Today's Website Revamp Recipe: More Interactivity
We're seeing more examples of once-narrowly focused travel websites expand their offerings to try to broaden their appeal.
Case in point: Travel-planning website Viator.com has debuted several new online features the company hopes will help travelers book affordable trip activities and tours.
Getting users involved: One of the main themes that emerge from the makeover is user interaction. Viator has been testing such features as "Star Ratings and Customer Reviews," which "actual travelers" post, a la TripAdvisor; a new travel blog that enables user comments; an Amazon.com-style "Shareable Wish Lists" feature; and user-based "suggested itineraries," "first-timer guides," and top 10 lists. Viator boasts that its expanded options have more than doubled bookings over the last year, according to a company statement.
Among the other functions Viator is continuing are simple category searches, price-promotion alerts, airline-miles eligibility finders, and carbon-offset opportunities to reduce travelers' effects on the environment.
Market forces: Viator is increasing its focus on the consumer-direct market as it emerges from its history as a technology and activities provider to many travel companies, including Priceline, Wyndham, British Airways and SideStep, spokesperson Kate Sullivan told TDR.
-- Scott Walker, Editor in Chief, Travel Distribution Report