SPECIAL REPORT
OUR PANEL OF TECHNOLOGY SECTOR EXPERTS
GEORGE
DUMITRU FOUNDER
AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE,
WEB.TRAVEL
MANUEL HILTY
CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NEZASA
ANDY KEELEY
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, INTUITIVE
JON PICKLES CHIEF
OPERATING OFFICER, KAPTIO TRAVEL
SIMON
POWELL CHIEF
EXECUTIVE, INSPIRETEC
CRESSIDA SERGEANT CHIEF
COMMERCIAL OFFICER,
TRAVELTEK
themselves. The ability for the customer to make changes to their booking without having to call has been highlighted due to the high number of booking cancellations and rebookings. However, it’s important not to forget that many customers prefer that an agent does it for them, so it’s important to give the agent the customer insight and tooling they need to do this for them. Manuel: There are various areas where the pandemic has either accelerated technological development or even demanded new technologies to appear. Some examples are chatbots for being able to provide 24/7 customer service; contactless services in hotels, airports etc; more focus on online GLVWULEXWLRQ DQG VXSSRUW IRU flH[LEOH booking and cancellation options throughout the whole value chain. Cressida: One of the largest areas of change for travel will be in payments. Covid-19 has highlighted both the LQHIfiFLHQF\ DQG FRPSOH[LW\ RI SD\PHQW processing. In other sectors, payment providers handle things like commission, supplier payments and refunds, which is cost-effective for all parties. This is not only a cost-saving area for travel companies, but customers will come to expect the
“THE PANDEMIC HAS BOTH ACCELERATED TECH DEVELOPMENT AND DEMANDED NEW TECHNOLOGIES”
payment options they have available to them when purchasing other products through options like Klarna and PayPal. Jon: It really depends on the type of WUDYHO fiUP 27$V QHHG PRUH RQOLQH LQIR and a way to reach a high volume of customers. Even low-cost holiday clients need reassurance, so it’s essential that during the customer buying cycle they have the information they need. OTAs tend to have the tech they need, so it’s relatively low-cost to implement FAQs and explain travel rules and regulations. For the low-volume, high-price luxury end of the market, it’s much more high-touch, so FAQs and chatbots will not be enough. Empowering agents to have the information they
QHHG DW WKHLU fiQJHUWLSV LV HVVHQWLDO KHUH Andy: Client self-serve, cancellation and amendment portals and apps with flH[LEOH SD\PHQW PRGHOV 7KLV LV ZKHUH fiQWHFK HQWUDQWV LQWR WUDYHO ZLOO ORRN WR gain some advantage. George: Companies that previously ignored their online and mobile presence needed to rapidly bring it up to date as people were not using the front door to visit their businesses. WordPress is now powering around 40% of all websites in the world and close to two-thirds of the CMS (content management system) only sites.
Q. WHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR TRAVEL COMPANIES THAT HAVE MORE-LIMITED IT BUDGETS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BUT WHICH STILL WANT TO INNOVATE? Cressida: Inhouse-built systems are rarely scalable and often more costly than businesses realise to support and maintain. Take a cold, hard look at all costs associated with your technology today and this also means the LQHIfiFLHQW SURFHVVHV LQ \RXU EXVLQHVV $ modular technology platform can be a modest investment and then you can invest more over time – you don’t
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TRAVOLUTION.CO.UK — SEPTEMBER 2021 — 9
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