Microsoft and Amadeus have taken another deep dive into the future of selling travel to offer the travel industry better ways to serve customers and drive increased return on investment.
Together the pair are working to deliver a new set of tools, solutions and data applications to offer a next-generation experience for travellers, travel sellers and providers.
The two tech giants say that together with the wider sector they are preparing to overcome the challenges that have slowed progress to date – “siloed data, a narrow view on who owns a travel customer and a failure to collaborate across the industry to meet traveller needs”.
Key to the joint findings is the recognition that the process of successful selling starts with a deep understanding of the purpose of a trip “and to have the ability to respond quickly and accordingly to changing needs of travellers”, the report notes.
“Mastering this, travel providers and sellers will be able to build a more human-centric approach to the benefit of all and differentiate their offering from competitors, drive sales and win loyalty.”
Data and AI will become increasing important, the report adds, warning that travel sellers will need to grasp the part they play across the entire journey.
Sharing data with relevant stakeholders will help the industry to create new touchpoints, reduce friction and create personalised services, “with the traveller front and centre”.
“Turning masses of data into travel experiences would allow travellers to get more out of each trip,” the report found.
Further, the report advised, “Empowering travel players by using AI to formulate unique proposals at appropriate times will allow them to offer prompts at any point of the trip as the need arises – with minimal direct input from the traveller.
The Microsoft-Amadeus report ‘Delivering traveller value: Inspiring, understanding and fulfilling expectations throughout the travel experience and beyond,’ looks at how a focus on the ‘purpose’ and ‘context’ of each trip will allow the industry to maximise value.
The report draws on work from Northstar Research Partners, which was commissioned to survey 2,400 business and leisure travellers in six key markets around the world – Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, the UK and the US.
Contributions came from partners – including Meliá Hotels International, Expedia Group, TomTom and American Express Global Business Travel.