Indeed, trend reports are showing that customers are increasingly relying on digital solutions for their travel needs. That poses a unique challenge for online travel agencies.

1. Online
Travel
Agencies:
The Future
of Customer
Experience
at a Click
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2. Over the next decade, experts anticipate that the
travel sector will experience strong growth all over
the world. Travel is, after all, a global endeavor and
just about every international market is expected to
see a rise in travel-related activity.
While travelers may have different needs when
it comes to business travel or tourism, modes of
transportation, or lodging needs, for instance,
today’s contemporary travelers have much in
common. What unites them is their need for easy,
efficient communication channels and a preference
for travel businesses with customer-oriented and
tech-centric approaches to service.
Indeed, trend reports are showing that customers
are increasingly relying on digital solutions for their
travel needs. That poses a unique challenge for
online travel agencies.
Executive Summary Not only must they apply their best customer service practices to
digital-focused and often mobile platforms, but online travel agencies that
hope to stand apart from their competitors must also leverage these new
platforms to influence customers and to help them meet their business
needs in a customer-friendly way.
One of the leading customer interaction channels is chat. This digital-
focused solution engages and interacts customers promptly on the digital
device of their choice, which helps to satisfy travelers. It also offers online
travel agencies some unique opportunities for gathering customer data,
top queries, interaction drivers and more. All of this data serves to inform
the business and help shape the future of their customer interaction efforts.
In the recent past, the online travel agency sector has had to navigate
some rough seas. Not only did these agencies suffer from the 2009
recession that caused a downturn in travel in nearly every related business,
but also the industry’s relatively speedy recovery wasn’t always consistent
across business types. Now, industry experts are pointing to a travel swell
that will extend well into the coming decade1
. Much of that increase will
be due to emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, though
other regions will also benefit from tourism, business travel and outbound
travel.
Overall, that signals a positive outlook on the horizon for the industry
as a whole. And while agencies may surpass pre-recession business
activity levels, they cannot return to their pre-recession business practices.
Instead, agencies must now contend with the changing, and increasingly
sophisticated, preferences of today’s travelers. But to do this, they must
understand both their travelers and their expectations.
Online Travel Agencies Face a
Changing World
1. “Thought Leadership Reports: Shaping the Future of Travel Macro
Trends Report.” Amadeus. 29 January 2015.
2
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3. More and more, today’s travelers are looking to digital solutions for travel
booking, support and for services such as transportation, lodging, meals,
entertainment and more throughout their stays. Industry experts expect online
travel booking to grow so significantly that it should penetrate close to 50
percent of the total travel market in the U.S. and Europe, and nearly 40 percent
in the Asia Pacific region by 20182
. That said, growth is also to be expected in
Latin America and Eastern Europe. All in all, the global trend is leaning towards
digital.
The increasingly tech-focused traveler isn’t just looking to digital solutions for
online booking, they are also looking for a seamless travel experience. And ideally,
this experience can be managed via their mobile devices1
. Travelers can book
their travel, get ticketed, receive travel delay or change notifications, coordinate
ground transportation and check in at their lodging through their mobile device.
While the physical infrastructure may not yet be in place to create a truly seamless
experience, the increasing Internet accessibility and mobile reliance is influencing
companies to create as-seamless-as-possible solutions via apps and more digital
communication services.
Online travel agencies must understand this digital traveler’s
values in order to provide them with ideal customer service, as
seamlessly as possible.
Travellers want to access quick and capable, digitally accessible customer
service that can help with various queries about an array of travel needs
and services. Some agencies have chosen to use a mobile-first strategy, offer
additional travel-related services, include user-generated content, offer post-
purchase services and present an overall improved customer experience3
. In fact,
if travelers trends continue as expected, these customer services could be among
the next best loyalty drivers for online travel shoppers.
Catering to the Digital Traveler
2. “Initiating Online Travel: Up in the Air.” Barclays. June 2015.
3. “Influencing Travelers in the New Digital Funnel.” Amadeus for
Phocuswright. November 2, 2015.
Travel can be confusing and stressful for even the most seasoned traveler.
However, a strong customer service approach that caters to travelers’ needs
can help support cross-service reservations, help customers feel supported
and help strengthen customer loyalty.
Click-to-chat is an effective customer interaction channel
that meets all of those needs, and can provide online travel
agencies with invaluable data.
OnlineTravel Agencies:The Future of Customer Experience at a Click
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4. When customers reach out to their online travel agencies, they prefer
certain channels for their interactions. Research by the Teleperformance
Customer Experience Lab (CX Lab) found that customers across the top eight
online travel agency markets – Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico,
China, the U.K. and the U.S. – preferred digital communication methods
(e-mail, click-to-chat, mobile app, social media, and instant messaging)
second only to voice.
What’s more, this trend is steadily growing. In fact,
research shows that the younger the generation, the
more likely it is that they prefer the chat channel. Yet, the
percentage of online travel agencies that provide a proactive
chat option is low, only 9 percent.
Proactive chat options automatically pop up during the user’s session
to help respond to customer need and provide guidance. On the remaining
91 percent of online travel agency websites, users must search for the chat
function themselves. These agencies are missing an opportunity.
The business benefits of the click-to-chat channel are multi-pronged.
Agencies can utilize the platform to collect customer data and gather insight
about drivers. This works by requiring users to fill out mandatory fields
before initializing a chat session. According to our research, five of the top
eight OTA markets require users to complete at least one mandatory field.
Only agencies in China and France do not ask for information.
The content of chat conversations can also be mined for information
to help enlighten online travel agencies about key chat session drivers.
At present, an overwhelming majority of companies (82 percent) utilize
this function to offer general information. However, companies also
sell products and offer reservations, answer questions about customers
account, provide feedback and offer technical support through chat.
The user benefits of the chat channel are plentiful. As travelers
increasingly turn to their mobile devices as their preferred method of
interaction, it’s more important than ever that online travel agencies
Customer Interaction at a Click ensure cross-device performance of their websites. Responsive design is
now essential to providing a positive customer experience. Our research
revealed that OTAs know and value users’ digital experience and 100 percent
of websites provided cross-device accessibility among the tested devices:
The iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet and Windows phone. The
consistency of service and quality across the countries studied was high
across the board with the U.K. and the U.S. providing about 75 percent
cross-device consistency on the low end, and Brazil providing the most
seamless experience across devices at about 95 percent.
Another key user benefit of the chat channel is the speed of response.
And that’s no surprise considering that users may be “on the road” or in
mid-travel when they seek customer care. Businesses respond far more
quickly to a chat prompt than an email, or other channels. Colombia,
France, the U.K. and the U.S. generally responded to prompts in under 3
minutes. The average handle time was also brief, pointing to the fact that
most queries can be answered and satisfied in a matter of minutes.
Indeed, the speed of response and handling, accessibility,
and mobile-friendly qualities of the click-to-chat channel
will very likely make it an increasingly in-demand solution
in the coming years and an essential aspect of providing
top-level customer experience.
4
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5. Landing Click-to-Chat
The relatively low adoption of new channels
thus far by the online travel agencies demonstrates
that most companies are still focused on the more
traditional customer service channels. While voice
is still preferred, channels such as Chat services
are becoming increasingly more popular, as long
as they are optimized; i.e., convenient to utilize
by the customer with lower Average Waiting Time
and providing information they need in real time.
Chat services that are hard to find on a website
or require that customers wait for several minutes
for an agent is not the ideal way to maintain
loyal customers. And in a globalized world with
increased competition, a key component to
maintaining customer loyalty is providing excellent
customer service, especially in a world where
peanuts and checked bags are often no longer free.
As an international leader in Omnichannel
customer experience, Teleperformance is readying
online travel agencies to perform at the speed of
digital. We leverage our expertise in digital business
solutions and customer experience to provide and
customizable and industry-specific interaction
channels. The Teleperformance chat solution is
designed to resolve customers’ desire for quick and
professional service and the business’s desire to
maximize platform efficiency and customer insight.
When put into practice, the service meets and
exceeds all needs.
5
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About
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operating systems and devices. Internet Interactions is grouped into three major categories:
Live Interaction, Semi-Automated and Automated.
AboutTeleperformance
Worldwide leader in Omnichannel Customer Experience
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