Some self-booking tools (SBTs) have become very intuitive, while users have also become familiar with online booking in their private sphere, with sites such as Opodo.fr, Govoyages.com, Voyages-sncf.com, etc. In France, the average rate of adoption of an SBT in companies equipped with one is 23%, a far cry from the scores recorded in the United States, where it exceeds 40%. According to a recent study, Carlson Wagonlit put the figure at 26% for its accounts in France and 52%s across all its markets. Amex, for its part, puts this rate at between 35% and 40% for its customers in France. "93 % of our accounts now have an SBT, but we need to monitor how they use it and promote it internally to increase its use."says Éric Audoin, Managing Director France of American Express Business Travel. "We need to exceed the 50 % adoption mark. Otherwise, there's no economic benefit for the company".says Valérie Sasset, Managing Director France at BCD Travel. The rate of adoption may depend on the sector of activity, the employees and the generation to which they belong, the travel policy, training and communication put in place internally. "The adoption rate at Kodak Europe is 65 %, but there are differences between countries and we still have room for improvement".says Pascale Pitou, travel manager at Kodak. "We're at 75 %! On the other hand, Delphine Liottet, her counterpart at PricewaterhouseCoopers France, is delighted. This is a very good result for an audit firm, where consultants often make their travel decisions at the last minute".. There are, however, cases where the deployment of an SBT proves unsuccessful. "Companies find that the tool doesn't fit in with their culture or that their sector of activity, and therefore their needs, aren't suited to this booking channel".says Valérie Sasset. A reminder of the importance of the advice provided by business travel agencies.
