BULLETINS

Webcredible (http://www.webcredible.co.uk) has come out with an Online Travel Usability report for 2010. They cover some precious gems in terms of things to keep in mind when building a Travel portal. I am listing them below for your reference (courtesy Pyton blog)

1. Ensure that the first step of the booking process is clearly and properly designed
 
2. Implement functionalities that help with bookings

What should be available :

• Flexible dates
• Direct flights only option
• Multi-flight trips
• Cabin Class e.g. First Class, Business Class

3. Implement an easy to use and friendly calendar
 The principles of good usability, applying also to a calendar module, are the following:

• The calendar is launched with a easy to see button
• For each month the next and previous links are in the same place
• It is easy to close the calendar
• The date field is not obstructed by the calendar
• The calendar should be positioned close to relevant date fields
• Users should be allowed to enter the date by hand
• The ‘return’ date is the same as the ‘leaving’ date
   

4. Flexibility is important when finishing the first step
Many websites require people to enter the destination. But correct spelling of foreign destination might be a challenge.  Quite often travelers don’t remember airports’ exact names or there is more than one airport at the destination.
 
5. Design a clear results page
 
6. Allow to sort and manipulate the results
 
7. Add “share friendly” features to the pages
 
8. Optimize the site for comparison shoppers
Majority of people do compare times and prices across may travel sites, so it is very unlikely that they will book a trip on their first visit. Sites should be optimized in such a way to save results across sessions – allowing returning users not to enter without the search criteria one more time.
 
9. Show the full price (or an estimate) ASAP
 
10. Allow for easy refinement of the search criteria
 
11. Show information about all available airports
 
12. Optimize the flight confirmation page

• List full price, clearly displayed in the upper part of the screen
• Provide clear ‘to’ and ‘from’ locations
• The airports’ names are listed in full
• In the price quoted there are no additional prices for extras
• Provide relevant flight information, including departure and arrival times

 13. List a telephone customer support number through the booking process
 
14. Utilize appropriate up-selling
 
15. Design a clear progress bar
 
16. Make sure that flight cancellation/change rules are clear and easy to find
 
17. If errors occur, provide a clear summary
 
18. Make sure that all errors are highlighted next to the form fields
 
19. Provide full information on how to correct errors
 
20. Test the system for ability to cope with common errors