Booking portals must be easy to use

A best price guarantee and the ability to book all travel elements in one portal are also rated as features that such portals should have. According to the study, the user-friendliness of the portals is the most important factor for every second company (52 percent) when booking business travel online. In addition, many companies (44 percent) expect the portal to display the best available price for the requested business trip. Almost one in three companies would like all travel elements to be bookable in one portal. 23 percent consider it a further advantage if travel profiles can be created for different people. 22 percent also value the ability to store their own travel policies. Price comparisons for accommodation and means of transport from an independent provider would still like to find almost every fifth person (18 percent) in the portal offering. "An online travel portal must also support companies in making the settlement of travel expenses simple and efficient," says Michel Jegerlehner, Director Sales & Account Management BCD Travel Switzerland. "This also helps to avoid billing problems when reimbursing travel expenses."

For the study, 100 managing directors and those responsible for business travel in Swiss companies were surveyed. It was conducted by BCD Travel. The booking portal, which is already active in Germany and specializes in business travel, will also be launched in Switzerland in September. The aim is to make booking business travel as simple and transparent as possible. According to the announcement, BCD Travel offers much of what companies want, according to the study. (pd/hae)