NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
are improving the customer experience, making them convert a little bit faster. Higher conversion leads to higher customer loyalty and the ability to attract more.” Comtec chief executive Mike
Russell echoed the warning that it is possible to “drop the ball” when adopting new technology. He said firms should help customers in the decision- making process by blending technology with human intelligence. “There is such an abundance
of information it’s important that you can navigate it. It’s about getting what the customer wants as quick as you can. The best results come through blending an artificially generated recommendation set with human market nouse.” Technology giant and global distribution system Sabre Travel Network predicted voice recognition technologies will enable virtual agents to replicate what humans can do. But Joakim Everstin, head
of innovation, said virtual agents will augment rather than replace their human counterparts. “You can teach a machine to do common tasks, but when it comes to travel it’s so complex I don’t think we can create a virtual travel agent. “However, I think we can help the travel industry create a service that could serve maybe 80% of cases.” Binse agreed that technology is augmenting agents, not replacing them, and that job creation is being led by new business models. “What exponential growth in
technology does is turn scarce resources into something which is abundant,” he said. “Computerisation is not
going to kill jobs. It’s going to enhance them and augment the capability of human beings.”
TRAVOLUTION SUMMIT 2015: Smartphones, data and fake reviews
On the panel with Travel Weekly’s Lee Hayhurst (left) are Olivier Binse, Deloitte Digital; Joakim Everstin, Sabre Travel Network; and Mike Russell, Comtec
Marieke Flament
Smartphones predicted to be main booking channel
Firms in the future will be increasingly defined by those who play by the rules of customer data privacy and those who flout them.
Criteo’s head of travel product, Daniele Beccari, outlined how mobile would transform the travel sector over the next decade. He predicted that smartphones
would become the main channel for transactions in years to come. “We will all be connected to
many devices, which will generate a humongous amount of data,” he said. “It is going to get complex
for users to pay attention to a key message in all the noise. The answer is relevancy, which personalisation is part of. “We used to have a notion of
[customer] segments, but this relies on stereotypes. You will hear less about segments and more about users.” Beccari warned that increased
access to personalisation technology would lead to more user-protection issues. “We have already seen
regulators stepping in to make regulations stricter,” he said.
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travelweekly.co.uk 10 December 2015 DANIELE BECCARI: ‘A humungous amount of data will be generated’
“It’s not about having a mobile strategy, it’s about being mobile-first”
“More and more data is
being classified as personally identifiable information. Penalties for merchants who abuse data are going to increase. “We will also see the emergence
of two different tactics: merchants that stay in line with regulations
and others that will try to do everything to grab personal data and abuse it.” Marieke Flament,
Hotel.com’s
vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “Today, one in three of our bookings is made on a smartphone. We predict that by 2018 it will be half. “It’s not about having a mobile strategy, it’s about being mobile‑first. In the next year, apps need to become better. “That’s where the game is going
to be because apps are where you find your most loyal customers.”
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