The internet has opened up a whole new world for people. Customers now demand personalized experiences with great customer service and they turn to the internet to voice their opinions and reviews of different products and services. Therefore companies need to always put their best foot forward so that customers return. This is true for every industry but especially the travel industry.
The travel industry has access to a wide variety of data from different actions and sources, such as itineraries, reservations, transportation, cancellations, inquiries, customer feedback, price, geolocation and so on. Big data is now being used by travel companies to wisely process all this data in order to target campaigns to different types of customers. Companies are able to make more money because they are using the data to produce better products and services leading to a better customer experience. In this post I am going to discuss some of the ways that the travel industry is optimizing their data.
Personalization
As someone who loves to travel this one is huge to me. Planning a trip can be very overwhelming with all the different options for flights, hotels, locations and so on. So the fact that travel companies are personalizing the travel experience will definitely bring in the dollars. When you travel you leave behind a data trail of your personal preferences, behaviors, previous interactions, and reviews and pictures on social media platforms. All this information can be useful to companies so that they are able to offer service that fit a person’s needs and wants, for example, offer hotels that have shuttle services to the airport. Making the travel experience personal to each individual person increases customer loyalty which every company knows is very important.
Pricing
As a recent college graduate who loves to explore, finding the best price on flights and accommodations is the most important thing. I will not stay in one hotel if it means there is one that is even cheaper. For me, the hotel is the place you sleep and that is about it, so the cheaper the better. Many people have the same mindset, they will pick on location or flight over another based solely on price. Travel companies are using data analytics to track and analyze competitors prices to notice trends from multiple sources. Kayak uses analytical models to make sure that the airplane ticket prices are the same on their site as they are on the airline sites. Companies like Kayak and Tripadvisor have made comparing the prices of flights and hotels extremely easy.
Competitive Differentiation
With all the different types of companies within the travel industry, setting your company apart from the others is very important; this is when big data comes in. A Global Distribution System called Amadeus, has features available such as ‘feature results’ and ‘extreme searches’. This system gives travelers the ability to get very specific results to their questions without even having to submit them. Questions like “what is the cheapest flight to Ireland?” or “Can I fly out of the United States for $600?” One company that has seen good results from utilizing data is British Airlines. They are using the information on their website to offer exclusive and relevant offers to their most loyal customers. Getting your company to stand out from the crowd is extremely important in the travel industry since there are so many different companies to choose from whether it is airlines, hotels, you name it.
All of this shows how big data has reshaped the travel industry. The use of big data is not only making the customer experience better and easier, it is also improving the services, products and overall sales for companies in the travel industry. This is just the beginning of the use of big data in this industry, they still have a lot more that they can/ will do.
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