Technology empowering travellers

19 November 2009

Whether their trip is for business or pleasure, travellers expect highly personalised and positive experiences through all stages of their journey. Lindsay James speaks to three technology providers to find out about the solutions that are putting information in the hands of the customer.

How has technology changed the travel experience over recent times?
Theresa Heinz, NCR Travel: Self-service technology has revolutionised the travel experience by giving travellers more control as it has in other industries. Self-service provides faster, more convenient options for travellers to purchase tickets, check in for flights or make changes at the airport without having to wait in line.

Tyler Davey, Infusion Development: More than ever, travel is about a connected experience. Customers expect to be able to search for travel, book, view, and modify their plans on any device at any time. They want to have access to their journey plans from the home. Furthermore, they want to arrive at their destination and have access to familiar technologies.

Self-service technologies can help hospitality and travel providers build stronger relationships with their customers by empowering them to control, customise and enhance their travel experience

Theresa Heinz, NCR Travel On the flip side, and resulting from this competitive environment, we have more access to better vendors and suppliers to up-sell and cross-sell in different areas. Between these partnerships and the demands of customers, we work to deliver a complete connected experience.

Heidi West, Agilysys: Technology has changed the travel experience by empowering consumers. This has come about through universal Internet access to both travel and destination-related sites, and to traveller review sites. Prior to travel, today’s consumer wants to exercise individual choice, enjoy the level of independence that comes from having all possible details at the touch of a key, be able to purchase services that combine keen pricing and optimum value, and be able to dedicate only the minimum of time to gratifying the need or objective.

None of this would be possible without the Internet. This technology, more than any other, has changed the travel experience. Importantly, too, advances in technology and the development of specialist hospitality solution from vendors such as Agilysys have enabled hoteliers to rise to the seemingly contradictory challenges of providing highly-individual customer service whilst introducing business automation and increased efficiency, all at an affordable cost.

What do travellers expect now that they wouldn’t have five or ten years ago?
TH: With the growth of self-service technology in the airline industry, travellers now expect that same level of time-saving convenience and flexibility throughout every step of their journey, including at hotels and car rental agencies. In fact, the NCR 2009 Global Self-Service Consumer Survey shows that 82 per cent of consumers are more likely to use a travel company that provides self-service solutions over a company that does not.

TD: Everyone wants the best of the best and they want to be able to get it fast while they compare rates and times online for example. Second, travellers expect everything ready for when they arrive at their destination. With today’s technology at their disposal, travellers expect their car to be ready and equipped with a navigation system. Upon arrival at the hotel, they expect access to computers, printers, Xbox, and Microsoft Surface devices. Further to that, they also expect concierge applications that make navigating a new city simple – all with less of a paper trail.

HW: Online booking is a given, but travellers expect to take this a step further. They want to reserve a room, book tables for dining with their preferences noted, book spa, health club or golf range sessions, and make travel arrangements: all at the same time, on the same account, resulting in a single bill. Travellers also expect to make their bookings in an informed way, having researched online peer reviews and travel information. Many people would now not make a booking without first consulting Tripadvisor. So, not only is it mandatory that a hotel or leisure destination has a Web site, it must also be aware of the power of customer reviews, positive and negative, in influencing future visitor traffic.

Once they arrive at their destination, travellers now look for a much more personal service. They demand to be treated as individuals, with their requirements and preferences noted and fulfilled. For the hotelier, this means storing customer details and special requests so they can be applied to the next visit. Recording the room selected when travellers last stayed for an anniversary, or the choice of champagne, flowers and dining table that made their stay special, means that the hotel can anticipate their desires without being prompted.

What challenges do hospitality and travel providers face in meeting their customers’ expectations?
TH: With consumers carefully choosing how and where they spend their money, hospitality and travel providers are under increased pressure to enhance the consumer travel experience at no or low cost, attract and retain customers and differentiate themselves from their competition.

TD: While it might sound clichéd, it’s imperative to be on the cutting-edge and have a unique offering. A big part of what Infusion does in the tourism and hospitality industry is educate franchise owners on what is possible so they can invest in and build a more connected experience. From a service provider perspective, it’s very important for us to perform research that lets travel and hospitality industry leaders make informed choices and mediate content as it is presented to the customer.

HW: Relative affluence over recent decades has resulted in most UK homes being well decorated and well equipped. Whilst seeking keenly priced accommodation, today’s travellers expect hotels to match the level of comfort, décor and equipment that they enjoy at home. That necessitates a high level of investment in infrastructure and equipment on the part of hoteliers, including in-room technology. Even budget hotels now commonly provide high levels of comfort and basic quality in a modern environment, so it behoves the hotelier with 4 stars and above to deliver exceptional comfort, state-of-the-art fittings and AV/communications equipment, and a really personalised service.

How is technology enabling hospitality and travel providers to meet these challenges?
TH: Self-service technologies can help hospitality and travel providers build stronger relationships with their customers by empowering them to control, customise and enhance their travel experience. It can also attract and retain customers, shorten wait times, speed up transaction times, alleviate congestion, enhance the customer experience, lower operational costs and drive profitability.

TD: New technologies today focus heavily on a combination of innovation and return on investment. More cost effective innovation is the name of the game. This is where the Microsoft technology stack excels with ideas like Dynamics, Experience Lounges, and the ability to adopt new solutions that are out of the box or fully customisable to meet an organisation’s needs. It does not take as significant an investment as in the past and the returns are more immediate.

HW: To combine exceptional efficiency and customised service, real-time data access is critical. Hospitality operations are complex and multi-faceted so there must be integration between all the elements of technology that the hotelier or resort owner is using. These elements span reservations, property management, inventory and procurement, point-of-service, food service, leisure bookings, guest history, sales and catering, housekeeping and accounting. The data held within them needs to be accessible in a fast, accurate and flexible way, derived as meaningful business intelligence that can drive informed decisions.

How do you see the travel experience evolving in the years to come? TH: We anticipate a growing reliance on multi-channel self-service solutions in the airline, car rental and lodging industries, enabling travellers to check in, make changes and purchase amenities and upgrades from a self-service kiosk, online interface or mobile device for anytime, anywhere convenience.

HW: We expect life in the future to be no less fast-paced than it is today, so convenience will continue to be prized. Responding to this, we see self-service kiosks in hotels becoming more prevalent. Predicting this trend, Guest 360 PMS by Agilysys is a cross-database, cross-platform property management system that utilises service oriented architecture to provide a scalable and flexible solution for hotels and resorts of all sizes as well as for multi-hotel operations. Within it is Guest Hub, a centralised guest profile. The result is a solution that provides a true 360-degree view of the guest. The Guest Express Kiosk module expedites front-desk check in and check out. Using this kiosk, guests can check in, encode a room key, check out and obtain a receipt, all without having to wait at the front desk. An internal printer produces both a registration slip and a guest folio. Real-time monitoring alerts hotel staff when paper and key cards are low, and operational settings are controlled from locations the hotel chooses.