CEO Scott Davies 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 traveller."
Three-quarters of respondents said they were satisfied with their OBT's basic air and hotel content, but they are not so happy with rail content, according to the survey.
Some 45 per cent of buyers indicated they were dissatisfied with rail content in the UK and 75 per cent said they were not happy with rail content in the EU.
Only one quarter said they were satisfied with New Distribution Capability (NDC) airline content in their tool, which was among the top five items buyers said they wanted to see in their OBT.
Despite any frustrations, 75 per cent of respondents said they have no plans to change OBTs over the next year, although some said contractual obligations or limited internal resources were barriers to change.
“We sincerely hope that by sharing this report with OBT providers, ITM can help to drive the developments needed to overcome these challenges and meet the needs of our buyer community going forwards,” added Davies.