Travel and tourism companies across the globe are looking for every available tool to help them add new revenue streams and to stand out to cautious consumers as travel numbers inch their way closer to pre-pandemic levels. The answer to the challenge could very well already lie in the hands of their customers.
Global tourism arrivals are expected to increase by 30% in 2023, after a growth of 60% in 2022, although these numbers still remain below pre-pandemic levels. Business travel is also looking up with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), saying a poll had shown domestic business travel volume was back to 63% and international business travel is back to 50% of their 2019 levels. In addition, 26% of the poll’s respondents say their international business travel volume has bounced back to more than 70% of their company’s pre-pandemic levels.
While the outlook is certainly optimistic, the travel industry as a whole is fighting rising costs, thanks to inflation as well as weaker consumer spending, and so leaders will be looking for every advantage in the year to come. Business leaders must focus on attracting and retaining new customers by delivering exactly what they want, from the minute they begin dreaming about their next beach breakaway or planning a multi-stop business trip.
Understanding what your customer wants must be the first step
When it comes to offering standout customer service, organizations are increasingly turning to chat as a cornerstone of their omni-channel strategies. This is not surprising given our preference for using chat channels when we communicate with friends and family. Staying in our communication channel of choice when we engage with brands is a business no-brainer, and this is especially true when it comes to the travel and tourism industry.
Research from the 2022 Chat Commerce Trends Report shows that almost 89% of travelers prefer to speak to airlines over chat, 92% when it comes to communicating with hotels, and 85% with car rental companies.
Looking at how the various generations prefer to engage with travel organizations, the survey found that Gen Z (94%), Millennials (96%), and Gen X (88%), place mobile messaging as their top way to communicate, beating out email, phone support, and in-person. It makes sense for the younger generations to be more likely to turn to their mobiles as their primary means of communicating with businesses, but the travel survey found a surprisingly large number of Baby Boomers (77%), also wanted to use chat to engage with their travel company.
While we are not yet at the point of dispatching with the human element entirely, more and more travelers are keen to handle their bookings themselves, and then relying on chat for alerts to changes. The survey showed that only 8% said they wanted to digitally connect with a travel desk, with a majority wanting quick booking updates and personalized promotions through mobile messaging.
Travel customers are also quickly becoming accustomed to transacting within their favorite chat platform. And, while only 27% had previously made a purchase through a mobile payment link, 77% say they would be likely to do so in the future.
Using chat to avoid delays, strikes, and staffing issues in 2023
The summer holidays in 2022 saw some of the worst travel chaos in many a decade as airports, airlines, and other travel organizations struggled to upstaff after the upheaval of Covid shutdowns and layoffs. The Washington Post even went so far as to describe the situation in June as The Wild West.
This may sound like a blip on the radar, but every airline boss knows the challenges of a ground crew strike and when it comes to ensuring costumers are kept abreast of changes, chat must be the channel of choice.
When airlines offer text-based flight information such as booking confirmations, check-in notifications, boarding passes, flight changes, and other updates, passengers can immediately react and better plan their lives.
Great customer service allows travelers to check their phones at any time and access exactly the information they need. In addition, allowing passengers access to a self-service offering to check every variable of their journey, puts them in control of their travel experience. For example, an airline in South Africa already uses WhatsApp for customers to check flight status, to check-in, confirm checked luggage, receive their boarding pass, and even live-chat with airline customer service agents. It has also recently added pay-by-link technology that allows customers to skip queues by pre-paying for luggage. All of these practical, simple additions go a long way to making sure passengers are at the right place at the right time, keeping queues short and tempers low.
Upselling over chat opens new revenue opportunities
Chat Commerce offers travel organizations much more than the opportunity to deliver a streamlined customer journey. It also allows them to upsell services and products, delivering vital additional revenue.
Upselling over a known and trusted chat channel, like WhatsApp or iMessage, is as simple as sending a quick text message. This allows travel agents and airlines to offer seat upgrades or extra luggage. Some of the more forward-thinking travel companies are even using the service to suggest places to stay, including special offers and promotions.
It’s no surprise the use of chatbots in the booking phase have been warmly welcomed by travelers looking for quick and easy self-service experiences. In fact, a survey found that 87% of travelers would interact with a chatbot if they knew it could save them time and money, and 37% said they would actually prefer to use a bot over dealing with a human.
Tapping into all these benefits makes excellent sense to both CMO and CFO, but the beauty of Chat Commerce is that companies can have a transactional chat offering up and running with minimal disruption and in a matter of months thanks to enterprise-grade APIs – music to the ears of the CTOs too.
To sum up, the travel industry is making a strong recovery, but that doesn’t mean that there still aren’t some big challenges ahead. Making the most of every opportunity will mean ensuring travelers are delighted at every point of their journey; that they are more inclined to spend; and that they are more likely to support brands that engage on the digital channels they know and love. With Chat Commerce that is not only possible, but all the data available shows it is probable.
