Singapore – Adoption rates for online booking tools have slowed down and this is because the technology landscape keeps changing and online booking tools are not keeping up developments such as the entry and use of low-cost carriers (LCCs).

US-based TRX executive vice-president emerging markets, Ms Susan Hopley, who has been tracking their usage, said there was no documented evidence that standalone online booking tools were making money. Almost all online companies in 2001 were acquired by the global distribution systems – GetThere by Sabre, Travelport by Galileo and e-Travel by Amadeus.

“Online booking tools do not yet provide what the travellers are now able to demand,” she said.

“When online booking tools were first introduced, their capabilities were more in line with what was available. But the market has changed faster than the new opportunities that could be incorporated into the systems.”

She added adoption had slowed because of what was available in the systems versus what was available outside them. Changes in corporate systems had affected issues such as corporate policy governance, limited access or limited booking capabilities with LCCs or websites and the difficulty to collect data.

Reviewing some facts and figures of a study of 100 companies in Asia with a spend of between S$7.5 million (US$4.5 million) and S$650 million, Ms Hopley said 24 per cent of employees adopted online bookings in 2001.

At the start of 2002, this was predicted to rise to 46 per cent of employees, and 45 per cent of the companies were planning full or partial mandates for online bookings.

Of the 35 per cent of the companies which responded to the question of savings, 75 per cent said they achieved a 20 per cent, or S$165 saving per trip.

According to 78 per cent of respondents, 17 per cent of the savings were for air fares. “There was an average saving of S$125 per ticket through lower air fares found on online booking tools,” Ms Hopley said. “The remainder came from reduced agency transaction fees, between S$30 and S$45 on a fee of between S$65 and S$90. This was according to 73 per cent of those polled.”

With the savings, it would be logical to assume rapid growth and deployment of an efficient cost savings solution for corporate travel management. But the reality in 2003, based on the same survey, was an adoption rate of 53 per cent, which Ms Hopley concluded was a slowdown. Apart from respondent claims, there was little statistical evidence regarding savings, although a large online company claimed there was a 50 per cent saving on agency fees per booking and 15 per cent savings on ticket costs.

Ms Hopley said: “While there is little statistical evidence, the picture is consistent. The percentages may vary but the conclusion is savings have increased on agency fees but have reduced slightly on air fares.”

On the future of online booking tools, Ms Hopley said corporate online bookings would increase and the systems would provide the required features.

The systems would also merge and provide greater access to varying fares, resulting in a movement to “spot pricing”.

But the bottomline is: “Travellers will still need full service in certain areas,” she said.