Handle More Demand and Customer Queries with Chat Travel Solutions

“According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals almost tripled in January to July 2022 (+172%) compared to the same period of 2021. This means the sector recovered almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. The steady recovery reflects strong pent-up demand for international travel as well as the easing or lifting of travel restrictions to date (86 countries had no COVID-19 related restrictions as of 19 September 2022).” – United Nations World Tourism Organization 

As the world tourism economy starts to recover following years of Covid-19 devastation, it’s become clear that people aren’t just excited to travel again after social isolation, they’re travelling with much more vigour than before as bucket list items get ticked off. This is great news for an industry that has been extremely hard hit, but it means that there will be a massive surge in demand, particularly as the holiday season approaches. 

One of the best ways to handle the influx of customer queries around travel options and accommodation is through chat travel solutions. This way you’re providing customers around the world with easy access to the information they need, and immediate support so they don’t search elsewhere. Here’s why a Chat Desk is the best travel solution for your business and your clients. 

What is a Chat Desk?

Chat Desk is an application that works as part of the Clickatell Chat Commerce platform that allows your travel agents to engage directly with customers over their preferred chat platform. Some of the travel offerings and support that can be facilitated via a Chat Desk include: 

• Providing valuable customer service and support in real time.

• Facilitating product discovery and allowing for information gathering on tourism products and services.

• Providing ongoing customer support throughout the purchase journey.

• Scheduling customer appointments and making travel reservations.

• The option of self-service experience where needed. 

What are the benefits of a Chat Desk for travel?

There are many reasons that the travel and tourism industry is incorporating a Chat Desk for the upcoming holiday season. Here’s a look at them: 

• Chat Desk enables your travel agents to move from phone to chat messaging seamlessly.

• Allows engagement with customers on the chat platform they prefer.

• It enables your agents to have multiple conversations at once, meaning more customer care.

• You can monitor your agents’ productivity and performance via Chat Desk.

• You gain useful information about customers including call frequency and areas where customer assistance is needed.

• Your agents can resolve queries and concerns faster for a better customer experience.

• You’re able to drastically reduce call centre volumes.. 

How can chat be used for travel solutions?

Chat Desk with a chatbot can assist in handling more customer queries, quickly and efficiently. From discovering your travel services to encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations, chat facilitates every step of the travel journey. 

1. Marketing updates

You’re no doubt planning several holiday season discounts and promotions, or a number of our travel partners are, but you need these to be shared with existing and potential customers. Using Chat Desk, you can share your upcoming specials or even last-minute deals to fantastic destinations with thousands of customers immediately. You can also use data tracking and previous customer history to determine who would be most likely to go for such offers, thereby creating a more targeted approach.

2. Assist with bookings

Once your customers have made their travel choices, Chat Desk can be used by an agent to assist your customers with booking confirmation via chat , assisting with check-in notifications and sending them digital boarding passes. 

3. Alert them to changes

When it comes to travel, things can change. An adjustment in Covid-19 restrictions because of a new variant, problematic weather conditions, booking mistakes or technical difficulties could mean that your customers’ travel plans must be amended. Using chat, you can alert them about flight status updates and changes, facilitate seat changes or upgrades, and even update them on baggage pickup or lost luggage. 

4. Seal the deal

Often people are reluctant to finalise their travel bookings because of so many uncertainties or costs, which means the booking is sitting in the cart, abandoned. Through chat, you’ll be able to remind them about the potential opportunities that await them when they finalised the transaction. You can even sweeten the deal by promoting offers or reasons to go.

5. Re-direct customers

It doesn’t matter how your customers connect, you can re-direct them using Chat Desk in several ways. If they connect via text message, click on your website or app, or scan a QR code, they can be directed to your live agents via Chat Desk for immediate response. 

6. Customer feedback

You’re never going to know how well you’re doing as a business if you don’t know what your customers are saying about you. You’re never going to improve either – and there is always room for improvement! Encourage your customers to provide you with the necessary feedback by sending them quick surveys using Chat Desk. You can then take that feedback and use it to provide better customer service.

-   It’s immediate

As companies expand to meet global demand, they need to realise that customers do not want to be kept waiting. Anything more than 20 minutes is too long a wait these days, and call centres experiencing a spike in call volume at this time will make customers wait. Fortunately, chat with Chat Desk will provide your customers with the support they need in real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

-  It’s personal

Once you’ve engaged with customers using chat with Chat Desk, you’re building up a travel profile of them which can be used to tailor your offers. You know whether they’re interested in family getaways or single travel, local or global, and the budget they can afford.

-    It’s scalable

If you’re looking to grow your business and increase the volume of customers with which you engage, you need to have a channel that accommodates this. Chat with Chat Desk can grow with your travel and tourism business so that you’re meeting all your customer demands.

If you want to find out more about our leading Chat Commerce platform and Chat Desk for comprehensive travel solutions, get in touch with Clickatell today!