Customer Experience in the Travel Industry

Customer experience in the travel industry refers to the overall quality of interactions and services travelers encounter during their journeys. This encompasses everything from booking processes to actual travel experiences. It’s crucial as it directly impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the industry’s reputation. Excellent customer experience drives repeat business, positive reviews, and, ultimately, profitability for travel-related businesses.

Key Takeaways

  • Smart Rooms: Voice recognition technology is used to control room features, offering an enhanced guest experience.
  • Chatbots & AI: Provide rapid, 24/7 customer service and automated booking processes.
  • Personalization Marketing: Targeted promotional content based on user data, increasing relevance and engagement.
  • Mobile Check-In/Out: Enables efficient, contactless processes for guest convenience.
  • Feedback Systems: Collects real-time customer feedback for service improvement.
  • Cultural Training: Enhances staff’s ability to cater to diverse clientele.
  • Virtual Reality: Enables customers to explore destinations and accommodations virtually.
  • Augmented Reality: Provides interactive, real-time information to enhance travel experiences.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and others in the travel industry prioritize the customer experience as one of the most effective competitive differentiators. Indeed, companies that deliver in this area are more likely to generate customer loyalty and build positive reputations. In this article, you will find eight of the most effective ways for those in the tourism industry to improve customer experience.

8 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience

Below are some of the popular ways how to improve customer experience in the travel industry with technology.

1. Smart Rooms

One of the growing customer experience trends in the hotel sector of the travel industry is the use of voice recognition technology to create ‘smart rooms’. Essentially, these allow guests to control various aspects of the room through simple voice commands, making the experience more convenient.

One of the best-known examples is Alexa for Hospitality, an Amazon service that Marriott is already using. Smart speakers are included in hotel rooms, and guests can communicate with them to ask questions, find information, and turn other devices in the room on or off.

Do you want to learn how to transform a hotel room into smart hotel room? Read the article “Ways to Transform a Hotel Room Into a Smart Room”.

Customer Experience - Smart Rooms

2. Chatbots & Artificial Intelligence

With modern advances in artificial intelligence, computer systems or machines can now perform functions that traditionally require direct human involvement. This can greatly benefit businesses of all varieties within the tourism industry because it allows for far greater automation.

One significant example is chatbots, which can be used by hotels, travel agents, and airlines to provide 24/7 customer service or fully automated booking processes. In terms of customer experience, the chief advantage of this is rapid response times, meaning customers will receive swift answers, even in the middle of the night.

According to the Chatbot Market Report by Precedence Research, the global chatbot market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.29% until 2032.  Find more detailed information and examples about artificial intelligence use cases in the travel industry in the article “How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Travel Industry”.

3. Personalization Marketing

The basic premise behind personalization marketing is to deliver more targeted promotional content to users. This is usually achieved through data collection and automated digital algorithms, which allow content to be distributed to specific users who have specific interests and browsing habits or who fall into specific demographics.

As a result, promotional content is more relevant to individuals, and this can be particularly important within the travel industry. For instance, it might mean that a user who has browsed a particular hotel website will see adverts for that hotel on social media. However, it can also allow companies to target their content to more specific demographics too. Taxi firms, for instance, might target those located within a particular airport or city.

Find more detailed information and examples about personalization marketing use cases in the travel industry in the article “Ways Personalisation Marketing is Used in the Travel Industry”.

Customer Experience - Personalization Marketing

4. Virtual Reality

Over the past few years, virtual reality technology has grown significantly, and VR headsets are now a mainstream consumer product. This gives those within the tourism industry a great opportunity because VR can virtually transform a user’s surroundings, effectively placing them in a different environment.

The potential uses for this are almost endless. Some online travel agents are using the technology to allow customers to experience hotel rooms before booking them, while other travel companies have developed virtual experiences, which enable a guest to get an idea of what it feels like to be at a major tourist attraction. Other examples might include interactive virtual maps, VR hotel tours, or 360 videos to present a resort, cruise ship, or tourism destination upfront.

According to the Virtual Reality Market Report by Fortune Business Insights, the global virtual reality market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 31% until 2030. Find more detailed information and examples about how virtual reality can benefit your business in the article “How Virtual Reality is Transforming the Travel Industry”.

5. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is similar to VR, although it is more accessible to the average customer and requires only a smartphone and a relevant app. Rather than fully replacing a user’s surroundings, however, augmented reality is instead concerned with enhancing real-world environments through overlays.

For those in the travel industry, the main way this can improve the customer experience is by providing additional information. For example, a travel app might allow users to point their phone at a landmark and find out more about it or point their phone at a restaurant and see customer reviews and hygiene ratings.

Find more detailed information and examples about how augmented reality can benefit your business in the article “How Augmented Reality is Revolutionising the Travel Industry”.

6. The Internet of Things

Internet connectivity within everyday devices, commonly referred to as ‘the Internet of Things’, has been a major disruptor within the travel and tourism industry. Businesses looking to deliver in terms of customer experience can use such capabilities to add to the convenience, maximize comfort, and even pre-empt the need for repairs.

In hotels, devices can be configured to detect and respond to conditions in real-time, meaning temperature and light can be regulated automatically. All industries can see live information about the operating status of devices, allowing for swift repairs, while the IoT can also enable location-based services.

Find more detailed information about the ‘Internet of Things’ in the travel industry in the article “How the Internet of Things (IoT) Can Benefit the Travel Industry”.

Table: Advantages of IoT in the Travel Industry for Customer Experience

Customer Need IoT Solutions Outcome for Customer Experience
Comfort Automated temperature and lighting control in hotel rooms. Personalized room environments increase guest satisfaction and comfort.
Convenience Smart locks for keyless room entry; IoT-enabled check-in and check-out processes. Streamlines processes, reducing wait times and enhancing convenience.
Seamless Travel IoT-connected luggage tags and tracking systems. Minimizes lost luggage incidents and provides real-time tracking for travelers.
Personalization Room preferences (e.g., lighting, temperature) are set via an app before arrival. Creates a tailored experience, making guests feel valued and understood.
Safety and Security Wearables for guests that monitor the location and vital signs during activities. Enhances guest safety and provides peace of mind during travel activities.
Real-time Information Mobile apps integrated with IoT devices provide local guides and information. Offers up-to-date, location-based content, improving the travel experience.
Efficient Transportation IoT-enabled navigation and transport updates for optimized travel routes. Reduces travel time and anxiety with real-time updates and suggestions.

7. Robots

Another major technological trend emerging within all industries is the increased use of robotics, which can also drastically improve the customer experience. In the tourism industry, in particular, robots can play a number of roles, from security robots to robots offering services within hotels.

Japan has produced one of the most notable examples of a robotics-enabled customer experience, with the Henn-na Hotel being entirely robot-staffed, from check-in robots to robotic luggage porters. Robots can also enhance security at airports and airlines by detecting weapons and bomb disposal. Some companies have even produced robotic travel cases, removing the need for cases to be carried.

Find more detailed information and examples about robot use cases in the travel industry in the article “Robots in the Travel Industry: Real-World Examples”.

8. User-Generated Content

Finally, user-generated content refers to any content produced by users or customers rather than the business. Within the travel industry, one of the most obvious examples is images uploaded to social media websites by users. These can be highly influential because they often represent customer opinion.

For those in the tourism industry, the trick is to find ways to allow customers to create user-generated content that adds to their experience while also serving as positive word-of-mouth marketing. Many tourist attractions, for example, achieve this through branded photo booths, which allow customers to capture moments from their visit and upload them to social media easily, complete with a logo or some other form of subtle branding.

Customer Experience in Travel FAQs

CX in travel stands for Customer Experience, which refers to the sum of all interactions and experiences a traveler has with a travel service provider, from planning and booking to the actual travel and post-trip services.

The customer journey experience in travel is a traveler’s complete experience with a service, from the initial search and booking process to the travel itself and post-travel interactions, encompassing all touchpoints and interactions.

Experience is important in tourism because it directly affects the traveler’s satisfaction, memories, and likelihood to recommend or return. Positive experiences can enhance reputation, encourage loyalty, and significantly contribute to the success of tourism destinations and businesses.

A customer journey maps all the steps a customer goes through when engaging with a company, highlighting opportunities for improving customer experience (CX). In CX strategy, understanding the journey helps tailor services and interactions to meet customer needs and expectations.

Customer experience and hospitality are related but not the same. Customer experience encompasses all aspects of a customer’s interaction with a company, while hospitality focuses specifically on the relationship and service provided in the travel and accommodation sectors.

It is essential for those in the travel industry to prioritize the customer experience, and the businesses that excel in this area can often gain a significant competitive advantage over rivals. The eight ways listed in this article can help tourism companies deliver a greater experience and reap the rewards.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten
Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. I am specialized in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have over 15 years of experience developing, implementing, and managing revenue management and marketing strategies and processes for individual properties and multi-properties.