Greetings from the happy Booker.

I'm composing this while returning to San Francisco on a business trip across the country. I'm a classic road warrior, which Forrester defines as a business traveler who takes nine or more business trips a year. But I differ from many of my peripatetic counterparts in that I booked this business trip online. Why is that unusual? Because just one in three road warriors like me buys business travel online -¿ far fewer than business people who travel less often. A quick scan of my business travel records shows that to date this year I've booked about 90% of my business travel online, far more than the typical business Booker. I guess that makes me an overachiever of sorts.

Like many businesses, Forrester has travel policies that I'm required to follow (note to CEO: about our "no first class" policy . . .), making me part of the 41% of business people who are managed travelers. But because we're loosely managed, I'm privileged to have flexibility in where I book. Although we have a corporate booking engine, I tend to use supplier sites for my air tickets and hotel accommodations. For hotels, while bonus booking points are part of the picture, so is the growing trend of best rate guarantees. Like most business travel Bookers, I agree that a best rate guarantee, or BRG, increases a travel site's credibility and the value the hotel offers.

Let me ask you a question: Have you tried Wi-Fi access yet? I have, and I love it. I'm among the 38% of business travelers who has Wi-Fi on a laptop computer. To me, an airport concourse or club without Wi-Fi may as well have runways made out of sand. It's even more important for a hotel -¿ travelers spend more time there than the airport. Wi-Fi is no longer a nice-to-have feature: It's helping redefine what we do and how we remain productive when we're on the road. As a result, Wi-Fi is essential for any entity that wants to serve business travelers.

What about kiosks? I'm addicted to them. In fact, I just used one for my flight home -- it was flawless. But that's not always the case. Confusing or ambiguous language, poorly designed interfaces, and awful environments can unintentionally intimidate, confuse, or -- worst of all -- annoy passengers. We recently compared the kiosks for American, Delta, and United -- the three largest US network airlines -- and found that all three carriers' kiosks have flaws. It can be especially frustrating when trying to upgrade a seat. As hotels begin to install these devices and others in the travel industry evaluate them, they should study the airlines' success and failures.

That's it for now. We're about to start developing our next Forrester Consumer Technographics® Survey, so if you have any topics you'd like us to consider, please email me at henryharteveldt@forrester.com. And be sure to hold September 19-21 for Forrester's 2004 Consumer Forum in New York.

Best regards,


Henry Harteveldt
Vice President, Travel Research

Research Referenced In This Issue Airlines: Fix Your MRO Supply Chains To Save Big (33811) Business Traveler Attitudes And Behaviors (33805) Buyers Continue To Outsource Apps (34009) Designing Airport Kiosks That Work (33817)    eLearning Takes Off With The Airlines (34132) JAL Leads, BA Lags Japanese Airline Site Usability (33809) Sarbanes-Oxley Solutions — Invest Now Or Pay Later (33998) The Rise Of Kiosks And Net Flight Check-Ins (33089) Travelers' Mobile Device Ownership Will Spur Wi-Fi (34304) Upgrading By Kiosk Doesn't Feel First Class (34186) Web Travelers Respond To Best Rate Guarantees (34214)

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