What you missed: beating booking burnout in travel
Demand is strong. But traveller patience? Not so much.
That tension sat at the heart of our recent webinar, Beating Booking Burnout and Achieving Double-Digit Digital Revenue Growth, and the conversation that followed was one of the most honest we have had in travel for a while.
The full session is available to watch on demand. Register below to access the replay.
What the session covered
Travel in 2026 presents a familiar but sharpening challenge. Demand has returned. But recent YouGov research shows that 71% of British holiday bookers find at least one part of the booking process stressful. In a price-sensitive market, that friction does not just frustrate customers, it quietly redirects them toward third-party platforms and away from your direct channel.
Our host Andy Curry, Strategy Director at 383 Group and LION+MASON, brought together two digital leaders tackling this from very different positions in the market, but working toward the same goal: reduce effort, build confidence and protect margin.
The session covered:
- Where friction is hurting direct booking performance in 2026
- Why removing friction is not always the right answer, and how intentional friction can build trust in premium travel
- How research and discovery behaviour has shifted, and what that means for where brands need to show up
- The role of AI in booking journeys today, and why caution still makes commercial sense
- How to tell genuine booking burnout apart from normal consideration behaviour in your own data
Who you will hear from
Chris Bowling, Head of Digital and Consumer Marketing, BWH Hotels GB
Chris has spent nine years leading digital strategy at BWH Hotels GB, with a focus on helping independent hoteliers build stronger direct relationships with guests. His team's work has delivered a 32% year-on-year revenue increase and a 20% conversion uplift through targeted improvements to the booking experience. He brings practical, hard-won insight into what actually moves the needle on direct bookings.
Marcello Pasqualucci, Head of Digital Product, Travelopia
Marcello brings 15+ years of experience across Sky, HSBC and Yum! Brands, combining commercial strategy with a deep background in behavioural science and experimentation. At Travelopia, he has scaled A/B testing from 10 to 200 tests per year and led the development of AI-powered tools that have delivered measurable improvements in search performance and itinerary engagement. He offers a perspective on friction that challenges the assumption that speed is always the goal.
Hosted by Andy Curry, Strategy Director, 383 Group and LION+MASON
Andy has two decades of experience building digital journeys with the user at the centre. His recent work has focused on simplifying booking experiences in travel and hospitality, consistently delivering measurable improvements in conversion and customer confidence.
Register to watch
The session runs to just under an hour. Register your details below to access the full replay on demand.
Looking for the bigger picture behind these conversations? The themes discussed in the session are explored in depth in our new industry report, Emerging Challenges in Travel 2026.
Take it further with 383
For those who attended the live session, we are inviting a small group of travel brands to a focused 60-minute working session. It is designed to help you prepare for a Friction Mapping® sprint, looking at your commercial pressures, your organisational blockers and where your booking journey may be losing value.
From there, we work through your customers' real challenges at the moments that cause hesitation and drop-off, and help you build a clear picture of what to research, what to fix first and how to prioritise without rebuilding everything from scratch.
Keep an eye on your inbox for details, or get in touch directly if you would like to find out more.
Friction Mapping® is the structured methodology behind this work. It connects qualitative insight, behavioural data and business impact across the full journey, giving teams a shared view that moves conversations from debate to decision.
FAQs
Q: How do I access the webinar replay?
A: Register your details using the button at the bottom of this page or by clicking the image above. You will receive access to the full on-demand recording straight away.
Q: What was the main focus of the session?
A: The session explored why friction in travel booking journeys is quietly costing brands direct revenue, and what senior digital leaders are doing about it. The conversation covered everything from behavioural science and intentional friction to AI in practice and how to read booking burnout in your own data.
Q: What is the difference between accidental and intentional friction?
A: Accidental friction is complexity that crept in without purpose. It costs revenue and erodes trust. Intentional friction is designed with customer behaviour in mind. In premium travel especially, a considered pause or a guided conversation can signal care and effort rather than inefficiency. This was one of the most discussed points in the session.
Q: How does booking burnout affect direct channel performance?
A: When effort rises and confidence falls, customers take the easiest route available, which is usually a third-party platform. The booking still gets made. The margin does not come back to you. Reducing friction in direct journeys is a commercial decision as much as a UX one.
Q: What is the working session mentioned above?
A: It is a focused 60-minute session for brands that attended the live webinar, designed to help you prepare for a Friction Mapping® sprint.
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