Traveler expectations have changed dramatically. The pandemic has accelerated the change in traveler behavior and the lack of trust in online booking sites has only increased as the likelihood of the unexpected happening has never been greater than today. today.
It is therefore absolutely necessary for travel players, and mainly air travel, to move to the next level to readapt their offers after an almost total paralysis and to offer a customer experience up to what travelers expect in 2022.
Indeed, the crisis has reshuffled the cards in the travel industry and brought to light the shortcomings of major travel agencies, including an all too often overlooked user experience. It’s an observation: many problems are caused by too low a technical level, whether it be airlines or GDS, the intermediary between a travel agent and the central reservation system of a hotel or airline company.
The online travel agencies (OTAs) that appeared at the end of the 90s, to gradually replace physical travel agencies, sell themselves as travel agencies, but are they really? They have somewhat forgotten the role of advice and support offered at the time, when you went to book your trip in your neighborhood agency. Today, once we have purchased our plane ticket, the service very often stops there, after the confirmation email. This is not a travel agency. That’s a counter.
Disconnected from the new expectations of travelers looking for flexibility and reliability, the world of travel, and mainly air travel, must reinvent itself with technologies capable of restoring traveler confidence and winning back more discerning audiences who have new ways of consuming. .
Today there is a real desire to “travel better”, in a reasoned and more qualitative way: less often by plane on the one hand, and staying longer on site, replacing the plane by the train when it is accessible , open up to other travel practices on the other hand. This is what the majority of young people want according to the latest barometer published by Greenpeace France and L’ObSoCo (February 2022).
Price is no longer the determining factor in purchasing decisions
In short, the industry’s DNA must be changed to win the loyalty of increasingly demanding consumers; from the selection of the ticket booking platform, to the responsiveness of the customer service to the various payment and refund options, everything must be perfect.
UX and customer experience have become a central element in the development and growth of organizations and a decisive factor in customer loyalty and engagement.
To trigger reservations, it is essential to offer a differentiating customer experience at each stage of the customer journey, offering new features, new payment methods such as cryptocurrency called “crypto-assets”, or even advantageous reimbursement conditions.
Travel agencies must also focus on sharing information before, during and after the stay
Booking a plane ticket is a stressful moment, the customer is undecided until the last step and even when he has paid, he is still worried: too much information to process, prices that sometimes change, taxes not included, seats to be reserved later… You still have to know how to check in, find the right boarding gate, settle the question of luggage.
Traveling is no longer just about an airplane seat or a train ticket, but about something else entirely. The challenge is to offer complete and relevant support, from booking to departure.
Consumers need to be reassured about the criteria for modifying a trip (cancellation, postponement and refund conditions). They expect travel booking platforms to be more transparent about cancellation conditions, refund processes and holiday insurance options.
The power of technology is therefore at the heart of growth and the customer experience: it is the key to being able to offer the best booking experience. This is why the technical level of the sector must improve and meet the expectations of travelers at each stage of their journeys and help them adopt these technologies (new mobile applications, means of payment, contactless solutions).
Investing in cutting-edge technology in order to be at the forefront is essential to succeed in delivering a customer experience at the level of the best sectors.
The key to success could be established as follows: an extraordinary experience capable of exceeding the customer’s initial expectations to create emotion. Because that’s still why we travel after all, isn’t it?