The travel industry has been growing at a good pace and has also been constantly changing over the last few years. The increased expectations of the modern-day traveler for enriching customer experience has disrupted the travel industry. The industry operators must have a good understanding of the expectations of different age groups and types of travelers like Business, vacation with family, Solo travelers to ensure their customers have a great travel experience to ensure customer loyalty. Modern- day traveler’s usage of digital technology has transformed the way they plan, research and fulfill their vacation plans.
From booking their travel to post-travel services, these travelers expect a world of convenience enabled by technology, which means travel brands must not only facilitate seamless transaction across multiple devices and channels but also provide meaningful personal engagements based on customer sentiment analytics.
Travel brands who adopt a proactive customer service and connect with their consumers at multiple levels and channels to drive a real-time personal experience win brand loyalty. However, even the best of customer service fails at the toughest of times. Unexpected journey disruption can infuriate a traveler and at such times the customer experience that makes a difference is a hybrid of digital and human- assisted approach.
With the next-gen traveler driving every new trend, only the savviest of travel brands who adopt the latest technology trends and find ways to apply them in their customer journey can deliver the ultimate travel experience. Customer experience is the main differentiator and companies that excel in this area are most likely to gain a positive reputation and customer loyalty. Some of the new technologies that could help improve customer experience are listed below:
Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is being highly adapted in the travel and tourism industry these days. One of the uses of artificial intelligence is for customer support purposes using chatbots. Chatbots possess the ability to continuously learn from their interaction with customers and provide quick responses to queries. Hotels and tourism companies also use artificial intelligence to sort through data and perform tasks like data analysis, problem-solving and improving personalization during the customer journey, customer sentiment analytics.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of things deals with everyday devices with internet connectivity which makes them capable of transmitting and receiving data. In hotels, the internet of things can be used to provide customers with devices which can control room ambient lighting, air- condition, heater, etc. It could also be used in the hotel check-in process by providing the customers with electronic keys on their smartphones.
Recognition Technology
Recognition Technology includes facial recognition, retina scanning, fingerprints, and other biometric identification methods. One of the uses of recognition technology in the travel industry is personalization. By matching faces to the database, hotels can identify their customers quickly and provide tailor-made services to them. Another use of the technology is that customers with a bad reputation can be identified early and the staff could be alerted to take necessary measures. Recognition technology can also help in payment processes making the authorization process hassle- free.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
Virtual Reality is one of the most promising technologies of recent times. With virtual reality technology customers can digitally experience the destination, he or she is going to visit. Hotels can also use this technology to showcase their hotel rooms and other offerings.Augmented Reality is similar to virtual reality but instead of replacing the customer’s surroundings it augments it. This is considerably cheaper than virtual reality as it requires just a smartphone or tablet with internet connectivity. The tourism industry can use this technology to enhance customer experience by graphical overlays. For instance, when customers point their smartphones at any historical monument, relevant information about the monument could be displayed.
Robots
With changing customer habits, robotic technology is increasingly becoming popular. As customers are increasingly getting used to self-service methods, the travel industry is using robots due to the automation it provides. Robots use technologies ranging from speech & facial recognition to artificial intelligence. In the travel industry, robots are being used to meet and greet customers, to assist check-in and checkout procedures, deliver luggage, assist in concierge services, provide information assistance, etc. Qualities such as accuracy, ability to work round the clock, consistency, etc. make robots worth investing in.It is important for travel companies to leverage the above-mentioned technologies to experience and ensure customer loyalty which in turn would eventually result in better business performance and a greater ROI for the Tour operator.