By Elena Mladen, Director, Central Data Office
Wherever you look, there seems to be a story about artificial intelligence (AI) and the travel industry is no exception.
PwC has identified more than 300 business use-cases for the technology, which could contribute $15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030. But what does the so-called AI revolution mean for business travel? In this article, we’ll look at what exactly we mean by AI, where the business travel industry sits today, where we see AI benefiting the industry in the future, and what travel managers should be focusing on now to be prepared.
AI defined
When we talk about AI, we are referring to systems, software and apps that carry out tasks that typically require human intelligence. These systems have become popular because they understand natural language and can produce results based on that understanding. This is generative AI, which includes popular tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney. More broadly, AI also includes models and algorithms that let computers think and learn similarly to humans, and therefore allow them to solve complex problems much faster.
AI adoption in the business travel industry – why some people hesitate
Despite its huge potential, there’s been some hesitation over AI adoption within the business travel industry. And business travel isn’t the only sector facing this uncertainty. Like most industries beyond tech, there are hesitations for reasons including:
- It’s an emerging technology, and it’s hard to know what exactly it will mean
- The potential financial investment needed to implement AI solutions, which is hard to measure with confidence, and also difficult to settle on ROI
- The need to significantly shift organizational culture and strategies, which can be perceived as risky
- Concerns about data privacy, data security and reliability
- Concerns about potential job losses and the need for retraining
Many conservative industries prefer to stick with tried and tested methods until they see the benefits as undeniable and the risks as being more manageable.
How AI can have a positive impact on business travel
In spite of those hesitations, the business travel industry is already leveraging AI for proven applications, but many untapped opportunities remain where AI can make a significant impact. As an industry, business travel already has a competitive advantage when it comes to AI adoption, because there are fewer regulatory compliance requirements than industries like finance or healthcare. And as Shelley Fletcher-Bryant pointed out on The Next Five podcast, the return to travel means the industry is “ripe for innovation”. She says: “we’ve seen such a big return to travel in the past couple years, and a significant shift in what that travel experience should be like.” At the moment, efficiency is a key area where AI can have an immediate impact, not only providing an opportunity to improve the experience for travel managers but also benefiting business travelers.
There are several areas where business travel can benefit from AI both from a traveler experience and travel management perspective:
- Operational efficiency: streamlining various processes from booking to reporting can free resources to focus on more strategic tasks than routine operations
- Data reporting: data cleansing tools powered by AI can improve the data consolidation process for better accuracy
- Performance insights: advanced visualization tools and predictive analytics can help travel managers make quick decisions
- Detailed OBT optimization: providing specific recommendations at the point of booking based on program goals or historic traveler behavior can greatly enhance the traveler experience
- Sustainability initiatives: AI not only can improve how we collaborate virtually, reducing the need for travel, but also has the potential to help suppliers like airlines optimize fleet and routes, decreasing their sustainability impact
- “Big picture” recommendations: piecing together multiple sources of information to provide recommendations like monitoring global events that could impact travel and accommodation options or identifying trips in a close timeframe that could be combined into a single trip provides endless opportunities for program optimization
What travel managers can do to be prepared
Preparing for the future of the travel industry means staying informed on the vast array of AI tools and solutions that are coming onto the market, and really doing your research to understand if (and how) they would add value to your travel program. Take a step back and don’t just integrate AI into your strategy for the sake of using a shiny, new technology. There are most certainly areas where it could drive efficiencies for your organization, or remove friction for your travelers, but before you dive in, you need to make sure your data is in check.
If there’s one key takeaway as the business travel industry looks to adopt AI more widely, it’s “garbage in, garbage out”. This phrase, dating from the early days of computing, is just as true today as it was then. It means that AI’s results are only as good as the data you feed it! So, to effectively harness the power of AI in this industry, it’s essential to have quality, reliable data as a foundation. Without that, you can end up with errors that lead to poor decisions and potential cost overruns.
We know this can seem overwhelming, but before diving headfirst into AI, it’s crucial to have a solid strategy for consolidating your data. By bringing all your data together in one place, you’ll not only get a clearer picture of your travel program, but have the foundation ready to embrace AI. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to boil the ocean for your first foray into AI. Pick a small use case or quick win, or call on your business partners to help you test the waters. Connect with our team today to learn more.