Online Travel Firms Out of Synch With Consumers - survey and stats

Online Travel Firms Out of Synch With Consumers

"The $50 billion online travel industry still lags behind consumer expectations across such critical categories as privacy and responsiveness, according to a study conducted by The Customer Respect Group.

The study surveyed a representative sample of the adult Internet population, formulating a comprehensive list of 110 customer experience criteria divided into six major categories: simplicity, responsiveness, privacy, attitude, transparency, and principles. A team of analysts then surveyed over 2,000 corporate Web sites using these criteria, culminating in a 'customer respect index' (CRI)

key findings include:

Surveyed travel firms receive the best overall rating (7.8) for attitude and the worst (4.9) for responsiveness.

95 percent of all companies surveyed use cookie technology. Of these, 20 percent provide an explanation about what data they relay; 12 percent provide an explanation of how to disable the cookies.

After personal data are collected, only 38 percent of sites use an opt-in default, where the customer can choose whether to be included in future marketing programs.

85 percent of sites reviewed provide forms that would be difficult to use for people with disabilities, including every airline reviewed"