TRAVEL Industry Technologies

Objectives : By completing this Chapter, you will be able to:

• Identify the type of information needed by different travel customers

• Describe common communication characteristics desired by travel customers
• Name modes of electronic communication to stay connected with travelling customers and their
practical use
• Explain the practical aspects of communication with customers via electronic channels
• Define electronic channels for communicating with travel customers
• Identify GDS features that automate communication to travel customers
• Describe how social media websites are used to stay connected with customers and collect market
intelligence
• Recommend travel apps for use with mobile devices to travel customers

INTRO

Customer service does not stop after a sale is made. After sales advice and assistance is perceived by
travel customers as the most valuable service they receive. This unit shows how the level of
customer service can be raised through the use of automation and mobile technology. You
strengthen your relationships with customers when you deliver convenient, beneficial and timely
communication of important information to travelling customers.

Customer Expectations

Different types of customers need different types of information before, during, and after they
travel. For example, information that could be very helpful to a vacationer or a first-time traveler
would probably be unnecessary for a more experienced and frequent traveler on a business trip. In
the same way, information about company travel policy and maximum spending limits would not be
suitable for the same business traveler who is traveling on holiday.

The type of information needed by travel agency customers depends on the following:

The type of travel Business and vacation travelers need to be informed of different kinds of
information. Other types of travel which requires a lot of coordination, such as group travel or
meetings and conferences, require specialized or more information for the traveler.

The stage of travel The information needed is determined by where the traveler is in the process of
planning and completing their travel. For example, information about available flight options is
necessary while planning the trip. But once travel has begun, information about flight delays or
schedule changes affecting the traveler's bookings is critical information the customer must have.

Most travelers expect information that is:

• Concise–travelers prefer short communications but expect enough information; for example,
giving the customer his flight number and departure time without advising a departure terminal
number may cause the customer to lose valuable time

• Relevant–travelers only need information and notifications that affects them; they do not want to
be notified about a potential departure delay unless they are travelling on the delayed flight

• Beneficial–The communication must bring added convenience to the traveler, or prevent

inconvenience; advising a travel customer of the hotel-airport shuttle bus service will be helpful and
appreciated
• Timely–Customers want to be advised of important information on time so that it is useful to
them. Advising a customer of a cancelled flight departure after arriving at the airport is not helpful,
especially if the customer must return home to travel the next day

Meeting and exceeding customer expectations is a priority and a matter of survival in every service
industry, including travel. Customers know what information they need and they want to be
nformed instantly. The increasing popularity of the Smartphone, the tablet PC, and other mobile
devices, enables consumers to receive timely, relevant and beneficial travel advice.

Available Modes of Communication

There are many ways to stay in touch with customers who are travelling. In addition to
communicating by telephone, today's traveler is receiving or searching for information through
electronic channels such as email and SMS messaging.

Email

Email is by far the most common form of electronic communication used by travel agents to forward
documents and advice to agency customers.

Travel agents email a variety of information to their travel customers including detailed itinerary
confirmations, destination travel tips and enroute travel alerts for flight delays, trip interruptions
and schedule changes.

Such email communications can include an unlimited number of plain text plus relevant graphics,
document attachments and embedded Internet links that can be helpful to the customer. Email may
not be the most effective communication method though to send an urgent message to a travelling
customer, especially if the message is about an important change to their travel arrangements or
about their safety. This is because the customer in not aware that his or her agent has
communicated until they open their email mailboxes.

Short Message Service Texting

Short Message Service (SMS) is an instant text-based messaging service to over one billion mobile
telephone users in over 60 countries. Through SMS, a short message, using plain words and/or
numbers, with a maximum of 160 characters can be sent to and displayed instantly on the screen of
a mobile telephone. Typically, an SMS text is sent from one mobile telephone to another mobile
telephone. The communication sender simply uses his or her mobile telephone to select a mobile
telephone number to send a message to. Then the sender types a message of no more than 160
characters using the mobile telephone keyboard and sends the message. The SMS message will be
displayed instantly on the recipient's mobile telephone screen if the phone is active. Else, the
message will be stored for instant display when the receiving mobile telephone is turned on.

Travel suppliers, such as airlines and hotels, and travel agencies program their computers to send
SMS communications to their customers' mobile telephones.

Through SMS messaging, a travel agent can communicate important and time-sensitive alerts or
reminders to their travelling customers. Even though SMS can reach a larger mobile audience than
email, SMS text-based messaging has limitations because they cannot include graphics or images
and embedded Internet links. In spite of these limitations, SMS readership is higher than readership
in most other forms of communication, simply because text messages are faster to receive and read.
For both reasons mentioned here, SMS texting can be an ideal medium for urgent, time-sensitive,
messages to travelers, such as information about flight delays, cancellations, and schedule changes.
In addition to the telephone call, the modern traveler can receive information electronically. Email is
commonly used to communicate reservation details and advice about an upcoming trip or the trip
destination.

SMS messaging is another way to stay in touch with the customer when urgent or time-sensitive
information must be communicated instantly.

Automating Customer Communication

Staying connected with all travel customers before, during and after they travel to inform them of
potential changes to their travel arrangements can be challenging. Delivering timely and beneficial
advice is critical. Customers measure service by how quickly, accurately and effectively a travel agent
communicates changes to travel arrangements. Imagine trying to monitor every reservation
throughout its life so that each flight cancellation, schedule change and other unexpected problem is
notified to affected customers? Imagine performing this service manually, without the help of
technology?

Most travel agencies use automation to communicate standard customer service information such
as flight confirmations and other important notifications. Automation monitors all reservations and
incoming notifications about reservations made by the agency from suppliers such as airlines and
hotels. Without technology and automation, the agent would have to monitor all their reservations
and spend more time updating and communicating existing reservations instead of chasing new
sales. The only way to guarantee that all agency customers receive high attention and service is by
automating some common agent-to-customer communications.

Most business travel agencies, and many vacation agencies, use third party-provided software
applications and services to automate many manual processes that would otherwise have to be
performed by travel agent staff. But the most common tool used by agents to automate
communication to agency customers is the GDS system.

GDS-Message Delivery Tools

Most travel agents use a Global Distribution System (GDS) system as their main reservation tool. The
GDS system conveniently works from the agent's PC or desktop computer. The automated customer
communication capabilities of GDS systems are the easiest tools available to travel agencies. When a
reservation is completed in the GDS system, an email notification is automatically delivered to the
customer with the reservation information.

GDS Agent-Initiated Information Delivery

GDSs can automatically forward reservation details to the travel customer via email. Once a
reservation is completed, the agent uses a simple GDS command to generate a standard email
communication to the travel customer. The email communication includes a link to a website
maintained by the GDS provider. When the customer receives the email notification and opens the
link, he or she can see the reservation made by the travel agent. The reservation information
displayed is customer-friendly and sometimes is delivered in a number of languages. Customers are
not able to change any of the reservations. These GDS prompted communications are in standard
format designed to be customer friendly. They are sometimes delivered in the customer's own
language. Through the link, the customer can access the electronic ticket, the itinerary, the invoice
and highly relevant travel information about his destinations such as

• weather forecasts
• information or guides
• maps with driving directions and proximity information
GDS Scripts

Using the GDS system to make and update reservations (PNRs) can be challenging because it
requires some memorization of coded commands.

GDS users must remember to include optional elements such as frequent flyer numbers or special
dietary meal requests that can be important or beneficial to the customer. GDS scripts simplify the
reservation creation process with screen prompts that guide users in the reservation creation
process.

GDS scripts help users complete PNR fields with information through a series of interactive screens.
They ensure that the agent has remembered to include all mandatory and optional information
about the customer. The plain language screen prompts on the agent's desktop computer interface
with the GDS terminal. GDS Scripts ensure quicker and more consistent PNR completion, improving
reservation accuracy. GDS scripts are designed by the travel agency and its IT department, or
outsourced to a third party software company.

Some are designed for functions that are not available by the reservation system itself. For example,
a GDS script can book insurance. The script displays a list of available insurance products, prompts
you to enter the departure and return dates of the trip, the destination, the passenger age, etc.
When the user completes all script requirements, the GDS script relays the information to the
selected insurance company to book the insurance and returns with a confirmation number for the
policy.

Other GDS scripts simply reduce the need to memorize complicated system formats. Users use
scripts to create an accounting line for a package purchased from a tour operator, to enter the
secure data information on a PNR, GK a hotel or car segment booked directly with a supplier, etc.
The ultimate purpose of the scripts in to ensure that all information for the booking is contained
within the PNR so that when a reservation is created, it is complete and standard. Some agencies
use scripts as reminders to “complete” the PNR, such as reminders to customers to review the
reservation for accuracy, reminding customers of necessary travel documents or advising the
baggage allowance for each carrier used. Agencies also program their scripts to print the agency
name or logo on ticket receipts and printable itinerary records.

All GDS scripts support emailing of itineraries and other notifications, and some directly support SMS
texting as well. GDS scripts are used to formulate and instantly deliver email notifications of
schedule changes to affected travelers. Scripts can automate the addition of large amounts of text
for insertion into itineraries, such as destination travel tips, embassy locations, local emergency
contact information, etc. Scripts include valuable advice for the customer, such as messages to
remind customers to review the itinerary for accuracy, advice about required travel documents,
maximum baggage allowance for each carrier booked, etc.

GDS Profiles

All GDS systems can record and store information about agency customers, especially corporate
customers, in GDS profile databases. Such customer information includes customer address, credit
cards used, telephone numbers, frequent flyer numbers, hotel and car membership numbers, seat
preferences, special meal requests etc. All or some of the information contained in these profiles can
then be transferred to a new reservation. Like the GDS Script feature, GDS Profiles save the agent
time when serving repeat customers because there is no need ask for and record the same customer
information each time a reservation is made.

GDS Profiles improve PNR accuracy as the correct and complete customer information stored in GDS
Profiles transfer to the GDS PNR during the reservation creation process. SMS and email address
information is routinely stored in GDS Profiles.
Once implemented by the agency owner, travel agents are able to simply reserve the bookings
requested by the customer, retrieve and move the traveler's profile into the booking record, and the
automation should be able to finish the reservation documentation, prepare and deliver a
confirmation email to the traveler, and continue to monitor each reservation throughout the life of
the PNR to respond appropriately with messages to the traveler in case of flight cancellations or
schedule changes, etc.

Travel professionals use GDS script and profile tools to improve the accuracy and completion of
reservations and to automate the delivery of relevant information and notifications to travelling
customers.

Embracing New Technology to Serve Travel

Customers - Increasingly more travellers use technology to stay in touch with work and home. The
modern agent explores new technologies to communicate with their travelling customers so they
can continue to deliver good customer service after the sale. In this section, we consider two new
methods to deliver customer service through technology. They are:

• Social Media Websites and

• Downloadable Travel Applications for mobile phones

You have probably used the Internet from time to time, to search for information about a business, a
product or a service. To find these businesses, products and services you may have used a search
engine, such as Google to locate their website. When you did, you probably read company, product
or service descriptions supported by pictures. Perhaps you read some testimonials provided by
satisfied customers on the website. Having that experience, you may not consider the Internet to be
much more than a giant, product catalog and phone book. While a website is necessary and useful to
promote and sell agency products and services, the website alone does not help you ‘stay in touch’
with customers after the sale. The ability to sell travel online does not provide assistance or
communication after the sale.

There is, however, a characteristic of the Internet that can help the agency business stay in touch
with customers, protect the agency's reputation, improve customer satisfaction, and maybe even
attract new customers.

A new category of Internet websites called ‘Social Media’ helps connect businesses with customers
round-the-clock.

Social Media Websites

Using social media sites to communicate at large Social Media websites are different from standard
Internet websites because information stored on these sites is placed there by Internet users called
‘Members’ rather than a website owner. Here, anyone can publish information about themselves or
their business, including pictures and videos which are easily updated at any time. Anyone can
publish information or news on social media sites by creating a “profile” and it costs nothing. On
social media sites, such as Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/),
hundreds of thousands of user members update their profile web pages, communicating news about
their lives.

The term for placing and updating information on social media websites is called ‘posting’. Some
social media sites use other terms for this type of activity. Although all social media websites can be
accessed by the public, users decide which information can be viewed by the public or restricted to
select members that the user has labeled “friends or family”.
In addition to publishing information, comments, videos and photos, social media websites enable
users to chat with ‘friends’ in public or in private.

Members can post messages on each other's pages. The goal of all social media websites is to build
social and business connections. Through these online connections, user groups or networks easily
exchange ideas, opinions, information, photos and other information.

Some social media website users have more than one public facing profile page, each with its own
separate network of friends. Users often have one that is used with business and professional
associates and another for personal friends and family. Social network profile pages have become
important tools for thousands of enthusiastic users to stay connected with their network of
associates, friends and family. Posting on social network websites enables users to share their
thoughts and opinions with large numbers of people at one time. Those who receive posts can easily
respond and ‘re-post’ or communicate the original message with comments to their network of
friends. Because of this, good or bad messages can quickly be spread to huge numbers of people.
When a message is received by many people, and in turn, re-posted to many more social networks,
the message is said to be ‘going viral’. The viral aspect of social networking sites makes them very
important to all types of businesses.

The most cost effective way to instantly share information with large numbers of people is by
posting comments, information or news on social media sites. For businesses like travel agencies,
the viral effect of communicating through social media can greatly benefit or damage their
reputation, depending on the opinions and comments their customers freely post. Maintaining
excellent customer service standards is critical for travel businesses that care what their customers
say about their service on social media sites.

“Listening” to Social Networks

Most people to want to tell others when something makes them happy, sad, or mad. Social network
users can post these personal comments to share with friends, family or business associates. The
number of social media website users has grown very large. Businesses have begun to realize that
comments posted by users can benefit or damage the image of companies or brands if they become
the subject of posts on social media websites.

Many large companies systematically monitor online discussion postings (sometimes called “social
chatter”) on social media sites, looking for references to their company or brand name. When
appropriate or necessary, companies join the social discussion to reverse or stop negative postings
about their products or services, or to encourage and spread positive postings.

A customer who posts a negative comment about a business or service can damage the business if
spreads like a virus through social network sites.

One example of a social media posting that damaged business image and ultimately created the
impression of poor customer service was a video created and posted by an airline passenger. The
passenger's guitar was broken by the airline's baggage handlers. The posting was an overnight
sensation and was viewed by over ten million potential customers of the airline. The attention urged
the airline to publicly respond to the video, and launch a corporate-wide campaign to improve its
baggage handling service.

Some businesses also listen for the names of competing products and services, to better understand
consumer opinions of competitive products. ‘Listening’ to social networks is an important way for
consumer-oriented businesses to:

• Better understand the way customers view their product or service and competitors

• Improve their products or services to meet customer needs

• Identify and correct service problems more quickly

• Prevent unhappy customers from leaving

By monitoring online discussions or “chatter” on social media sites, an agency can gather important
market intelligence. They can learn what customers think about the products they sell and which
other travel products consumers prefer. But equally important is listening for complaints about the
agency's customer service delivery as well as complaints about their suppliers. Listening to social
chatter provides an opportunity to correct service errors immediately and turn unhappy customers
into satisfied ones.

As a local travel agent, it wouldn't make sense to try to monitor public postings like some larger
companies are doing. However, you can use social media networks to:

• build and maintain relationships with existing customers

• improve the level of customer service
• spread the word about good service

Use social networks to reach out to consumers, improve service or promote good service Social
networking sites make it easy for individuals to interact with one another. Most sites, like Facebook
and Twitter, allow businesses to create profile pages for their products and services. A business
profile page can search network sites for people by their interests and social media site group
membership and post news and product offerings to those profiles.

Today, most mobile phones can access and post some text or comments on social network sites.
Users receive posted notifications or alerts on their social network sites through their mobile phones
in real-time. It is important to note that communicating urgent or critical information to customers
though social network sites would not be effective if the customer is not accessing his or her profile.

Be sure to monitor your business profile page regularly and often. It's important to read customer
postings and participate in online discussions about topics that relate to your service or business.
Customers communicate their travel experiences and needs through their postings. It is a way to
determine if your customer service level is below or above their expectations. If customers are
communicating that the service level is poor, it is an opportunity to take immediate corrective
actions so that you can keep existing customers and prevent damage to your professional
reputation. But the objective should be to deliver service excellence so that the only postings read
on social sites represent high customer ratings.

Social network websites can lead to new sales and business opportunities. They can identify an
urgent need to solve a customer complaint. However, they may not be the best channel to
communicate alerts and important notifications to travelling customers.

Twitter and Facebook: Two Popular Social Media Sites

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking service that enables users to post and read messages called tweets on
their own or other user profiles. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.

Through Twitter, companies communicate their products, services and news with short messages
posted to followers. The messages appear instantly on followers' home or profile pages. Tweet
messages link followers to the business' website, photos or videos where followers spend more
time. Twitter tweets can link followers to the business Facebook profile.
Facebook

A Facebook Profile is an account that summarizes who you are and what you are doing. Profile
owners freely connect with the public or private friends to share their experiences.

A Facebook page is more for organizations and businesses to promote their products and services.
Facebook pages and profiles tend to be more detailed than Twitter, with longer text descriptions of
products and services, including videos and photos. Destination videos on a corporate Facebook
Page can effectively promote an agency's travel specialties, featuring niche destinations or hotel
properties. Facebook pages include a blogging feature where the public, and especially agency
customers, can display testimonials and comments for all to read. Facebook can link back to the
product's website and Twitter page. It can instantly send out reminders to followers or members.
Facebook promotes a product in realtime and brings customers in.

Mobile Applications

The mobile phone is perhaps the most popular consumer product ever invented. Researchers
estimate that:

• there are more than Ten billion mobile telephone customers worldwide
• more people own mobile phones than cars and credit cards
• 60% of mobile phone users access the Internet more often on their phones than their personal
computers
• there are more than 100 million smartphones in use and the number is expected to double within
a year

Travellers are high users of their portable devices such as mobile phones and smartphones. Mobile
phones and smartphones are portable telephones used to make calls or communicate by voice.
Smartphones are more than mobile phones because they combine mobile phone and computer
capabilities. Smartphones are like mini computers that also make and receive phone calls.
Smartphones store information, send and receive email communications and are used just like
personal computers.

Smartphones access software applications, also known as applications or “apps”. Apps are accessed
through the phone's connection to the Internet.

When portable phones are programmed with apps, they do more than make telephone calls–they
become computers for their users. Today there are more than 7 billion software applications or apps
for mobile phones.

Many apps have been developed for travel and they are extremely popular. There are hundreds of
travel-related apps available for download to smartphones.

One of the most popular travel apps is the GPS (Global Positioning System). GPS apps are helpful to
travellers by showing their location or nearness to places or attractions or facilities, such as a hotel,
restaurant, or drug store. GPS apps provide directions and guide travellers to local destinations.

Travel professionals can serve their travel customers by informing them of useful travel apps. By
researching the most useful travel apps available and informing customers about them, you help
increase the services enjoyed by your travel customers. Consider using social networking to
recommend useful downloadable travel apps that you have researched.
When looking for appropriate travel applications, it is better to focus on apps that have a narrowly
defined purpose which are easier to describe and promote via email and social media networking
tools.

Applications that meet traveler needs while they travel do not compete with the services that your
agency provides. !Emergency! is one app that is simple to use and gives travelers a degree of
security that otherwise would be difficult to attain. It's simple and serves only one purpose by
providing the traveler a way to instantly use their smartphone to contact local police almost
anywhere in the world. Everyone knows how to contact the police from their phone, when they are
in their own home country, but it is not so simple in an unfamiliar foreign country. By pressing the
!Emergency! button through this app, the phone will identify its location and instantly dial the local
police. The !Emergency! app carries a database of emergency telephone numbers from around the
world. This app also helps locate the nearest embassy, hospital or clinic.

Ref. http://emergencyapp.wordpress.com/

There is an app available for every common traveller need, from translation, to finding budget
hotels, to reading about destinations and attractions and more.

If the travel professional does his homework and recommends helpful travel apps, customers will
appreciate the extra service. Travelers that follow and like their suggestions will likely communicate
them to others along with their praise of their travel agent.

Travel agents raise their value when they offer practical recommendations to their travel customers.
Today's traveler is a frequent user of portable devices and benefits from the many travel apps
available. The agent who is knowledgeable about the most simple and useful apps and recommends
them to their customers is one who delivers a high level of customer service.

Best travel apps (Install on your Mobile from Play Store & EXPLORE)

- Airbnb (Best Travel App for Homestay)

- Google Translate (Banned in China) so use Baidu Translate (instead because it is FREE & China
approved)

- Unblock any App in any Country with ExpressVPN - (Unrestricted Access Worldwide)

- Google Maps

- XE Currency Converter

- Uber

- Aarogya Setu

- Hertz

- Sixt

- AccuWeather