Modern travelers have a wide variety of options for researching flights, accommodations and car rentals, but whether they begin the process on a website, mobile app, via a chatbot or digital assistant, they expect their preferences and information to smoothly and seamlessly transfer to the final booking stage, often with a live agent.
Integrating customers’ data across multiple touchpoints and channels continues to be a top challenge but it is one that has become a priority within the travel industry. Hotels, airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs) are enhancing their booking platforms to cater to the wants and needs of travelers by delivering high-tech efficiency and high-touch personal interactions.
As more consumers turn to OTAs for the convenience of one-stop shopping, travel and hospitality companies are likewise seeking to build customer loyalty through end-to-end bookings that add tours, activities and restaurant reservations to the travel + accommodations formula.
As travelers’ itineraries become more robust, leading-edge brands are integrating AI technology and analytics to deliver personalized pricing and recommendations for destinations, accommodations and activities based on an individual’s preferences and previous travel history.
While technology is key to optimizing the personalization process, the human touch is vital for closing the deal, especially when it comes to bespoke experiences. Today’s vacation travelers in particular prefer unique packages curated by a skilled professional who understands their needs, is knowledgeable about local venues and who can provide concierge-type services. More brands are ensuring that live customer service agents are on hand to deliver this essential one-to-one human connection.
In the travel industry, the booking process is one of the most critical touchpoints in the consumers’ experience, and it often makes or breaks the trip for travelers. The reservations call center agent is typically the one human connection that consumers can turn to when travel plans don’t go as predicted. Top customer service challenges for travel industry reservations operations include:
CustomerServ’s travel and reservations call center vendors provide best-in-class sales and support to:
CustomerServ’s travel and reservations call center vendors provide the following services: