A new research by an online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk conducted the poll as part of an ongoing research into the holiday booking habits of Britons. The research has uncovered an element of distrust when it comes to holiday and hotel booking apps.
53% of surveyed Brits addmit that they don't trust the holiday or hotel booking apps
Half of the questioned people claim they wouldn’t feel comfortable using the holiday booking apps and 1 in 20 people claim to have had a bad experience when using a hotel or holiday booking app on their smartphone or tablet device in the past.
Using holiday or hotel booking apps on a smartphone or tablet device may not be on Britons’ agendas when planning a getaway, according to a new piece of research by an online travel agency in the UK. The study has revealed that the majority of Britons do not trust these kinds of applications and some people who have used them in the past have had bad experiences doing so.
Everyone taking part in the poll was asked about how they had booked holidays or hotels/accommodation in the past. Respondents could pick all answers that applied from a list and the most common method of holiday bookings was ‘online’ (67 per cent) closely followed by ‘high street travel agents’ (41 per cent) and ‘telephone bookings’ (29 per cent). 13 per cent of people had previously used an app to book a holiday or accommodation via their smartphone or tablet device.
Of all the respondents taking part, more than half (53 per cent) admitted they did not trust holiday or hotel booking apps. When asked why this was the case, 32 per cent claimed to have security concerns regarding app bookings, while 25 per cent worried that they might not actually get what they expected following their arrival at the hotel or accommodation in question. Furthermore, 16 per cent felt they had little knowledge of whom or what companies were behind many of these apps, aside from the big brand names.
Furthermore almost 1 in 20 people taking part in the study, 4 per cent claimed to have had a bad experience when using a hotel or holiday booking app in the past. When asked to provide further details about their bad experiences, 22 per cent felt they’d been misled by the content on the app and were disappointed on arrival at the place they had booked. 16 per cent said that they later discovered they hadn’t got as good a deal as they had thought.
Chris Clarkson, Managing Director of sunshine.co.uk, said the following: “The app marketplace is worth billions of pounds, so these results surprised us a little. If you are going to use an app to book a holiday or accommodation, you need to make sure it’s a trusted and reputable company. Check out the ratings of the app and reviews to check people have had a good experience using it before.
“Clearly, not everyone looks at hotel or holiday bookings apps in a favourable manner, so there may be some issues that need resolving. If you are parting with your hard earned cash for a trip, make sure you are booking everything in a way that you feel comfortable; whether that’s online, through a travel agency in your local town centre or over the phone.”
By Toma Sukyte - for Female First
Tagged in Travel