Oz Desai, Corporate Traveller General Manager

Creating the perfect travel itinerary demands personalisation. Simply using a traveller’s first name in the subject line of a generic e-mail campaign is no longer enough. Modern travellers expect more.  

‘Personalisation’ has become a 21st-century buzz-word, alongside other terms that define this modern age such as big data, predictive analytics and retailing.

Many things changed in the business world after the economic crash of 2008, but the supremacy of the individual actually gathered momentum, according to a recent Tnooz report, A Brief History of Personalisation: Past, Present, Future.  

“Individuals who use supermarkets, individuals who buy books online, individuals who travel - all expect their supplier to know something about who they are and what they want…,” the report reveals.

Personalisation comes in many different forms. Hotel brands monitor social media activity to spoil a guest with their favourite champagne on a special occasion. KLM cabin crew have handheld devices showing detailed passenger information, which fosters loyalty by enabling them to address the frequent flyer by their first name and show them to their preferred seat. E-mail messages might include a tempting new offer when an online shopper abandons a virtual shopping cart.

Merchandising is also driving personalisation in travel. In fact, in travel, personalisation emerged from the concept of merchandising, a term used to describe how airlines can sell more by selling differently.

From pre-boarding to preferred seating and checked baggage, airlines today use merchandising to personalise the experience for the traveller as well as to differentiate themselves from the competition. These ‘ancillary product’ sales are also a significant revenue generator.

Airline ancillary revenue was projected to reach US$92.9-billion worldwide for 2018, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Research by CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany for last year said the result indicated a 312 percent increase from the 2010 figure of US$22.6-billion.

Despite these different personalisation efforts across the travel industry, the booking process remains fragmented for most travellers. This is a challenge Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are ideally placed to overcome.

TMCs understand that corporate customers don’t want to visit multiple websites and direct booking channels to tailor their itinerary and have started innovating to address this challenge. This year, Corporate Traveller for example introduced its new travel chatbot for mobile service, SAM :], offering real-time support and an array of rich content in one place.

To date, no other travel management company (TMC) offers this kind of ground-breaking support to business travellers. Most TMCs only support a traveller reactively if they need a flight booking changed during the trip, or to send an impersonal or generic travel alert.

What makes Sam different to any other mobile travel app is the way it provides contextual information to our travellers. It aggregates all relevant information a traveller needs in one place at the point when the user needs it.

Sam is programmed to keep travellers updated at all times, from weather updates at the destination to information on the traveller’s departure gate, flight time changes and where to collect baggage. The app will also suggest which restaurants and attractions to visit, alert travellers about traffic delays and will soon be able to connect travellers with a consultant via a live text or phone chat if the need arises.

Each Sam user can share their travel tips and finds with fellow travellers. It presents this information to the traveller based on their context so that only relevant pieces of data are presented to the user. The more a traveller uses Sam, the more intelligent the chatbot becomes, and the information delivered to the user is even more personalised.

By introducing these kinds of innovations, Corporate Traveller uses a careful mix of smart technology and human encounters to satisfy its customers and create next-level ‘personalised’ experiences for its travellers.

Behavioural targeting - sending the right message at the right stage - and managing the customer’s right to privacy, is vital for travel brands.

Where personalisation is headed, the Tnooz study suggests, is a “connected customer value experience across all touchpoints. For example, your VIP customers should feel like true VIP customers wherever they engage with your brand - with the full experience they expect…”

However, the report concludes: “Many of the discussions around personalisation and segmentation gloss over what is potentially a deal-breaker… and that’s privacy… While customers want personalised offers, they are also reluctant to share data that enables personalisation.”

For example, 49 percent of consumers don’t want to share their personal information, but 56 percent of consumers want offers tailored to their interests and needs, the study explains. Towards the future, it will be key for travel brands to walk the fine line between privacy and personalisation.

Certainly, no direct booking platform, or third-party, is as well placed to personalise travel and protect personal customer information as the corporate consultant and the TMC.