Social Media and Marketing

Travel companies need to ensure that their product delivery and service offerings are well executed at all customer points of contact in order to be able to compete effectively.

Published: 24 Dec 2009

Travel companies need to ensure that their product delivery and service offerings are well executed at all customer points of contact in order to be able to compete effectively.

Consistency between brand promise and product delivery is the most important factor to provide effective customer service in today’s travel industry, according to Simon Akeroyd, vice president, business development, Amadeus Asia Pacific.

Akeroyd identified the four top hurdles at customer points of contact, and made recommendations on how travel players can utilise technology to address these challenges.

1. Too many clicks in the online booking process

The online booking experience should be as painless as possible. Travel websites must be user-friendly and provide an integrated and seamless online shopping experience. Search mechanisms on websites should be more intuitive, enabling consumers to search by budget, type of activity, or geography, rather than only by a pre-determined destination and date. Search results should be in real-time and deliver a range of options on a single page.

2. Informed travellers have all the answers

With so much information available at their fingertips on the Internet, travellers are increasingly going to their travel agents with the answers to their own questions. This means travel agents must maintain an expert level of travel knowledge and have all the necessary information in front of them.

3. Long waiting time at airport check-in

Nobody enjoys long periods spent waiting at airport check in, particularly business travellers who are particularly time-conscious. This can cause great frustration for airline customers. The solution is to utilise mobile devices to enable travellers to complete check-in processes before arrival at the airport.

4. Flight interruptions handled badly

One of the worst nightmares for any traveller is to miss a flight connection. When such incidences occur, they are often not handled very effectively, causing affected passengers more frustration and disappointment. Technology can help to minimise passenger delay and frustration.