Therefore, you are losing visitors on the way to booking and how you can get more to book directly.
Blog
3 min
Blog
3 min
Many who visit a destination's website have already decided to go there. They have read about the activities and compared accommodations but still leave the page without booking. Often, this is because the path to booking has too many steps or feels uncertain. In this post, we will go through common reasons why visitors drop off and how a clearer booking flow can get more people to book directly with you.
What the journey to booking often looks like
For many destinations, websites have evolved in stages. Accommodation is often booked through one system, tickets through another, and activities sometimes through a third. For guests, this means switching between pages with different designs, separate shopping carts and sometimes entirely different domains. Each transition gives guests another reason to hesitate. In Toxic's projects for Kläppen Ski Resort and Isaberg Mountain Resort, creating a smoother path to booking was one of the key priorities.
The high number of abandoned purchases is also reflected in broader research. Baymard Institute has compiled 50 e-commerce studies and found that approximately 70% of all initiated purchases are never completed. This figure applies to e-commerce in general, rather than travel bookings specifically. However, the same pattern can be seen in booking journeys: the more steps and unexpected obstacles along the way, the more guests drop off.
Common reasons why guests abandon their bookings
Four common issues often cause visitors to leave before completing a booking. The figures are based on research by Baymard Institute.
| Reason | What happens for the guest | The solution |
|---|---|---|
| The booking button is difficult to find | Guests read about a package on a subpage but have to return to the menu to find out where to book. Every extra click creates another opportunity to abandon the process. | Provide a clear path to booking on every relevant page. Guests reading about a package, guided tour or accommodation should be able to book directly from that page without searching for the right button. |
| Guests are redirected to a system that looks different | New colours, fonts and web addresses can make guests question whether they are still in the right place. According to Baymard Institute, 19% abandoned a purchase because they did not trust the website with their credit card information. | Minimise the number of steps and make the booking process feel like part of your website, even when bookings are handled by an external system. Consistent design and clear branding help guests feel confident enough to complete their booking. |
| Pricing and availability are shown too late | Guests have to click through several steps before finding out how much their stay will cost or whether their preferred dates are available. Unexpected additional costs are the most common reason for abandoned purchases, and according to the research, 12% abandoned their purchase because they could not see the total cost upfront. | Display prices and available dates early in the process. This often requires connecting the booking system to the website, something we explore further in our article about integrations. |
| The booking process works poorly on mobile | Small buttons, complicated date pickers and forms that do not fit the screen make booking unnecessarily difficult. The research shows that 17% abandoned their purchase because the checkout process was too long or complicated, while the same percentage left due to technical errors. | Design the booking process with mobile users in mind from the start. Many guests plan their holidays on their phones and check activities for the following day while already at the destination. A booking experience designed for mobile usually works well on desktop too. |
How we helped Kläppen Ski Resort
Kläppen in Sälen is Sweden's largest family-owned ski resort and one of several destinations for which Toxic has developed websites. When we built their new website using Umbraco, the goal was to make it easier for guests to move from planning their trip to completing a booking.
Today, the website offers several natural paths to booking accommodation and lift passes. The content also adapts to the season and whether guests are planning their stay or are already at the resort.
The booking system is managed by an external provider. We worked closely with them to ensure a smooth integration, allowing guests to experience a consistent design throughout the entire booking process.
Read the full Kläppen Ski Resort case study.
Want more guests to book directly with you?
We have been developing websites for 30 years and are an Umbraco Platinum Partner, the highest partnership level offered by Umbraco. We work with destination companies to build websites that make it easy for guests to book directly.
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