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Highly personalized service is becoming a major differentiator for travel advisors, according to a new report from world-leading hotel group Accor, which examines the strategies, technologies and trends shaping the recovery in leisure travel.
The report, titled “Bespoke Touch or Digital Efficiency?” says that while ongoing digital transformation of operations is of course critical, it is even more important to develop services and foster partnerships to help them where alternative intermediary models cannot. Delight and connect with customers on an advanced level.
This European market-focused report outlines how the pandemic has accelerated the transformation of the leisure travel intermediary market, with widespread adoption of digital technologies and a paradigm shift by many key players to become platform businesses or b2b technology providers.
It supports the notion that, when used correctly, technology from messaging platforms to payments and artificial intelligence can be a travel advisor’s best friend, helping them optimize their ability to handle a wide variety of inventory; access powerful digital distribution channels; Understand their customers better, market themselves and provide better and efficient service.
However, it believes that, as travel planners evolve, more critical to their success will be the ability to get close to their customers, delivering the high-touch, personalized service that travelers now expect.
Saskia Gentil, Accor’s Senior Vice President of Sales Europe and North Africa, explains: “Consumers increasingly value the ability of travel advisors to take the stress out of travel, tailor it to their preferences, plan every detail flexibly and be a Their best choice. A reassuring presence that solves problems as they arise.
“The ability to provide this level of customized service is a competitive advantage over pure digital platform competitors that should be maximized. It enables travel advisors to exceed expectations, delight customers and build emotion that no one else can Connect. Of course, digital technology can play an important role in this experience, but if the travel advisor is to truly stand out, technology must support the ability to provide a human touch. This is the cornerstone of how Accor is approaching technology transformation – technology with heart, technology empowered Team strength and enhance the guest experience.”
According to the report, to provide this high level of service, travel planners must understand the changing needs of leisure travelers. From today’s popular destinations to long-term emerging trends such as slow travel, wellness and the desire for sustainable travel, advisors must not only understand these factors, but also have the inventory, partners and local expertise to provide their services with relevant options and insights from customers.
This insight and expertise can be partly, but never exclusively, digital. Partners on the ground can share their local knowledge and expertise, as well as language proficiency, which is crucial in a culturally and linguistically diverse continent like Europe, as well as the size and diversity of the inventory, to provide advisors as trends continue. Offers choice of evolution.
The report also covers futuristic factors such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and the metaverse, as well as some popular destinations for 2023 and beyond. This is the first in a series of three reports Accor plans to publish in the coming months, the second and third of which will focus on business travel and MICE respectively. – trade arab news agency
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