Current Topic Report Idea

My topic for the paper (as of now) is going to revolve around travel booking, with a focus on internet booking and deal sites such as Travelocity, Kayak, Expedia, and Hotwire.  How do these compare to booking directly with the provider?  The transition from physical, tangible travel agents has quickly shifted to deal searching websites, making the travel agent almost obsolete.   I want to look at whether these websites are providing the services people actually need and want and if not, what other ventures or opportunities are out there to improve the experience of planning a vacation or getaway.  Are people really just looking at these sites to find a deal on a trip, or are they searching for more of a “travel agent feel” on the sites- as in, do they want these sites to help them plan activities on the trip, do they need help figuring out how to get from place to place, and are there cultural circumstances that would apply to the location they are visiting? Are there sites I don’t know about that are already combining these options?  Also, how would Groupon and Living Social play into this? Or Homeaway and Airbnb.com? Are they even comparable? What is more important to consumers- a budget friendly trip or finding the perfect activities to do on the trip? Essentially, I hope to look at what is being provided now for booking travel online, what sources consumers are using, are they a replacement for the travel agent, and what improvements can be made.  

This topic is interesting to me because I, like many people, love to travel.  However, being a student, my budget is incredibly tight.  I always try to get deals where I can but sometimes that does not work out in the best way (ex. Amsterdam hostel in the Red Light District- cheap for a reason. Yuck.).   I’ve used pretty much all the travel book, deal sites and have also used airbnb.com and while I have been able to find decent deals, that is only a tiny portion of the overall trip experience. While I won’t be poor forever, I believe that traveling efficiently and within a budget is important in order to make the trip as smooth as possible.  Planning is also something I really enjoy. If I could be a travel agent, I would. Yes, I am relatively Type A.  I did a solo backpacking through Northern Europe last summer and never missed a train or had trouble finding my hostel, all thanks to planning ahead! I am going to travel in a bit more style this upcoming summer with my family and boyfriend through Southern Europe and daily excursions are currently under research. However, I don’t want to get stuck playing tourist the entire time.  The other, often more interesting, options can be hard to find if you’re not a local, or don’t have a local friend.  I have been lucky enough to have friends to show me around in most of the places I visited, or at least give me advice on where to go and what to do.  Most people do not have that luxury.  There are some fantastic blogs out there with tips on what to do and where to go as well as sites like Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor, but it would be nice to have a site with an easy to navigate, nice looking layout, that allows you to book with ease and explore activities from the same page. 

As I just mentioned, there is huge potential for travel and booking websites.  There are many that meet different needs and are doing a fantastic job but the overall experience of booking travel online could be improved and made more enjoyable.  Designing to empower is really important here.  People are becoming their own travel agents and taking charge of their vacations in ways that weren’t previously possible without the internet and there can be even more improvements in that respect.  Most of the issues I find with internet booking sites is that they don’t provide the experience I desire.  People are excited about travel! It is their chance to get away and explore new places and cultures! It should be a time that they have no worries and are in relaxation mode.  The experience in planning all of that should be fun as well with as little hassle as possible. Most people barely have time to go on vacation at all, let alone plan it.  I think there is a lot of potential in this field to make something great that would apply to a large majority of people, whether they are looking for the absolute best deal, or looking for the best options for a trip. With travel agents becoming less commonplace and a surge of young people making traveling a priority, while on a limited budget, there should be a service to provide the ultimate planning experience.  Even for people who aren’t “planners”.  

 I found an article on Mintel that I think will be extremely helpful:

Grabowski, Gretchen. "Travel Booking." (2012): n. pag. Mintel. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/display/590865/?highlight=true>.

This article is very recent, from December of 2012 and thus should be useful in addressing the current use of the internet for travel booking.  It also addresses many of the same questions I’m looking at in relation to travel agents being phased out, traveler cost concerns, and how travel providers can keep up with online innovation.  There are several charts with recent trends that will be of use in analyzing what sites are currently being used and comparisons of how often consumers use deal sites versus contracting the provider directly.  This article will be good for the detailed data.  I also looked through FastCompany to see what else was out there and found several articles dealing with similar issues, in a less data geared format.  I should easily have enough information to write a full paper on the topic, although I always have a tough time filling up that many pages with my own thoughts.