There’s a new platform due to fully launch sometime this year, which plans to compete head-on with TMCs in the SMME corporate travel space.
Named Otto, it’s an AI-powered platform which says it’s designed to help small businesses and startups streamline their travel bookings. Otto claims it autonomously plans, books, and manages the traveller’s travel, even mid-trip.
Otto has been designed to be a “virtual travel agent” for planning and booking business trips, and it claims the ability to provide support during trips if flights or plans change. Otto’s CEO says it will also design a travel policy. Users will be able to prompt all of this with normal language.
“Otto fills a market gap for small businesses that can’t afford the expensive travel management services built for large enterprises,” says the website.
Otto has a Beta version currently trialling on its site but aims to launch fully during the current year.
“Whether you’re booking flights, reserving hotels, or adjusting travel plans on the go, our AI-powered assistant does the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters,” says the site.
The site, www.ottotheagent.com lists among its key benefits:
“Smart personalisation” - the AI learns the user’s travel habits and suggests the best options based on past bookings.
“Easy flight and hotel booking” - the AI finds the best options based on the traveller’s past preferences and patterns.
“Simple calendar integration” - Otto syncs with the traveller’s calendar (Google, Microsoft, and Apple) to suggest optimal travel plans.
Otto will remember user preferences, suggest alternatives automatically, and will involve human agents only when necessary, says the site.
The founder and CEO of Otto is Michael Gulmann, former senior VP consumer products for Expedia Group, and former chief product officer and head of marketing at Egencia.
Gulmann told www.skift.com that Otto’s focus would be on the “unmanaged” sector of corporate travel – small businesses and individuals which don’t have a TMC. He added that cost structure would be “compelling” for small businesses.
One effect of this type of technology is that given enough users, it has the potential to break the power of the big OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia and others, according to Max Niederhofer, venture capitalist and technology commentator. In a Linkedin post, he points out that the OTAs, (whose power lies in the vast marketplaces of content they have aggregated), are likely to be bypassed by this type of AI assistant, which can go instantly, directly to a range of hotels that meet client preference.
He also points out that AI travel assistants could also be used by agents to better service their clients.
“Consider this scenario: instead of visiting Booking.com, you ask your personal travel advisor or their AI assistant to find the best boutique hotel in Rome for your dates. Your advisor, enabled by AI, scours the web for direct listings, emails smaller hotels, and makes calls if needed. What was once a necessity to ensure access to a wide range of options becomes optional, as AI handles the discovery and booking process independently. And what's more: since your travel advisor goes directly to the hotel, they can get upgrades, perks, or discounts which are not publicly available on the OTAs,” says Niederhofer in the Linkedin post last December.
