Innovations and technology in Travel are basically all over the places becoming the main tools of our daily life. When it comes to traveling the world we are experiencing one massive change and maybe we don’t even know. The Hi-tech world really has to deal with this new digital perspective and use tourists really want to rely on as they do in their everyday life. Even when they are abroad. This is the reason why today we want to learn something more about the must-have technology of 2018. Let’s see which are the hottest trends for a higher level customer experience.
MOBILE KEYS IN HOTELS
Are the hotel’s magnetic keys close to their extinction? Soon they could be replaced by the new smartphone technology. Hotel chains like Hilton and Louvre are introducing new Bluetooth systems that allow guests to unlock their room’s doors simply by pushing a button on their mobile and according to experts, “mobile keys” will be used as the standard in hotels within five years. So this is an important huge technological adaptation through an instrument that we always have with us: the smartphone. The more forward-thinking hotels are already adapting to the new that is advancing and making the guests’ experience even more enjoyable.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already taken the travel and hotel industries and will keep going strong in 2018. The booking engines of the future could really leverage IA to offer better booking experiences for their customers. Using sophisticated learning models, they could collect and analyze usage data from the booking engine to configure the parameters in the most efficient way possible, while personalizing the experience for the end user. It is important for hotels to find out as much information as possible about travelers so that they can tailor offers to the specific needs of each potential customer.
As it is easy to imagine, an AI can be extremely useful in this case; not only can it analyze a large amount of data collected more quickly, it can also automate some of the actions resulting from the analysis. Virtual assistants are already a reality, but they will only improve in the coming years. When this happens, travelers will definitely have more power to manage their travels. They will be able to search and compare travel options with very specific criteria, receiving answers almost instantly. This means that hotels will have to respond with AI capable of satisfying the very specific needs of potential guests, showing themselves to be extremely flexible in the offer of packages, rooms, and services.
TRAVEL MOBILE APPS
Mobile apps are all on our mobile devices and we just can’t deny we rely on them to manage our schedules, our plans, our interests and so on. For Hotels and even to organize an entire trip, people use mobile apps to optimize both their time and experience having everything they need in the palm of their hands. Every day more and more companies use Apps for Incentive travel or to manage complex events one good option to see all the new trends in this segment is the Travel Technology Europe International Fair in London
DATA SCRAPING FOR TRAVEL
Data scraping is a useful activity for travel companies to “scan” the entire network looking for information from blogging platforms, social networks and much more. The term web scraping indicates different methodologies that allow you to extract and collect data and information from the Internet. Generally, this action is accomplished through software (bots) that simulate web browsing performed by users in the flesh by going to “pick up” certain information from different web portals. The main goals can be multiple: from monitoring the progress of an online promotion to the search for sensitive data and information to be resold to other users. This is the right tool to get to know what customers really want to study the best way to deliver it.
CRYPTOCURRENCY FOR TRAVEL PAYMENTS
The famous cryptocurrency really can’t be ignored anymore! Companies really need to consider their payment strategies in 2018 to make sure that they are enabling all customers to pay as they wish, including Bitcoin.
Technology and innovation are always changing and we really don’t know what’s next! But we are going to experience a huge year for new strategies and tools to really boost both the customer experiences and company’s performances. Are you ready for what’s next?
