Establish "consequence-free" browsing for boosting mobile-oriented services online
Published: 03 Jun 2007
Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2007: By EFT Correspondent
Directski recently launched its B2B travel trade product, providing additional distribution options for its wide range of ski product.
Directski.com B2B will allow travel providers including travel agents,
airlines and dynamic-packagers to offer their clients a highly customisable ski
programme which can include:
· Over 50 of the most popular ski resorts in Europe and North
America, including Austria, France, Italy, Andorra, Norway, Bulgaria, Slovenia,
Switzerland, USA and Canada.
· Online booking of well-known hotels, apartments, chalets and
pensions right in the heart these ski resorts (as opposed to in "nearby"
cities).
· Ancillary services including equipment hire, ski and snowboard
school, lift passes, winter sports insurance and transfers - all available to
book online in real-time.
· 24-hour telephone and on-the-ground support for clients while in
resort.
The company's target audience, according to Dermot McNally, CTO, directski,
covers a broad spectrum, but is somewhat concentrated in the 25-45 age range
and includes couples, families and large groups.
"Clearly, our users are Internet users, but this is no longer a niche market,
particularly in the travel industry. Most are credit-card holders," he recently
told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta.
Sharing info on company's operations in Europe, McNally said, "Directski.com
first brought a product to market at the end of 2000, so our biggest
achievement is our extremely rapid growth since then. Last year, we sent 31,000
winter sports passengers on holiday. This was made possible by our clever use of
technology, which allowed us to approach the public in a new way. Our Internet
focus also enabled us to expand successfully from Ireland into Great Britain, a
first for an Irish tour operator."
"Our most recent significant achievement was the acquisition last year of
McNeill Rigby Travel incorporating Ski McNeill), one of the biggest travel
agents and business travel specialists in Northern Ireland," said McNally, who
added that the company expects to grow its share of the UK package ski
holiday market.
While the majority of Directski.com's customers book online, the company also
provides support through its call centres in Dublin and Belfast and its team of
over 60 in-resort staff.
In an interview, McNally spoke about mobile phones a medium for travel-related
services and how this channel is expected to shape in the next year or so.
Excerpts:
How comfortable is your target audience with mobile phones as a medium when it
comes to travel-related services? What is the preferred channel of booking -
website, call centres etc?
Most customers would own mobile phones, and, although we have no figures to
back this up, it is likely that many own phones that can access mobile data
services. However, our customers are less likely to be
early adopters of slow-to-emerge technologies like mobile Internet - they are
closer to the mainstream of mobile phone users. As such, they would probably be
open to compelling travel services provided via a mobile, but would not see such
services as essential.
Our main booking channel is the web (online booking), followed by phone
booking. However, the vast majority of bookings taken by the call centre are
web-originated, owing to the fact that we have no brochure or high-street
presence.
To what extent do you think electronic travel reservations or managed bookings
through mobile handsets have been simplified?
In short, the industry is not there yet. There are too few customers using too
few booking tools.
It is projected that 76 percent of European consumers in 2008 will be having a
mobile Internet-enabled handset. With Mobile Commerce taking off in the travel
industry, where do you see this headed by 2008? What are going to be the
striking features as far as mobile phones and travel services are concerned?
2008 will see a continuation of the slow convergence that has been occurring
in mobile Internet. More devices are emerging that approach the full-speed,
full-flavour Internet experience. Customers will become more likely to use
mobile browsers, partly because of tariffs bundling data traffic and partly
because of initiatives like handsets that support wifi. Mobile travel services,
like any other mobile services,
will likely become more common, though most will be very targeted in their
focus rather than attempts to recreate a full booking experience in the palm of
your hand.
What would you like or recommend when it comes to fueling the growth of travel
related services via mobile phones?
The success of the fixed-line Internet results from the customer's ability to
browse without concern at the cost of airtime or data transfer. Mobile users
need to be able to browse "consequence-free" before they will do so in
sufficient numbers to justify large-scale development of mobile-oriented
services online.
For the specific case of travel, among the more compelling services that can
be offered is to users outside their home countries. Today, such users are
subject to often punitive roaming charges, or are unsure of
the real cost of roaming data services. Once again, this must be tackled if an
audience of sufficient size is to materialise.
In terms of offering online mapping service for consumers to complete a
booking by showing them exactly where a hotel is, and its proximity to places
of interest, what do you think is critical in delivering such service?
The relevance and comprehensiveness of the points of interest is the key to
this.
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