0cm;background:white">Agents should start managing their
client relationships as an algorithm would, according to Robyn Christie, ex Travelport SA country manager and owner of Just
Saying.
0cm;background:white">Robyn was speaking to eTNW after
Google travel specialist, Benedicte
Conway’s suggested the travel trade
mirror innovators such as Netflix by making use of AI and Big Data technologies.
0cm;background:white">Benedicte said: “80% of what is watched on Netflix comes from
recommendations the streaming service suggests to users, which is based on a
user’s behaviour online and things they have watched previously.” She added that
because consumers saw it in one industry, they expected it from another. “That
creates a massive opportunity for us in travel to jump on that and start
showing more tailored, personalised content to our consumers.”
0cm;background:white">However, in the SA market, barriers to
entry make it difficult to capitalize on this technology. Robyn said: “Many local
agencies that don’t have the scale, or capital, to justify making large
investments in AI and Big Data. These agencies need to take every opportunity
to use human resources to source information about their clients, consolidate
it, and proactively market personalised products. In this way, they will have
the advantage of not only making use of data to personalise packages, but also
going further than the technology can by providing the valued ‘human touch’.”
0cm;background:white">She added that packages that did not
have a personal touch were often ‘over commercialised’ and failed to meet the
client’s experiential and ethical requirements.
0cm;background:white">Mary Shilleto,
11.0pt;font-family:" calibri mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin italic>ceo of Thompsons Travel, agreed that clients were more attracted to
businesses that offered a comprehensive understanding of their needs and likes.
“I too believe that personalised product demands create immediate
gratification. AI and Big Data gives the trade the power to predict what
consumers want and use that to up our value proposition. The theme of the XL Travel
Group’s 2018 conference was ‘keep up or become irrelevant’, and I think
Benedicte’s message emphasises the relevance of this theme. Agencies must
invest in personalisation or risk becoming irrelevant.”
