"The Digital Journey Travel Industry"

2. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
The Digital Travel Summit
is Europe’s most senior-
level eCommerce,
digital, mobile, social and
multi-channel customer
engagement event
for the travel industry.

3. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
TABLEOFCONTENTS
 Introduction
 TheAncillaryApproach
 PART1:ChallengesandOpportunities
 PART2:Performance
 PART3:AncillaryProducts
 AboutWBRDigital
 AboutFusion

4. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
INTRODUCTION
Digital has fundamentally changed the way we
do business – and the travel industry is on a
digital journey all of its own.
Competition amongst travel companies is
hotter than ever, and in the digital age the most
successful companies will be the ones who use
a data-driven mindset to build a relationship with
their customer which ensures a return trip!
Leading up to Digital Travel Summit we
interviewed 110 senior travel executives across
Europe with job titles including: Vice President,
Director of E-Commerce, Vice President of
Marketing and Director of Digital Marketing.
This report is designed to offer critical insight on
some of the biggest challenges facing the online
travel industry in 2016/17 as well as to benchmark
the industry’s response.
110Senior
executivesfrom
travelcompanies
acrossEurope
tookpartinthe
survey…
y Airline 36%
y Online Travel Company 14%
y Hotel 41%
y Cruise Line 9%
y United Kingdom 24%
y France 15%
y Germany 11%
y Spain 7%
y Netherlands 5%
y USA 5%
y Russia 5%
y Italy 4%
y Switzerland 4%
y Turkey 4%
y Belgium 3%
y Finland 3%
y Ireland 3%
y Denmark 2%
y Portugal 2%
y Sweden 2%
y UAE 2%
y Norway 1%

5. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
THE ANCILLARY
APPROACH
Ancillary sales present a tremendous opportunity for businesses
to generate increased revenue while simultaneously strengthening
relationships with their customers. This has consistently been the
observation of Fusion in working with our clients and also when
conducting our own market research. It’s reassuring to see these U.K.
survey results further reinforcing the facts.
At Fusion, we know there are three components that will support
successful ancillary sales: analysing data, personalising offers, and
optimising across all digital platforms. Without a thoughtful strategy
that addresses all of these components, ancillary programs can misfire.
They can actually damage customer relationships by presenting the
wrong offers at the wrong time. Or the ancillary presentation might
disrupt the online sales process altogether. We’ve seen these things
happen, but the other side of the coin – success! – isn’t hard to achieve.
Successful ancillary sales are about making the right ancillary offers
to the right customers at exactly the right time. They’re about making
purchases easier, and even pleasurable enhancements to the online
shopping or booking experience. They’re about understanding what
your customers need or want – and providing it to them in a way
they can effortlessly accept – by having the ability to analyse and act
upon the vast amounts of data available to us today. And increasingly,
as these survey results demonstrate, they’re about providing better
solutions to customers on their mobile devices, including smart
phones and tablets.
Thankfully, with the rapid evolution in technology and data analysis
during the last several years, ancillary sales can consistently be
harnessed and optimised to meet and exceed these goals. At Fusion,
we encourage companies to find the right partner to create a strategic,
optimised ancillary sales program that will delight customers and
boost the bottom line.
ByBobDufour,
President&CEOofFusion

6. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
PART 1
CHALLENGES
& OPPORTUNITIES

7. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
YOUR BIGGEST FOCUS FOR
THE NEXT 12 MONTHS…
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
y Implementing data analytics 8%
y Reducing online basket abandonment 12%
y Re-platforming your eCommerce sites 14%
y Determining new KPIs 18%
y Mobile app marketing 23%
y Customer acquisition 26%
It makes sense that customer acquisition would be the number one answer to this question – acquiring
new customers, and retaining current ones, is always a top priority for any business. However, it’s also
notable that mobile app marketing achieved the second highest response and significantly higher than
the other answers. It’s important for us all to remember that mobile (and video) are the future of digital
communications, and we must be responsive to customers who are increasingly connected via smart
phones, tablets, and wearable devices.
–BobDufour,President&CEOofFusion

8. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
THE TOP SEVEN ECOMMERCE PRIORITIES
FOR TRAVEL COMPANIES
Creating bi-directional
engagements via social
media
Social media has transformed
the way we communicate online.
But it’s not only changed the
way that friends communicate,
but also the way we interact and
transact with companies.
Marketers know that social media
is a highly effective marketing
channel, and not only that but
it’s the perfect way to provide
social proof of the quality of
your product. Travel companies
are now trying to develop
their social media strategy to
ensure that communication
via social media is a two-way
street. The challenge lies in
making the requisite resources
available, developing or hiring
in the expertise and managing
your online communities on an
ongoing basis.
Investing/optimising
personalisation strategies
Personalisation strategies which
transcend channel and device
require well orchestrated multi-
channel strategies and a helluva
lot of data.
The data is where it gets
interesting – just how much are
your customers prepared to let
you know about them? Although
the jury is still out on privacy vs.
personalisation, there is little
doubt that those who tailor their
marketing to customer need will
top the revenue growth winners list.
Post purchase
cross-sell/upsell
In a similar vein to improving
ancillary sales, post purchase
cross- and up-selling is all about
finding those little extras which
make a trip extra-special.
This comes down to
understanding your customer’s
travel habits as well as what kind
of trip they are taking. Finding
the right combination opens
up many exciting opportunities
for targeted post-purchase
marketing campaigns designed
to inspire travellers to sign up for
those ‘little extras’
Increasing ancillary
sales
There are a lot of extras that
travellers might need, insurance,
car rental, excursions and
upgrades (think economy-plus
seating) to name but a few. By
selling these extras on their
websites travel companies
can boost their online revenue
significantly.
As a result, hotels, airlines and
cruise lines are increasingly
seeking a slice of the ancillary
pie. Given the proven ability of
ancillary sales to boost revenue,
we can expect to see this persist
as an important element of
online strategy.
Sending newsletters
segmented by traveller
type
Getting personalised messages
to the right person at the right
time is the Holy Grail for any
marketer.
Segmenting travellers into types
based on your customer data
is a great way to achieve this.
However, there are thousands
of ways to slice up the data,
from spending habits to
preferred locations. Before travel
companies can get to the serious
business of crafting customised
messages, they first need to get
a handle on their data – a big
challenge for 2016/17.
Increasing bookings on
smartphones/tablets
The amount of travellers both
researching AND booking their
travel on tablets or mobile is
going through the roof.
However, formatting your
eCommerce site for the sheer
amount of different devices
available can provide a significant
challenge to travel companies.
Ultimately, they know that getting
the experience right for the
customer regardless of device
will be crucial to their success.
Reducing online shopping
basket abandonment
Given the revenue-boosting
potential of reducing basket
abandonment it’s understandable
that reducing abandonment is
the number one priority for travel
companies in 2016/17.
As many as 80% or more of
shopping baskets end up
abandoned. If travel companies
can chip away at this number,
then the financial benefits will be
enormous.
The question which creases
everyone’s brow – why do so
many people abandon their
carts? Sure, a large percentage
will be ‘just looking’, but
providing clarity on fees and
taxes, streamlining the booking
and payment process and
emphasising social proof
(among many other things)
will help travel companies to
make significant gains over the
competition.
7
6
5
4
2
1
3

9. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
HOW EASY IS IT FOR YOU TO EFFECTIVELY USE
DATA ANALYTICS TO GAIN VALUABLE INSIGHTS
INTO CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, PURCHASES
AND CHANNEL PERFORMANCE?
Reflecting the urgent need for better data analytics systems, everyone responding to this question said it
is somewhat or extremely difficult to use data and gain valuable insights into customer behaviors. This is
the whole point of analysing data in the first place – to be able to draw actionable conclusions to increase
customer satisfaction and revenue.
–BobDufour,President&CEOofFusion
Extremely
difficult
2%
Somewhat
difficult, could
be better
47%
Somewhat
difficult, but
manageable
51%

10. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
Problems getting good customer behaviour, purchase
and channel performance analytics?
Answers taken from the Digital Travel Benchmarking Survey 
Complexity of the problem
https://betteranalytics.com/complexity-of-problem 
It’s hard to analyse the changing habits of customers
and draw conclusions in real time.
The sheer amount of data available makes it difficult to
form a cohesive strategy to optimise its use.
The feedback which we receive from customers on
our portals does not always give us an exact idea of
their tastes or expectations.
Incomplete data
https://everydayanalytics.com/incomplete-data 
Our data is not always complete, it is sometimes
immaterial, or not to the point.
We cannot assume the tendency of the customers
based on the information we have and data missing
of the purchase orders and the feedback are not that
appropriate to give an actual understanding of the
customers.
As the data information is never accurate, we are
facing challenges using that data more effectively in
order to personalise our customer preferences and
provide satisfactory outcome.
Cross device attribution
https://insideanalytics.com/cross-device-attribution 
Combining data from a large amount of different
platforms and sources in order to draw meaningful
insights on customer satisfaction and performance is
the main challenge.
Segregating data from various sources is complicated
and involves examining different methodologies in
detail and getting exact information on individual
customers.
Lack of technical skill
https://showmethenumbers.com/lack-of-technical-skill 
Programming skills involving specific data structures
are a big challenge for us, as it requires a lot of highly
skilled people to get actionable customer insights.
We try to use all possible tactics to analyse our
customer behaviour data but we do not have the
necessary in-house skills.
Lack of skilled staff and a hesitant approach by
management towards investing in proper analytics
systems are significant challenges for us.
Lack of sophisticated analytics
tools
https://actionanalytics.com/lack-of-sophisticated-
analytics-tools 
The analytical tools that we have are not sufficiently
up-to-date to handle the large amount of data that
which we collect from different sources.
We are unable to track customer information on real
time basis. As a result, we are unable to predict the
future customer insights on various factors.
Differentiating useful data from junk data is a major
challenge as there is a lot of data available which is not
necessarily relevant to the topic, the process of doing
this can be very tedious and time-consuming.

11. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
PART 2
PERFORMANCE

12. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
TO WHAT EXTENT ARE YOU USING DATA
ANALYTICS TO PROVIDE DIRECT CUSTOMER
VALUE AND INCREASE RETENTION?
We have something, but we want something better! Clearly, the industry’s data analytical needs are not
being met. Almost everyone is using data analytics, although a significant portion of the industry – one in
four – is only now in the process of implementing a system. There’s a lot of room for improvement here, with
roughly 60% of the respondents looking for a better solution.
–BobDufour,President&CEOofFusion
9%
67%
22%
2%
0%
40%
40%
0%
0%
20%
0%
0%
0%
60%
40%
15%
65%
20%
0%
0%
Key
y We have a well developed system in place
and we’re happy
y We have a system in place but we want
something better
y We’re in the process of implementing a system
y We’re still some way off from using data analytics
y No interest
Airlines
CruiseShips
Hotels
OnlineTravel
Companies

13. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HELP CUSTOMERS
HAVE A POSITIVE BOOKING EXPERIENCE VIA
A MOBILE DEVICE?
y User reviews 44%
y Identifying how your 26%
customers are using mobile
ie. search, comparison,
booking etc.
y Improving navigation 14%
capabilities
y Incorporating UX/UI best 9%
practices
y Streamlining ancillary 8%
product offers
The customer is king. Employing user reviews, by far the highest response to this question, shapes the
mobile booking experience. Understanding exactly how customers are using mobile devices is also critical
in improving the booking experience. As we’ve seen in multiple other survey questions, mobile is driving the
industry’s future, and creating the positive experience, including other user experience best practices, will
help generate the best results for the customer on a hand-held device, and the business selling to them.
–BobDufour,PresidentCEOofFusion

14. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
PART 3
ANCILLARY
PRODUCTS

15. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
SALES FROM ANCILLARY PRODUCTS
ACCOUNT FOR HOW MUCH OF YOUR
COMPANY’S TOTAL ANNUAL REVENUE?
DO YOU THINK THIS WILL INCREASE OR
DECREASE IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?
20%orless 48%
42%
10%
21–40%
41–60%
Ancillary products account for a significant percentage of revenue for surveyed companies, for some it’s up
to as much as 60 percent. This is astounding and important. It means that all companies should be doing
more to understand and optimise ancillary sales, in order to build immediate and long-term revenue and
keep-up with marketplace competitors.
–BobDufour,PresidentCEOofFusion
Ancillary sales will only increase over the next year, and this is a continuation of the rapid growth which we
have observed over the last several years. We’ve witnessed this trend continuing to grow for several years.
Businesses need to “get on the ancillary sales bandwagon” to keep pace with industry trends. Otherwise,
we’re all leaving revenue on the table and failing to meet customer expectations.
–BobDufour,PresidentCEOofFusion
79%
Increase
21%
Decrease

16. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES
THE METHOD YOUR COMPANY USES TO
MARKET ANCILLARY PRODUCTS TO YOUR
CUSTOMERS?
y We select ancillary products 35%
based on their customer profile.
(demographic / firmographic)
y We offer the same ancillary 32%
products to all customers
y We select ancillary products 23%
based on past searches and /
or preferences
y We offer ancillary products that 7%
are related to the other products
in their shopping cart
y We select ancillary products 4%
using a real-time ranking and
decision solution
35%
32%
23%
7%
4%
Just over a third of companies choose which ancillary products to offer based on customer information
(such as demographics). Sadly, an additional 32 percent are currently offering the same exact ancillaries to
all customers. These responses indicate a lost opportunity… the opportunity to optimise and personalise
ancillary sales to better serve customers while improving the bottom line. An effective ancillary sales
strategy is never a one-size fits all approach, it’s constantly evolving and being fine-tuned to produce better
results in various customer segments over time.
–BobDufour,PresidentCEOofFusion

17. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
ON WHICH OPTIMISATION CAPABILITIES ARE
YOU PRIMARILY FOCUSING OVER THE NEXT
24 MONTHS?
The discussion starts and ends with mobile. Eight out of ten respondents said mobile optimisation is the top
focus over the next 24 months. This is a logical conclusion, given all the discussion around mobile channels
throughout the survey. I’m also pleased to see a continued focus on streamlining the ancillary sales
experience across devices; deep personalisation; real-time reporting; and mining customer insights.
All these activities can only enhance the customers’ purchasing experience.
–BobDufour,PresidentCEOofFusion
Ancillary product
filtering for customer
personas
Dynamic
machine
learning
Optimising the
customer journey
Improved post-purchase
sale opportunities
Product recommendations
Real-time reporting and
customer insights
Deep personalisation
Streamlining the cross
device experience
Mobile optimisation 82%
61%
52%
51%
43%
41%
39%
31%
26%

18. T H E D I G I T A L J O U R N E Y
A D i g i t a l T r a v e l B e n c h m a r k i n g R e p o r t
ABOUT WBR DIGITAL
At WBR Digital we design and execute bespoke content marketing campaigns all year round,
delivering our clients unparalleled access to the wider WBR event audience.
We believe in creating rich content that engages and inspires. We conduct in-depth industry
research, then add analysis and a double-shot of creativity, before marketing it for you, to targeted
audiences of your choosing.
It’s industry research, it’s thought leadership, it’s quality content – it’s the perfect opportunity to
generate qualified sales-ready leads.
Contactustofindouthowyourbusinesscouldbenefitfrom:
v Lead generation campaigns that fit your priorities
v Bespoke webinars, benchmarking reports and whitepapers
v In-depth research on current fast-moving issues and future trends
v The opportunity to position your company as a thought leader
Contact:
Tanyel Crossley
Head of Digital Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)20 7368 9708
Email: Tanyel.Crossley@wbr.co.uk
ABOUT FUSION
Fusion brings together cutting-edge data science, an all-encompassing ancillary product suite, and
ongoing merchandising test strategies to deliver targeted, relevant e-commerce product offers. By
delivering a personal customer experience, Fusion converts shoppers into buyers faster, better, more
accurately, and more profitably. Fusion works with leading brands across more than 40 countries in
the travel, healthcare, auto, entertainment, and insurance industries.
To find out more, visit www.fusion.com or follow Fusion on Twitter and LinkedIn.