The impact of the always-connected traveler

December 07, 2011 | Online Travel

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Mobile devices are now part of our everyday life and are becoming the hub for all travelers' activity, replacing PC, telephone, kiosk, and boarding pass. The traveler's handheld device is now an integral part of the entire journey, not just from pre-trip planning and booking, but through the actual trip itself.

But what does it mean for the travel industry? What are suppliers and intermediaries doing to take advantage of this trend in traveler behavior? To answer these questions and bring more perspective to this topic, Amadeus and Tnooz joint forces to bring together a panel of experts who explored the influence of mobile on traveler behaviors from pre-trip research and booking through the life of the journey as well as the business behaviors of the suppliers servicing this always-connected traveler. Featured speakers included Brian Beard, Amadeus executive travel technology consultant; David Holyoke, Travel Leaders Corporate, President; Rain Fletcher, Choice Hotels International, VP application development & architecture

In opening the discussion Brian Beard highlighted a recent industry study that identifies traveler attitudes to airline mobile services and shows how emerging mobile technologies will revolutionize each stage of the travel experience in the future: 1. Pre-trip (i.e. plan, book and board), 2. At the airport (i.e. lost bags, seating and disruption), 3. On-board (i.e. enhanced services), 4. At the destination (i.e. explore, connect and share experiences) and 5. Post-trip (i.e. social media for immediate feedback). These travel trends will impact the way travelers interact with the airline industry as well as travel and tourism in general.

From a GDS perspective, the core business to consolidate supplier information and process travel transactions remains central to providing services to the connected traveler. The distribution systems must adapt a flexible approach to mobile technology. Indeed as mobile devices get more sophisticated, the connected traveler will demand more timely and accurate information from the distribution systems. Brian predicts with most certainty that travel servicing interface from mobile devices will be fully functional; wireless broadband will be available almost everywhere; proactive travel servicing will become the norm and online booking tools that don't have a fully functional mobile interface will become obsolete.

Much of David Holyoke's presentation revolved around mobile applications in the Travel Management arena with an emphasis on the options Travel Leaders Corporate provides to customers. Such options include mobile applications that are ingrained in the online booking tools and support for a variety of mobile applications to fit the traveler's needs. Currently Travel Leaders Corporate is testing a branded mobile solution that will work with their customer base including those who do not use online booking tools. Flight Notification Technology is another example of how the company is assisting travelers during flight disruption by providing automatic travelers alerts sent directly to mobile, smart phone, PDA. This technology provides monitoring and proactive agent intervention. David revealed that, in the next 60 days, Travel Leaders Corporate will be launching a new mobile product that will allow interactive access to their agent and support specialists to manage travel during the planning stages as well as in transit.

Rain Fletcher from Choice Hotels outlined the big issues the hotel industry faces in servicing and meeting the needs of the always-connected traveler:

- Guests want ubiquitous, fast connectivity
- Guests want myriad ways to interact with hotels
- New opportunities from new connectivity with guests
- Looking forward in hotel-customer relationship

Guests check into hotel rooms with many of their own devices and often bring their own content while expecting fast and free wifi connection. As a result, hotel companies' revenues in gaming and in-room movies are impacted. Rain Fletcher noted that hotel investments in smart TVs web connection seem wasted and, therefore, hoteliers need to think about shorter investment cycles (3-5 years).

With an "always-connected" expectation, hotel guests anticipate their preferred hotel to have a website, offer organic and not static reservations as well as provide pre- and post-stay communication. This represents a challenge but also an opportunity to the industry. With new connectivity with guests there is unprecedented opportunity at point-of-booking and not just point of check-in. What's more, hoteliers can gather great data from mobile connection to hotels which mean better business intelligence for the hoteliers to develop a more customized product and deliver a better guest experience.

Going forward, will the relationship between hotel and guest change? If so, how? Will hotel kiosks be replaced by mobile phones as room keys?
Mobile point of sale also means that hoteliers can benefit from ancillary products and revenues.

How will hotel companies address data security and authentication issues? Will they invest in the right direction to capitalize on the opportunities that an "always-connected" traveler represents to the lodging industry?

Related Link: Amadeus