Travel and Hospitality Bookings are Easy via Chat Platforms

“A McKinsey survey reveals traveling to be the second-most-desired activity among respondents (in first place: dining out). In the United States, air travel has hit two million daily passengers, closer to the pre-pandemic level of around 2.5 million than to the low of around 90,000, in April 2020. Hotel reservations and rental-car bookings are surging.” -McKinsey

It’s clear that traveling is high on the agenda for many people. This is no surprise – after two years pent up dreaming of the traveling, people are now getting out and ticking items off their bucket lists faster than ever before. While this is great news for the tourism and travel industry, it also means that competition is much tougher, with new companies emerging with travel solutions and fighting for their share of the market. That’s why it’s important to set your business apart, to make a statement in a very loud world – through chat. Using a WhatsApp Booking System, you can dominate the conversation by meeting customers on a communication platform they prefer.

 How does chat help with bookings?

 “This isn’t a concept that’s in the distant future, it’s happening now.  Millennials generally prefer not getting in a car to pick something up if cost and product availability are equal. True convenience, in a digital landscape, means the products and services are available to come to you.” - Forbes 

1.  Chat provides all booking information

Modern travelers are savvy. They want to go into a holiday knowing all the possible information before they’ll agree to a booking. If they’re searching your website and aren’t getting the answers they need, they simply switch over to a competitor site for a better experience. That’s where WhatsApp chat is so beneficial. If there’s anything that they aren’t clear on, they can simply send you a message using chat, and get everything they need on one dedicated platform. 

2. Chat in any language

Digital solutions have made businesses much more global, and this is even more so in the travel and hospitality industry. It’s quick, easy, and sometimes a more cost-effective option than local travel, which means you’re dealing with a range of nationalities. Customers who can make travel bookings in their own language feel much more comforted and are more likely to go through with the booking. WhatsApp chat facilitates multi-linguistic conversations through real-time translation, making your company welcoming to all visitors.

3. FAQs on booking insurance

The nitty-gritty details of making a booking can be extremely time-consuming for real-live agents who could better spend their time focusing on other value-add duties. Booking terms and conditions, insurance information, and other regulatory details can be easily conveyed to interested tourists using WhatsApp chat. It’s often easier for visitors to read over this information, rather than hearing it over the phone, and they have it handy if there is ever any dispute. 

4. Share promotions via chat

 “AI-enabled bots can learn from customer interactions, collect feedback, and map out the likes and dislikes of a user. Messaging as a channel has a greater penetration in the consumer market. With messaging and AI coming together in chatbots, the goals of conversational marketing can be fulfilled at scale.” - Entrepreneur

 Another way that WhatsApp is such an innovative travel solution is that you can target interested customers with special promotions and deals. Discounted offers, last-minute travel booking suggestions, package deals, and other specials can all be communicated directly with existing and potential customers through chat. You can even integrate your chat with other software to access valuable customer-related data such as demographics for more effective target marketing. 

5. Set your industry apart with chat

As we mentioned earlier, the travel and tourism industry are now flooded with start-ups and other organizations looking to make a quick buck. You need to stand apart as an industry leader by incorporating the best technology that meets your clients where they’re already at – WhatsApp. By using this particular travel solution, you’re shifting to becoming a complete digital service desk with everything a customer needs from preparing for the trip through to booking and payment. It’s a user-friendly travel experience before even embarking on the journey.

6. Better customer service with chat

The modern customer wants information and service immediately. They don’t want to be put on hold. They don’t want to wait a day – or even an hour – for an email response. And they certainly don’t want to be transferred from one person to the next waiting for an answer. With WhatsApp Booking Systems, this isn’t a problem. They simply have to connect with your company via chat and they have all the answers they need without any of the frustration. Everything from the best places to visit through to making and paying for the bookings are done through live chat. 

7. Secure more bookings with chat

Because the customer’s journey is completely supported on one chat channel, they’re benefitting from an enhanced customer experience. With each engagement, you’re learning more about your customers so that you can reach out to them with information they actually want, such as alternative offerings or new promotions. From hotels through to travel packages, you can tailor tourism offerings to the individual client. Because of this great connection with your brand, you’re much more likely to secure bookings.

8. Easier booking payments

The final hurdle of any travel and hospitality booking is the payment. If you provide limited payment options or there are too many steps involved, they might lose interest, thinking they’ll pick it up later but never doing so. Fortunately, chat solves this problem as well! With options like Chat 2 Pay, your customers simply click on a link, make a secure payment, and it’s a done deal.

Why use Clickatell chat for travel and hospitality?

With more than two decades of leading the industry in Chat Commerce, Clickatell offers the tourism industry the ultimate in travel solutions using the WhatsApp Booking System. Get in touch today to find out how Clickatell can bring you closer to your customers, and drive revenue.