New Research Uncovers UK Customer Dissatisfaction Across Travel Digital Channels
New research on the travel sector has found that 56% of UK airline passengers report that they spend more time than they want using digital channels to plan and book flights. Similarly, 47% of UK hotel guests report that they spend too much time planning and booking a hotel stay.
Of the UK travellers surveyed, 70% reported that they would like to receive personalized offers from travel sellers, and 75% reported they are comfortable sharing personal data if it will help them save money or have better journeys. However, despite this, just 18% say they receive offers that reflect their interests, travel behaviors, or stage in their lives. This is despite the travel sector being one of the pioneering e-commerce sectors and one of the largest digital commerce sectors globally.
The research was undertaken in 2019 by Atmosphere Research Group, a San Francisco, California-based travel industry market research firm. The research has been published in a new thought leadership report, which sets out the need for airlines and hotels to enter the era of complete retailing to distinguish their brands from their competitors, make their digital channels more compelling, and strengthen their customer experience if they want to become the ‘Amazon’s of travel‘.
The report ‘Maximizing Revenue across the Traveller’s Journey’ was commissioned by Ireland’s trade and innovation agency, Enterprise Ireland, a significant seed investor in travel tech companies. Having created industries like aircraft leasing and duty-free shopping, Ireland’s uniquely concentrated and collaborative ecosystem comprises of over 100 travel tech companies, spanning global giants to rapidly scaling niche players. The report finds that airlines, hotels and travel sellers are increasingly looking to travel tech companies to build out their ancillary product strategies and boost profits. flight and hotel packages
The travel industry thought leader and author of the report, Henry Harteveldt from Atmosphere Research Group, said, “The travel technology world is thriving, but poor digital experiences weaken the joy of travel and weaken the potential profitability of travel retailers. Entering the era of complete retailing is the next frontier for travel retailers, where they are dynamically creating and selling relevant, personalized, and appealing offers to travellers. Cloud and machine learning technologies that deliver data-driven responsive technologies will be core to this.”
“Groundbreaking travel tech companies are already delivering new generations of nimble and responsive technologies that are helping travel sellers maximize sales opportunities spanning every traveler’s journey and enter the era of complete retailing,”
added Henry Harteveldt.
CarTrawler, for example, provides the technology for airlines to offer car rentals, private airport transfers, and on-demand ride-hailing services at more than 50,000 locations in 174 countries. Working with more than 100 airlines, CarTrawler expands the airline’s offering to their customers, creating substantial ancillary revenues. Data is at the core of their offering; they use data effectively to tailor offers to increase the potential of a traveler making a purchase. In CarTrawler’s first year of working with SWISS and Vueling, each airline saw its car rental conversion increase by 151% and 298%, respectively.
Boxever, the data and personalization firm working with major airlines around the world, has been one of the pioneers in harnessing the strengths of data, AI, and machine learning to help airlines such as Emirates, Ryanair, and Volaris use their data better and offer smart, effective personalization to improve conversion rates and average order value.
Hostelworld helps hostels worldwide especially catering to Millennial and Generation Z guests, offer a competitive retailing solution with their property management system software. As well as managing occupancy, the software is configured to sell ancillary services online, helping hostels improve guest experience, reduce operating costs, and drive ancillary sales.
Maire P. Walsh, SVP Digital Technologies, Enterprise Ireland said
“The travel industry’s demand for market-proven innovative solutions that support the complete retailing agenda is high, and are increasingly looking to Ireland’s strong cluster of travel technology companies for the solutions. Reflecting this demand, Enterprise Ireland’s portfolio of travel tech companies had combined international sales of close to €0.5bn in 2018.”
The travel tech thought leadership paper can be downloaded here: https://irishadvantage.com/travel-tech-whitepaper
About Ireland’s travel tech industry flight and hotel packages
Ireland is world-renowned as a technology, talent, and innovation hub. Our nation of pioneers has spawned a thriving travel tech industry and has firmly placed Ireland as a leading travel tech hub that fosters innovation and is home to proven expertise and talent.
There are now over 100 travel tech companies that employ over 3,500 people. Companies like CarTrawler, Datalex, and Hostelworld, which started with small and very ambitious beginnings, are now recognized as global industry leaders and have helped pave the way for a new crop of travel tech startups. Ireland is also home to major offices of international travel companies such as Airbnb, Travelport, and TripAdvisor.
