The Power Shift: How Travelers Are Transforming the Future of Business Travel

Like most things in life, the travel industry has been through many evolutions. If we go back as far as 1758, the first known travel agency was founded when Richard Cox became the official travel agent of the British Royal Armed Forces. Almost a century later (1841), Thomas Cook opened the first leisure travel agency, and by 1845, he launched his first commercial packaged tour. The creation of travel agencies was, undeniably, a revolutionary moment in the history of the tourism industry; for many generations, these agencies were wholly responsible for making travel plans (and dream vacations) a reality. During this time, the path to booking was relatively linear and simplified – if you wanted to book a trip, you contacted your travel agent, shared your needs and preferences, and let them work their magic.

However, the booking journey has taken on a significantly different form today. As technology advances, we have entered an age of tech-driven independence and autonomy. Many experiences or touchpoints that formerly required the assistance or oversight of another individual (or even a team of individuals) can now be facilitated by digital tools. If we want the answer to a question, we can Google it or ask Alexa/Siri.

And if we want to book a trip, we can do it ourselves – from the destination research to the vetting of options/packages and the final booking decisions. That isn’t to say travel agencies are no longer relevant; many travelers will still seek the services of modern travel advisors to plan more elaborate or luxurious getaways. However, studies reveal that most (72%) travelers now prefer booking their trips online. In comparison, 48% of US smartphone users will use their phones exclusively when planning and researching their trip. When asked why behind their preference for online booking, most travelers cite speed, easy price comparisons, and lower prices as the leading motivations.

A Closer Look At The Modern Booking Journey

The path modern travelers take en route to their next destination is, more often than not, a nonlinear one. Why? Because with great tools comes great responsibility,  or, in this case, an endless barrage of mediums, channels, and touch-points competing for our attention. Not only do we have search engines at our fingertips to aid in the research phase of the trip-planning process, but we also have the influence of social media to consider. Travelers can find themselves struck by inspiration for their next vacation not only when they’re actively searching for it but also when they’re casually scrolling through their timeline on any given day. To this effect, research reveals that 97% of millennials share posts of their vacation on social media, with Instagram cited as the go-to social network for 48% of people who want to choose destinations to visit on their next escape.

Moreover, Expedia reports that 30% of Americans are influenced or inspired by social media when booking a trip, and a destination’s photo potential is an important consideration. Today’s consumers often bounce around to various channels (websites, social media pages, review sites, online travel agencies, etc.) before making a booking decision. In fact, research indicates that (on average) travelers view 141 pages of travel content before booking a trip — with that number going as high as 277 pages for travelers in the U.S. — and up to 25 page views on the day of purchase. The same study also revealed that OTAs were the most popular resource utilized in the 45 days before booking, followed by search engines, social media, airline websites, and meta-travel websites. Moreover, 80% of TripAdvisor users read at least six to 12 reviews before choosing a hotel.

Understanding that a traveler’s path to booking is complex and spread across various platforms is integral to identifying the countless engagement opportunities for hoteliers to convert more bookings.

The Role of Tech-Driven Personalization

As the number of channels and touchpoints between a hotel brand and travelers increases, so does the expectation for a more personalized experience across the entirety of the guest journey. After all, modern guests are well aware that their online activity is a treasure trove of personal data – but they aren’t willing to give up that data without receiving something meaningful in return. Research shows that over 90% of travelers want personalized online experiences, and 78% of travelers are more likely to book with properties that offer personalized experiences, with almost 50% willing to share the personal data necessary to promote an individualized stay. With this in mind, leading hotel brands invest in digital tools that seamlessly personalize and streamline the (online and offline) guest experience.

Fortunately, the emergence – and now, widespread adoption of – artificial intelligence (AI) technology has helped to simplify and scale the art of guest personalization. As the guest’s booking journey becomes more digital, hotel brands unlock the opportunity for AI-powered platforms and applications to take on more tasks and responsibilities. Leveraging this technology, hotels can offer personalized recommendations and suggestions based on individual preferences and past booking behavior,  providing travelers with tailored options that match their specific needs and preferences. Simply stated, AI and machine learning can aggregate data and automate repetitive tasks with a level of efficiency that manual human efforts can’t match. Hotels can use this to delight and better connect with guests.

Give Guests What They Want: Reliable, Personalized Options

When the core operational systems leveraged by hotels (such as the PMS, CRS, and Distribution Technology Provider) are powered by AI and machine learning, automation enhances the speed and accuracy of service, valuable guest insights are unlocked, operational inefficiencies are identified, and the booking journey becomes truly frictionless from start to finish. AI can also meaningfully enhance customer service through chatbots and virtual assistants that can assist guests with booking reservations, answering questions, and providing curated recommendations. In a world where countless guests prefer to book their vacations via online channels, AI-powered tech has, in many ways, assumed the role of an invisible (but very powerful) travel agent.

Distribution Technology Providers, in particular, play a crucial role in shaping the hotel booking journey for guests in this new, digitally transformed landscape. Distribution services include managing and distributing hotel inventory across various online channels such as travel websites, online travel agencies (OTAs), and global distribution systems (GDS). By effectively managing these channels, hotels can reach a wider audience and increase their online visibility, ultimately enhancing the booking experience for guests.

As prospective travelers vet prospective hotels before booking their next trip, a hotel’s Distribution Technology Provider works in the background to ensure all channels reflect accurate and up-to-date availability and pricing information via real-time synchronization. Moreover, high-performance distribution services enable hotels to implement dynamic pricing strategies to adjust room rates in real-time based on factors such as demand, occupancy, and market conditions.

More importantly, the seamless connection established between a Distribution Technology Provider and multiple online channels ensures hotels can provide guests with various choices regarding room types, rates, and packages. As you can imagine, in a world where digital autonomy is not only expected but demanded, guests will naturally favor those hotels that provide them with the best options, at the best prices, across their preferred channels.

With this value proposition in mind, let’s consider a scenario. Suppose a traveler views 141 pages of travel content before booking a trip and up to 25 page views on the day they book. What happens if they notice discrepancies pertaining to critical property information, such as pricing, while bouncing between hundreds of pages and channels? Most likely, that traveler will no longer feel confident that the information they see listed for that hotel is current and reliable. This is understandably frustrating and may result in a prospective guest developing a distrust towards a hotel brand before ever stepping foot on its property. Fortunately, high-performance distribution services will ensure this will never happen while making the booking journey more cost-effective and rewarding.

Simply stated, the world has moved to embrace a non-linear economy. Where the path to booking used to be predictable, it is now unpredictable, and hotels that hope to succeed in attracting and retaining guests must constantly adapt. By harnessing the power of machine learning and rich data to automate tasks, streamline and personalize the guest journey, and make their property visible across all channels, hotel brands can find the ‘suite’ spot of innovation and ensure their longevity in a hyper-competitive, ever-changing market.

About the Author

Duane Overgaard is the President of Connectivity and Senior Vice-President of DerbySoft. With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he has a diverse skill set that includes account management, business development, and contract negotiation.

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