Since the mid-’90s, the clarion call to travel agents has been – and still is – for them to embrace technology. So I could not contain my gasp when I hear Grab, one of South-east Asia’s most successful startups, say it is embracing travel agents.
This was during a recent panel session at a new forum called Millennial 20/20 in Singapore when Cheryl Goh, group vice president marketing of the taxi app, said the company had for the first time consolidated its travel programme with an agency. The impetus was safety, as employees are travelling to places where there are bombings and terror attacks. But the experience in using a travel agent made her realise how wide the gap still is between travel technology today and the level of personalisation and convenience that a good agency offers.
“Someone intelligent enough to figure out your habits and what kind of places you stay, give you the best recommendations and make payment seamless – that still does not exist in the way the travel agent works.
“Right now, lower pricing is the impetus for people booking travel online, not the experience.”
To me, this sounds like both an opportunity and a threat to agents. On the one hand, it shows what agents must do to earn a place for themselves in the future, i.e. push the envelope of personalised, intelligent and convenient service. On the other hand, it is without a doubt that existing and new startups will be trying to do just that, and are probably more adept at using new digital technologies such as AI-fuelled bots, which are actually like people, except they are computers, to make travel planning become more seamless, connected, convenient and personalised.
Who will win? In this, I fully agree with a pointer I read in an Accenture brochure (the company provides consultancy to hospitality and travel industry) on Connected Travel.
The savviest players, it said, focus on the essence of hospitality – the guest experience rather than the latest cool gadget. Nothing matters more than the guest experience.
“Think of it as the evolution of white-glove service for the digital age. Innovating with digital is not an end itself. It is a means to transform the guest experience and work more efficiently.”
Can white-glove service in the digital age be provided only by a real human? Or can travel technology be so human and provide white-glove service in the digital age?
Perhaps in the end there could be room for both players. Given their current upperhand in providing customers with added value and an experience, travel agents should work to solidify their position and race forward in giving white-glove service rather than be left behind in the race.
