NEWS
CONFERENCE Expedia Explore ’19: Online giant holds annual event in Las Vegas. Benjamin Coren reports
‘There is still a need for agents for complex travel’
T
he chief executive of online travel giant Expedia believes travel agents are
still needed when it comes to more-complex trips. Mark Okerstrom predicted a
growing use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the booking process – but believes there will continue to be a role for the human touch for “multi-leg” holidays. He said: “The bad news for
traditional agents was a long time ago. Travel agents have carved out a great place for themselves. There is still a need for them in places of complex travel, trips that are multi- leg with many stops or cruise, which
is very considered travel. I think there is still a role for travel agents in that space and you continue to see that.” Okerstrom pointed out
that Expedia owns 300-strong cruise franchise retailer Expedia CruiseShipCentres, which employs 7,000 agents in North America. “That’s a category where it’s a
very considered sale and offline travel agents continue to play a very important role,” he said. But Okerstrom said two out of
three of Expedia’s customers prefer text conversation over human interaction for simple requests. “The simple stuff has gone
online,” he said. “The customers texting us are making very simple
KIM: TECH CAN FREE AGENTS
Agents who use technology to automate operational processes will have more time to focus on offline human interaction. John Kim, group president, platform and marketplaces for Expedia
Group, said: “We can engage more if we use more of that technology and provide a higher level of support.” Kim said travel agents have a value proposition and if the mundane
tasks were taken away, they could add more value. He added that automation would enable agents to “focus on that offline interaction with customers as opposed to all of the logistical work it takes to run a travel agency”. “If anyone walked into a travel agency and
John Kim
saw the tasks agents do and what they pay people to do, there would be circles around a lot of things,” he said. “You’d think, my goodness, you pay people to do this? What if you could just decrease certain processes.”
requests: they want to make a booking or they want to make a change. We’re not in a spot yet where they want to take a trip to five countries and have all these activities to do.” He added: “The Net Promoter
Score for talking over text is twice what it is talking to a human. We have had 1.7 million virtual agent interactions and 50% of these had no human interactions.” Expedia sees around two billion daily data exchanges on its platform.
Mark Okerstrom
‘Travel industry can curb overtourism’
Expedia Group president Barry Diller says it’s up to the travel industry to curb overtourism. He said: “There are so many places in the world that are not over- crowded. Our job is to get people interested in [those] places.”
Expedia finds online travel consumers rate experiences more highly than lowest price
Expedia’s latest insights show travellers are open to inspiration when planning a trip online. A study of more than 1,000
people in 11 countries found travellers are indecisive and that seven out of 10 are open to seeking help in the planning stage. Wendy Olson Killion, vice
president of business development for Expedia Group Media Solutions, said: “Travel is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Motivations, influence preferences and behaviours vary by age and location. We know
12 21 NOVEMBER 2019
travellers are researching, so it’s a great opportunity for us to get messages about brands and destinations in front of them.” Te research also found travel
activities and experiences were increasingly important, followed by once-in-a-lifetime and cultural experiences. Tese were all rated as more important than lowest price. Killion said: “Tat is the heart
of travel and that is why we travel. It’s great for the industry as lowest price is not the top; it is a race to the top of activities and experiences.”
travelweekly.co.uk
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