Travel Forward
In 2014, voice search traffic accounted for a negligible proportion of all search traffic, but as of 2018 it accounts for more than 10%. Research specialist Phocuswright considers some of the challenges and opportunities for the travel and hospitality sector
Getting your voice heard V
oice is going mainstream as an important human/ computer interface at an extraordinary pace, and
the implications for travel planning, booking, and servicing are profound. Voice has the potential to drastically alter the search landscape and give more power to the companies that control the major platforms. Factors behind this rapid rise include the accelerating evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which are pushing natural language recognition rates to surpass that of humans. This breakthrough in recognition rates is fuelling the growth and popularity of new product categories such as digital assistants, chatbots and automated concierges, and most recently standalone smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Google, Amazon, Apple, Baidu and other global tech leaders also consider voice to be a major growth opportunity after the web and mobile.
Need for speed
The primary benefit of voice to consumers is input speed. Voice is ultimately a gateway to text, as it has to be converted to text for processing, and since humans can speak much faster than they can type, voice is simply a faster way to begin a query.
Thus, voice is ideal for input (as long as privacy isn’t a concern, as you may not want to vocalise a sensitive query when other people are nearby) but receiving output via voice is not as straightforward, especially for common travel scenarios. At the moment, voice
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Smart speakers are becoming more and more commonplace
output works best when the use case is highly contextual and warrants a specific answer. Pure voice output – the default way of receiving information on standalone smart speakers – still has a long way to go for open-ended and typically visual-use cases in travel, especially planning, searching and booking. After 20-plus years of planning travel online, we are so used to being able to sort and filter our flights and hotels on a screen that attempting to use voice-only feels like taking a big step backward. In the short-term, the lack of visuals is being addressed by the launch of smart speakers with screens, such as Amazon’s Echo Show, the use of voice input in smartphones and tablet apps and even desktop, and the first efforts to marry smart speakers to smart TVs. In the long-term, it may involve our digital assistants getting to know us so well that a visual review of information may no longer be necessary. It’s worth noting that
Google Home is a leader in the fi eld
voice works well as a supplement to chat (and chatbots) in that each can provide consumers with more direct lines of communication with brands, and can give them access to information, options and answers faster than digging through a website or app.
Each has its time and place. For example, when sending a post-stay survey a chat message may cut through the clutter better than an email, while a voice prompt could feel intrusive.
The key issue at hand for travel brands is surfaced by the fact that Google and Amazon and
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WHERE IS, OR WHERE COULD WE SOON SEE, VOICE USED IN TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY?
Calling a ride: Uber is the most popular skill or action on Alexa and Google Assistant, and Lyft is number two on Alexa. Calling a ride can work well because there is usually high-context – a specifi c location (where the user is now), and a specifi c time (asap).
Other local transportation: Checking train or bus times, and even booking a ticket, works well via voice: there are set schedules and it’s a low-risk purchase.
In hotel rooms: Guests are starting to expect to be able to use voice in-room, just like they do at home, and hotel brands are already rolling out voice solutions that work.
In holiday rentals: In an interview with Phocuswright, Drew Patterson, president at Properly, said Amazon’s Echo Show could be used for a holiday rental customer to have a face-to-face conversation with a property manager, making voice a way to help holiday rentals compete with hotels.
Customer service: Voice is already being used by travel brands to supplement the conversations consumers are having via chatbots, automating the answering of questions.
Repeat booking for business travellers: If someone is booking the same fl ight and hotel frequently, they don’t need to see details to confi rm the next booking (e.g. simply say “repeat my booking from last week”).
Booking last-minute hotels: This is a scenario that has the context necessary for a positive voice experience – a specifi c location and timeframe (typically “the city I’m in now, for tonight”).
Tracking fl ights and checking fl ight status: Some airline brands are already allowing consumers to track fl ights and check the status of arrivals, departure, delays and cancellations via smart speakers.
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