Artificial Intelligence: The Future Of Travel Industry

Machines may not have taken over the world yet, but they are seeping into our lives and making it better. AI is changing every aspect of our lives. From self-driving cars to talking bots, there are so many examples of AI in use today. The technology is disrupting so many industries, and the travel industry isn’t exempt from this. Gone are the days when you had to count on a travel agent to plan your next vacation. You no longer need to engage yourself in that tiresome chain of conversations with your agent for your travel arrangements. AI now infiltrates every aspect of the travel industry. With the help of this technology, you can get personalized and intelligent travel solution tailored according to your needs.

Google Flights is already taking advantage of AI in predicting flight delays and announcing them even before the airlines. But this is only a fraction of what AI can do. From data processing to improved customer service, there’s a lot that this technology can accomplish. Let’s see how AI is revolutionizing the travel industry.

Trip Planning

According to booking.com, 29 percent of the travelers are comfortable letting a computer plan their next trip based on their travel history while 50 percent of travelers say that it doesn’t really matter who’s planning the trip as long as all their questions are answered. No matter if it’s a romantic trip to Paris or you’re climbing Kilimanjaro for a thrill, a computer can plan everything for you. Brands can also offer tailored recommendations to travelers based on their needs using AI technology.

TUI Group and Utrip have already created a personalized trip planning service that asks users to rate their preferences across various categories such as “Food & Drink,” “Nature,” etc. and sorts through millions of options to deliver personalized itineraries. You will get a list of places to visit, activities to try, and more.

You can always add more activities for a better experience. For people who find it hard to spare time to plan their next visit, these tools can be very helpful indeed.

Improved Customer Experience

One of the most exciting applications of AI in travel is assisting customers online. Customers don’t like to wait around, and chatbots can improve customer experience by answering to their queries instantaneously. With the help of AI, businesses can operate 24*7. The demand for smarter hotel rooms has been on the rise. Advanced AI-powered assistants can carry out guests’ requests, offer real-time recommendations, and more. IBM’s Watson Assistant, which focuses on hospitality and automotive industries, can be very helpful for hotels to meet the demand for smarter rooms.

Unlike Alexa, Watson Assistant does not capture the user data. So, hotels need not worry about user data. The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas has introduced a chatbot named Rose with a flirty personality. Rose provides recommendations for bars and restaurants inside The Cosmopolitan. It can also play games with you in case you’re getting bored. There are many other chatbots in hotels around the world, helping customers in several ways.

Data Processing and Analysis

The applications of AI are not limited to customer service alone. Artificial Intelligence can be used for data gathering and analysis. Using this data, various conclusions can be drawn about customers, pricing strategies, etc. It allows businesses within the industry to boost conversions and make better business plans.

AI can sort through massive amounts of data quickly and efficiently. The Dorchester Collection hotel chain has begun using AI to identify what their customers want. The AI system reads thousands of customer reviews online and finds out what matters to the customers. This process would generally take days if not weeks if it were to be done by a human. Implementation of AI will help make strategic decisions about guest behavior, and automate many processes to enhance business performance.

Increased Productivity

Aeromexico has been using Facebook Messenger bot to respond to basic user queries. The idea was to cater to 80 percent of the user questions which were repetitive such as “is there a charge for checking a bag?” The bot answers the queries with 500 common responses. No human interaction was required whatsoever. Airlines, in general, can benefit a lot from these bots. Lufthansa’s bot Mildred can help customers find the cheapest flights. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines also employs AI technology to respond to users’ queries on Twitter, Facebook, etc. It allows airlines to utilize their workforce for creative tasks that require human attention.

Online Reputation Management

People trust online reviews more than anything else. Therefore, it is essential to keep an eye on what customers have to say about your business. A negative review can hurt businesses. Using artificial intelligence, companies can monitor customer reviews, social media comments, and other mentions about the brand. Hotels and airlines can respond to negative feedback, observe the trends, and get a better idea about what the users want. This can be beneficial in boosting sales and profits.

AI is making our life so much easier. The day is not far when we don’t have to wait in queues at airport check-ins. The idea is to use AI wisely so that it helps humans in a variety of tasks within the travel ecosphere rather than replacing them.

Artificial Intelligence: The Future Of Travel Industry was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.