Only 20% of respondents say their current booking tools support their organization’s travel needs “very effectively,” according to a survey of 123 US travel management, procurement, operations and finance professionals from Christopherson Business Travel. The survey was included in a white paper called “The Booking Breakpoint: Why Corporate Travel Programs Need More Than a Reservation Tool.”
The research found that booking tools are widely used, but the harder test comes after the reservation, when travelers need to change plans or get help. Those limitations, said the report, are especially clear in self-service and disruption support. Only 11% say more than three-quarters of trip modifications are successfully handled through self-service tools. During unplanned disruptions, just 10% say their current tools support travelers “very effectively.”
“The real test of a booking platform starts after the reservation,” said Josh Cameron, CEO of Christopherson. “Plans change, disruptions happen and software can’t solve every situation on its own.” The research, he said, “reinforces why booking technology and service need to work together across the full trip.”
The white paper examines what happens after the initial transaction, when a traveler needs to change a trip, respond to a disruption or get help. The research looks at six areas shaping that experience, including the limits of current self-service tools, disruption support, coordination across trip components, booking-channel fragmentation, the operational cost of post-booking work and the balance travel buyers want between technology and human support.
Together, the findings point to a broader challenge for managed travel programs: travelers experience one connected trip, while many of the tools supporting them still treat air, hotel, car and service as separate transactions.
That disconnect, said the report, can create additional work for travelers and travel teams when a plan changes. It can also push travelers toward other booking or support channels when they believe they can find a faster answer elsewhere, reducing program visibility when it is often needed most.
The white paper also examines how buyers are thinking about AI and self-service. The findings favor a blended model: digital self-service for routine needs, AI where it can help resolve issues faster and experienced human support when a situation requires judgment or escalation.
“The Booking Breakpoint,” according to Christopherson, offers travel managers and other business travel decision-makers a research-based look at the gaps in today’s booking environment and questions to consider when evaluating booking technology, servicing, traveler support and program visibility.
