Greetings from the Happy Booker!

Ah, spring. Some people take their cues on this season of renewal by visiting nurseries to get ideas for their gardens. For others, baseball spring training reminds them that warmer times are close. Still others look to the more colorful clothing we start to see in stores around this time of year.

But not me. Oh no. For yours truly, my cue that warmer times approach is the endless stream of breathless press releases and emails urging me to take advantage of spring break special offers (I'm not going to tell you when I last went on spring break) or book a cruise before they're all sold out, as well as my personal favorite, airline summer schedule announcements. Who knew so many people want to go Rockford, Ill.?

Well, no one ever accused me of being normal.

And guess what? I'm not the only one being besieged with all these offers. Tempting as they may all be, the typical Web traveler takes four leisure trips per year. That's just one trip per quarter. So how, I ask you, will your company -- or your client's company -- capture these sales?

Not by sticking to the status quo.

Our new Leisure Travel Data Overview -- fresh off the virtual presses -- illustrates the challenges that travel executives in marketing, distribution, and IT must address. For example:

• Online travel remains robust. Four out of five online Americans take at least one leisure trip per year. The vast majority -- 59% -- are Bookers, Web travelers who research and buy online. They book 57% of their trips on the Web.

• Brand loyalty remains weak. Thirty-seven percent of US online leisure travelers say they aren't brand-loyal, versus only 26% who are. Do you still think you can rely on loyalty programs?

• Web travelers want something fresh. Twenty-seven percent of Web travelers admit they constantly look for new ways to entertain themselves, and more than six in 10 regularly shop around before they buy their trip.

• Price is still important. Six in 10 US online leisure travelers age 40 to 54 say they usually purchase the lowest-price travel option available, and nearly half of this same group say they focus more on the price they pay than the company they buy from, or travel with. There go your look-to-book ratios.

Against this background, the industry must -- I repeat, must -- begin to focus on differentiation. How? With a strategy we at Forrester call "experience-based differentiation." It takes a combination of elements, such as the Web, product delivery, and interactive elements like blogs or podcasts, and nests them together in a manner that infuses a brand with a unique set of distinguishing characteristics.

Why is this so important? Most travelers shop across different channels -- online and offline -- and points of sale, such as metasearch, Web agencies, and supplier call centers and Web sites. And most are equally pleased with whatever two channels they use. Problem is, when everyone wins, no one wins. So what should you do?

• If you're a supplier, enrich your shopping experience. Make sure no other site offers more relevant insight and perspective about your products, benefits, and prices than you. And look into new touchpoints, like mobile devices.

• If you're an intermediary, such as a travel agency, focus on ways to better monetize the research process and institute more creative ways of shopping. Does the traveler searching for a trip to Houston want to specifically visit Houston, a southwestern city, or a destination with lots of humidity and big hair? As an intermediary, you've got access to a wider selection of product than any single supplier. Work it!

• If you' offer a research tool like a metasearch site or general search engine, consider developing personas that your customers can use to better target their keyword buys -- potentially at a premium.

Research Referenced In This Issue .travel: Nice, But Not Necessary (38975) Asia Pacific Airlines Are Bullish About The Web (38213) Leisure Travel Data Overview (37715) Leisure Travelers' Most Wanted In-Flight Services (38413) Over The Edge: When The Web Fails Travelers (39006) The Travel Retail Satisfaction Smackdown (38358) Who Books With The Big Three Web Agencies? (37714) Why Airlines Land Leisure Passengers (38175)

EMAIL: Email this issue to a colleague.

PRINT: View a printer-friendly version of this issue.

VIEW ARCHIVE: View past issues of First Look.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Call the Client Resource Center
1 866/FORRESTER (1 866/367-7378) or +1 617/613-5730.

EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you'd like to subscribe or unsubscribe to First Look, please go to your Email Subscriptions page.