| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 29/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 4 |
| Copyright: Other |
Mattocks lambasts travel sites
The current batch of travel Web sites are woefully inadequate at serving the customer’s needs, according to Travelstore.com chairman Darryl Mattocks.Mattocks risked the wrath of several delegates when he announced that he had tested four sites and found them all unsatisfactory.
He claimed Expedia, QXL, lastminute.com and Thomson all needed to make improvements.
“I wanted to be sold a family holiday to Barbados, flying on Concorde and my first stop was Expedia. There’s lots of great information but the site didn’t make me feel good,” he said.
“QXL should do it well. They’ve got enough funding and smart folk but I don’t think they do. I got offered camping, which was a desperate mismatch. They don’t know enough about the consumer.
“Lastminute.com has £131m in the bank, so it’s got the money to improve its system. At the moment there is just a list of stuff they are selling.
“When I got to the Thomson site, I thought they had got it right. There was a description of Barbados which was excellent but then it said ‘click here to order a brochure’, which totally missed the point.”
Mattocks said most leading travel brands either have no Web site or just an information site.
“Booking capabilities for package holidays are few and far between. The travel industry is missing an opportunity by a mile.”
Mattocks advised travel companies to move away from the traditional pricing and packaging of holidays.
“On the Internet, you shouldn’t be saying a holiday is £699 or £899,” he said. “Instead you can auction it off. Also you can tell people you’ve got certain hotels and let them package them up.”
Mattocks: current offerings are woefully inadequate