With COVID-19 affecting travel, loyalty may be shifted to different factors. Brands need to build trust and confidence by offering a range of new digital experiences.
To do so, they must be able to explain the what and how of these exciting technologies engagingly. They must also use an agile approach to meet traveler needs quickly.
Mobile is the Future
Mobile devices have become an essential part of many people’s lives. Travel companies must provide consumers with the right mobile experiences to engage and satisfy them.
As consumers return to the world of travel, it’s imperative that they can easily access information and complete bookings online and on their phones. This will require much work to ensure the digital experience is consistent and seamless. It will also mean meeting consumer demands for easy-to-access, varied, and personalized content.
The pandemic has reshaped how consumers interact with travel and entertainment services, and new technologies must be used to deliver these experiences. These technologies must be agile, scalable, and handle high traffic volumes and complex processing.
Travelers are now more interested in apps that help them navigate and book travel. Many travel brands focus on creating apps that notably improve the existing travel experience.
For example, Expedia has launched a revamped app that uses Big Data to match travelers with hotels and flights. These and other strategies aim to ensure that travel brands have the technology they need to succeed on mobile devices.
Big Data
Big data analytics has revolutionized various industries, including travel and tourism. It has empowered companies to anticipate consumer demands more accurately, predict future trends, and improve customer satisfaction and experience.
Online travel companies have a unique advantage over other businesses, as they generate extensive internal and external data. From search queries to GPS coordinates, bookings and itineraries, user reviews, and social media posts, everything that happens before, during, or after a trip leaves a trail of information for travel companies to analyze.
Using this data, they can identify trends, patterns, and correlations that help them optimize prices, costs, and profitability. They can also use predictive analytics to predict how demand for a specific vacation or destination will change over time. This way, they can offer travelers a tailored package or experience that matches their expectations and preferences.
This also helps them build brand loyalty and increase customer gratification. For example, using big data, airlines can offer customers a free bag check service after they check in on their flights. This has not only reduced lost luggage cases but has also improved customer satisfaction and retention.
Agility
Today’s consumers demand immediate access to content in any environment and at any time. Regarding travel, they also expect a truly personalized experience that will make their trip as memorable and magical as possible.
The companies that thrive in the post-COVID-19 travel landscape will be those that can deliver these experiences with speed and flexibility. This means implementing new protocols and practices that ensure safety while allowing travelers to choose the best option.
This requires a robust, agile digital infrastructure supporting the broader customer journey. With the help of analytical leadership, cross-functional teams, and continuous iteration, travel companies can harness the momentum created by COVID-19 to build performance uplift and stand out from the competition – while rekindling travel’s magic for their customers.
As well as deploying a comprehensive measurement toolkit that prioritizes and pinpoints impactful touch points across the end-to-end journey, travel companies should also leverage technology such as AI, ML, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and IoT to develop new services to enhance customer experiences. By automating complex and time-consuming processes, these technologies can eliminate friction in the travel journey for travelers. This will allow companies to focus on their brand promise, ensuring that they are focused on the industry’s complexities and can provide their customers with a seamless and stress-free experience.
AI
Using AI and ML, travel companies can provide customers with hyper-personalized experiences. This can be done through chatbots that can answer customer questions or even book flights and hotels. It can also be used to help streamline operations by automating processes such as booking and customer service and reducing error rates.
AI can help businesses predict demand and pricing to create a more tailored customer experience. This technology can analyze various data sources, including online tracking, transaction histories, and customer preferences, to help predict future trends. It can then use this information to recommend a specific itinerary or product. This can be a great way to increase customer loyalty and repeat business.
Another great benefit of AI is its ability to improve search engine optimization (SEO) by analyzing customer behavior. This allows travel companies to target specific customers with personalized marketing campaigns. This can lead to more clicks and sales, resulting in higher revenue for the company.
Finally, AI can improve security and fraud detection in the travel industry. By analyzing an extensive database of user behavior, AI can detect tiny signals that may indicate fraudulent activity or malicious intent. This can significantly benefit travel and tourism companies, especially as security becomes increasingly important for travelers.
