According to Preferred Hotels & Resorts' Luxury Travel Report, 62% of travelers surveyed agreed that hotels feel increasingly generic. I Prefer Hotel Rewards offers rewards and benefits at over 700 distinctive, independent hotels worldwide, including complimentary Wi-Fi, early check-in/late check-out, enhanced room upgrades, exclusive member rates, and points earned on eligible stays. Points can be used for personal travel.
Amadeus' report 'Tailored Horizons' reveals that 85% of U.S. travelers agree AI saves time and provides personalized recommendations, with 74% using AI during trip planning. However, trust declines when AI takes action: only 20% would allow AI to spend money autonomously within a budget, while 43% would allow it only with conditions. Travelers still desire human oversight, with 51% preferring a combination of AI and human expertise.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses how traveler data can be used to improve the travel experience. It notes that traveler data is a subset of big data and can be used for predictive analytics and proactive profile building, reducing traveler friction, enhancing the reservation process, and streamlining operations. By better managing traveler data, organizations can build more detailed profiles and provide personalized service.
SAP Concur blog explores AI's potential in corporate travel, including preference-based booking tools, automatic search and suggestions, and intelligent services that reshape itineraries based on cost, weather, and colleague schedules. It notes IATA's 2017 survey found 85% of passengers willing to provide more personal data for customization, but data ownership and privacy issues remain.
In a SAP Concur podcast conversation, Danny Smout, Principal Solution Consultant at SAP Concur, and Hansini Sharma, Practice Lead for Corporate Travel at Acquis Consulting Group, discussed how business travel is changing after the pandemic. Sharma said virtual meetings heightened appreciation for in-person interaction and that she is seeing the most personalization of travel ever, with employees given more choices. She noted that pre-pandemic compliance was the priority, while companies now value duty of care most, asking whether employees are safe when they travel.