There’s “No I(T) in Team” For Travel Companies, Is There?

It’s not actually that often that we hear from the IT and Tech folk within a travel company. Ie, the people who really make buying decisions on solutions and technologies. The focus of so many travel conferences, including most of ours, is upon the distribution, pricing and marketing functions of the business. With that in mind, I’ve spent the last six months talking to people working in this integral part of the business. It has highlighted a number of opportunities and challenges in this space which I truly hadn’t anticipated (perhaps naively, but still).  

With the launch of the first ever Smart Travel Technology Conference imminent, I thought it would be interesting to outline my top 6 current issues as described by CIOs and CTos in the travel sector. You’ll be surprised I think, as I was, at how many of these issues are shared across hotels, airlines, cruise lines, car hire companies, OTAs and more. So here’s the list.

1. Who Owns The Data! This is something we covered at our recent Smart Travel Analytics Conference in NYC. It’s a big issue for IT professionals in the travel and hospitality sectors, largely because often they own the rights to systems, and they often act as “gatekeepers” to the data (although many dislike the term). This leads to internal aggravations when it comes to who has access to various databases and what actions they can take. The IT team are often in the centre of this web, and it’s a difficult position to moderate.  
2. Innovation in The Future: In general, travel IT execs are pretty up to speed with new technologies for the travel sector. But! What about futuristic consumer technologies outside of travel like 3d printing, hologram TV, Google Goggles, ANW and interactive advertising screens? How can you stay ahead of the curve and your customerr
3. Internal Struggles: It’s the name of this blog post and it’s a huge issue for IT execs. What exactly should the role of an IT professional working in travel be, and how can IT increase boardroom awareness of technology and IT related issues? These questions are just a few which came up in the research. Others include recruiting IT talent (and keeping it), working with other teams and more.
4. SAAS Based Solutions: We’re Not There Yet! I remember back in 2009 when I started out in the travel industry that Cloud companies were everywhere, and it was the next big thing. Over the last year or so, conversation in this space has lessened at our conferences and other trade shows alike. However, the issue has never been more important as it is right now. With data warehousing becoming more difficult to find and more expensive, businesses are slowly starting to transfer to the Cloud. But with this transfer, come a lot of headaches- think moving databases in real time, privacy laws, hacking concerns and escalating Cloud rental costs for a start.
5. Wifi and Bandwidth: Despite large scale technology expenditure in this area by most travel companies (particularly affecting hotels, airlines and cruises), wifi and bandwidth issues are still unfortunately very much afloat. IT professionals have been asking us, “how do you re-align your HSIA infrastructure for better customer service and also a fully backed up internal system?”
6. Payment and Transactional Efficiency: Significant changes are afoot in terms of the way travel companies can sell to their customer. Compliancy and PCI regulation, plus strategic planning for payment related deadlines are all hot topics for 2013 and beyond.

I’ve covered here just a sample of things IT professionals are talking about in 2013. I have already admitted that I was extremely surprised to see not just so many new issues that I hadn’t anticipated, but also some issues which had perhaps “gone out of the limelight” in the news, but topics that were absolutely, wholly, still affecting travel companies on a daily basis. I’m excited to see what happens at the summit this October, and to meet CIOs and CTOs alike to discuss these topics in more detail.

A Keynote You've Never Seen Before, in the Heart of Asia...!

Our most recent event launch - the 9th Annual Travel Distribution Summit, Asia (May 28-29th, Singapore) has some exciting new ingredients in the mix.  On top of the latest innovations and biggest speakers on Revenue Management and Online Distribution - the Kings of the Online World (Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and Amazon) are collaborating to bring you an invaluable Keynote you’ve never seen before…

These  will focus on engaging customers through online channels, examining where you will see the biggest ROI and the future of the online supply chain.  Make sure you join your industry peers who will be attending 2013’s Summit and to discover through these brands exactly how to fuel your travel-strategy and win the always-connected travel consumer.

Day Two Morning Keynote: 9.00-10.30 Meet The Kings of The Online and Mobile World: Who Holds Your Consumer’s Attention?

Reaching and engaging with your customer is becoming increasingly difficult, not least of all because of the surplus of communications channels, touch points and competition. Hear from the gatekeepers of the online world as to how you can better interact with travellers, increase bookings and offer an unrivalled customer experience to build genuine relationships with your customers and inspire them to travel. Get expert insights into:

• Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon Web Services: how can you work with these brands to reap the rewards?
• See how top online businesses find, nurture and keep highly active customers engaged through these channels
• Where are your customers hiding online? On which channels do they enjoy travel related content and marketing?
• Learn how to keep consumers in a world of choice and variety: repay your customer, drive brand awareness and encourage loyalty
• Understand better the need for social media integration and brand responsiveness
• Learn which human resources talent will you need in your online organisation to thrive
• Technology costs and wrong investments could set you back $$$. Where should you invest to see the biggest return?
• Relationships: As the travel supply chain continues to change, who will have the power and who do you need as a trusted partner?

Dhruv Parpia, Solution Architect, Amazon Web Services

Doug Stotland, Director Advertising Sales APAC, Facebook

Christian Cadeo, Head of Mobile SEA, Google

Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, APAC & Japan, LinkedIn

Aliza Knox, Managing Director, Online Sales, Twitter

You won’t see all the major controllers of your customer speaking in the same place again

To download the brochure to see which of the well established travel brands is joining the Kings of online world click here. 

Apparently the online grim reaper is here again…. But it could be something else this time…

That “cheerful” publisher Plimsoll Publishing recently said 70 UK Tour Operators are looking like HMV (a once popular and now defunct Music store chain) and could soon fold.

When I read this I assumed that this would just be another example of the evolution of travel sales leaving the established travel business behind in terms of product and customer behaviour.

Plimsol Publishing concluded  "As seen with the recent closures and administration of big high-street stores, these were all victims of outdated business models. It's much the same in the tour operators market, the overall market is healthy, but these companies are falling behind.”

However if you look at what ABTA say it may not be the case. Recession hit Brits are going back to packaged products and the high street channel has seen a rise in 2012, with 27% booking through a high street agent compared to 25% in 2011

Now I have always understood that most organisations fail at the end of the recession. Could this finally be the case.  Travelmole reported yesterday that this market is seeing sales increasing at 7.2%, with margins sitting at 1.8%

But I am also seeing new trends impact the travel industry all the time. For instance our latest conference in New York was looking at how the Travel industry is using big data and analytics and it was a sell-out. I am pretty certain this would not have worked a year ago. Big data is now seemingly affordable, Social media is providing the insight you guys need and mobile is providing the channel to sell. The established industry has to keep innovating and those that will are going to do very well.

Read the Best Tweets from our Travel Analytics Conference in NYC

Ever felt like creating a world beating Travel Company in 48 hours?

I believe that to create any new business you need to know what your customers want to buy. What makes travel even harder is that many travel companies have to serve the traveller but get paid by the travel supplier.

So you need to know not only what the traveller desires but you also need to know it is something that travel suppliers are willing to finance.

This May 23-24 at the Travel Distribution Summit London I am offering 16 people the unique opportunity to try and use the combined brains of 300 online savvy travel suppliers to create a travel company that customers will want to use and vitally the travel suppliers will be willing to pay for.

16 sponsored individuals will meet the day before the Travel Distribution Summit. Once put into 4 teams and briefed by our innovation experts, they will use the unbeatable networking this event provides to create a business that the industry wants.

After 2 days of meetings, briefings and brain storming, the teams will present their ideas to our audience (which always includes serial travel industry investors) and a winner will be announced.

Then it’s up to the team.  At the event they have a unique opportunity to test the demand for their product and meet some very influential investors.  Post event they can either take the idea and use it or just use the great experience and contacts they have created to do something new.

If you are interested in joining as new company Creator please fill in the form here. We are looking for 16 applicants and we want a wide range of skills, so both experienced experts that have done this before and motivated graduate types alike are all welcome!  There is no cost involved but you will be expected to work on creating a new product rather than attending all the conference sessions. Networking will be key!

Why distribution is so key?

Has Booking.com has reached the levels of Google......  over the last 3-4 various senior of travel execs have said to me (off the record) that although Google advertising works and is cost effective they are not expanding their Google spend  as it puts their organisation into too much risk… The same is now being said about booking.com

This is why a travel CEO’s and MDs as well as heads of distribution and marketing take such a keen interest in the age old problem of the evolving travel supply chain. As customer buying behaviour changes the whole industry has to respond. The internet, search, social media, mobile and big data have been at the forefront of the evolving travel industry over the last 15 years and if the head of the travel company ignores these trends they lose market share.

If they get it right the company booms.

2012 has been a roller coaster but as yet the Euro has not collapsed we have not jumped of the cliff and China is still growing. 2013 should be “fun.”

Hope you have a great Christmas break and look forward to seeing you at one our event in 2013

Is there too much emphasis on Mobile solely as a booking channel?

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak at BTO (www.buytourismonline.com) in Florence, Italy to present findings from EyeforTravel’s recent Travel Consumer Report.

The event brings together online travel professionals from across Italy to discuss how to drive forward travel sales across Italian travel and hospitality brands.

I presented a closing keynote presentation on Mobile in Travel.  The presentation was actually entitled ‘Mobile reservations’ however, EyeforTravel research has found that there is a lot more to mobile than just bookings.

46% of travel suppliers (B2C providers of travel eg. hotels, airlines, cruise etc) and 38% of travel intermediaries agreed that mobile has increased customer engagement.  

From a consumer point of view, when asked how they would like to engage with travel brands via mobile, information on local activities, deals as well as maps, and consulting user reviews were the most popular responses.

We found that consumers want to engage with travel brands not just before their trip but during their travel experience.  Indeed, 64% of Brits said they would like information on local activities and deals whilst at their destination.

 Using social media whilst travelling is popular and is fuelling the use of smartphones.  14% of Americans always share their travel experience via social media during their trip and 23% of Americans stated they do this frequently.

Mobile should of course still be focused on as a booking channel (41% of travel suppliers agreed with the statement that mobile had increased direct sales).   However, I feel that those brands who truly understand how mobile can enhance the travel experience from start to finish will be the winners in 2013 and beyond!

You can view my slides below (don't worry, the presentation is in English after the first slide!): - 

Mobile in Travel, BTO presentation, Gina Baillie - EyeforTravel from Gina Baillie