A Reassessment of the Efficacy of Self-Booking in Travel

A common prediction a decade ago was that the travel industry would become one of the first industries to experience disintermediation as Internet-based purchase and sales models arise. In 1998 we conducted an exploratory study, the aim of which was to investigate the opportunities involved in online travel reservations by consumers, and to identify — and assess the magnitude of — a number of potential problem areas in the Internet self-booking process. The study was repeated in 2005 in order to investigate whether the online booking services have improved and matured since 1998, and if greater prerequisites for successful e-commerce have been implemented as both service providers and customers have gained more experience with the new medium. The data collected in 2005 largely reinforced the findings from 1998, indicating that self-bookings still call for massive efforts in terms of the time spent online. Nevertheless, consumers seem to have fewer difficulties producing satisfactory travel arrangements online today than seven years ago.