2024 Trends In Travel Customer Service

The travel industry usually has quite complex requirements for customer service processes. The business itself is cyclical and has defined seasons when tourists want to travel - such as the summer in Europe. This creates a requirement for flexibility because some periods of the year will be quiet and some will be extremely busy.

Then there is the nature of the enquiries. When a travel situation is going wrong it can be extremely urgent for the customer - they may have missed a flight or they cannot check-in. It is unlikely that in any of these situations they can just send an email and wait for a response - it’s usually urgent and requires immediate attention.

So customer service can be a key differentiator in travel. This can be seen in the recent British Consumer’s Association research into European airlines. The research compares different airlines, but largely focuses on how easy it is to contact an airline and how they respond once a query is made. The focus is very much on the customer experience.

This type of comparison shows that most consumers are thinking about these issues when they choose a travel company. Of course the ticket price is important, but many customers also value the ability to reach their airline and to receive excellent and prompt service.

Travel companies have many new options available when planning how to deliver the service that customers are expecting. The development of Generative AI (GenAI) is an example of a fairly recent technology that is changing how travel brands interact with customers.

This is changing the concept of immediate service and creating the opportunity for a 24/7 concierge that is automated, but still useful. Although AI cannot replace all customer service interactions, it does allow self-service to be far more useful than ever before. In addition, AI can dramatically help with cross-channel activities - supporting an omnichannel environment. For example, a customer sees a great offer or destination on Instagram and clicks through to a web page that offers booking options for what they were just exploring on social media. Everything is connected.

Deloitte has published recent research suggesting that there are five key trends shaping the travel market in 2024. Summarized, they are:

• Improving the experience: airlines and hotels need to improve the customer experience or risk losing attention - even though budgets are tight for updates and upgrades.

• Business travel is back, but not how it was: cost concerns have held back a lot of corporate travel and some trips are no longer required, but it is expected that pre-covid levels will be reached in 2025.

• Work and leisure blend: some travelers are extending their vacation far longer than previously possible because they have the option to work remotely - why not relax entirely for a week and then work from the beach for another week?

• Marketing has to be targeted: the post-Covid boom in travel has now eased off so marketing by travel companies has to be laser-focused on potential customers.

• Gen AI: solutions are being found throughout the travel experience, but it goes beyond just customer service. Discovery, shopping, and booking are all changing and other use cases include advertising strategy, marketing content, and personalization.

Some travel brands are doubling down on their customer service focus. Look at how Korean Air has changed their loyalty program, changed the cabin interior on planes, and even renovated their corporate headquarters - all to drive home a stronger focus on the customer.

Travel is a complex and global industry and it was one of the industries most affected by the Covid pandemic, but a strong recovery has taken place and the current trends are focused more on innovation and customer experience rather than just recovery - the recovery has happened. Now the story is how travel companies are getting closer to what their customers need and expect.