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Travel brands are adopting next-generation For consumers, airlines are increasingly commu- TRAVEL COMPANIES HAVE Online travel agencies will also increasingly
marketing tools, helping to persuade more of nicating with chatbots, which show promise as use data science to become more effective at
their current customers to splurge on extra an upselling tool. Finnair, for example, debuted a LONG TRIED TO WOO THEIR cross-selling products. In June 2018, Expedia
products and services in their never-ending chatbot via Facebook Messenger to help passen- debuted Add-On Advantage, which lets custom-
quest to boost revenue on the edges. gers book tickets. Finnair's bot has recently been CURRENT CUSTOMERS INTO ers who have booked a flight or rental car see
suggesting ancillary products, such as a guided hotel rates that the company claims are up to 43
No prizes for guessing that airlines lead the northern lights observation trip. BUYING MORE, BUT THEIR percent cheaper than booking a hotel separately.
way. Carriers famously sell more than tickets
to fly. They long ago pioneered charging for Chatbots make it easier to f ind out what a PROMOTIONAL TACTICS Expedia Group CEO Mark Okerstrom explained
nearly everything. Now, like other travel suppli- customer wants in the moment, and artificial HAVE TENDED TO BE why his company finds the move to be lucrative.
ers, they're moving away from one-size-fits-all, intelligence can help companies provide relevant “Generally, when hotels get booked with a flight
open-to-everyone promotions. extras. If a Finnair customer asks about how to GENERIC AND BLUNT. NOT or something else, you get lower cancellation
get from Helsinki Airport to downtown Helsinki, rates, and you get longer lengths of stay," he said.
Airlines have long known they could boost their for instance, the chatbot can sell several ground ANYMORE. BRANDS ARE NOW
sales of high-margin products and services if they transport options, such as a 48-hour public Smaller independent hotels are also trying
better understood how to target relevant offers transit card. ADOPTING SOPHISTICATED upselling solutions. For example, in 2018, about
to different customer segments at ideal times. 700 hotels signed up for upselling services from
However, they struggled to do that because Airlines are debuting new upselling tricks, too. TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE THEIR Amsterdam-based startup Oaky, in a sign of
they had divided their customer information A case in point: Many airlines send flight confir- popularity for such functionality.
among a jumble of separate databases, such as mation emails with the option to let customers SALES PITCHES RELEVANT
reservation systems and customer relationship add their trip details as an event alert in their “Consumers also prefer marketing that’s perti-
management software. digital calendars. AND EFFECTIVE. nent,” said Justin Steele, vice president of product
development at travel tech company Switchfly,
Today, airlines and other travel companies are "Expect airlines in 2019 to start testing the calen- Marriott, have been experimenting with replacing which has seen semi-personalized promotions
solving that problem by merging the data in dar as a communications channel where they the standard list of generic room types for a new from its partners result in increased transactions.
various ways. Some are pooling their informa- can remind travelers to book airport parking booking interface, called attribute-based booking,
tion into so-called data lakes, where artif icial or activities at their destination," said Bruce on their direct websites and mobile apps. To illustrate, American Express has curated a
intelligence-powered software connects the Buchanan, CEO of marketing tech startup Rokt. collection of luxury hotels and resorts it calls Fine,
dots on customer behaviors and preferences. “In an attribute-based booking, the concept of and it tends to reserve its marketing message
In this effort, the travel industry is taking cues Other travel sectors besides airlines are upping one-size-fits-all room types is eliminated,” said for them to Platinum and Centurion cardholders
f rom Amazon and other retailers, which are their marketing games, too. Cosmopolitan Las Joe Youssef, executive vice president for market- who have top-tier status in airline programs.
data-mining pioneers. Vegas found that hotel guests who text its chatbot, ing and corporate development at Amadeus’ The reason? It believes those travelers are the
Rose, spend as much as 30 percent more than hospitality unit, which is providing the tech for type who would most enjoy the elite properties.
"Travel brands find they’re more successful at those who don't. IHG’s effort. “Consumers instead select desired
upselling when they show only a few offers that attributes that add an incremental price to the Cruise lines are finding that personalization can
match customers' likely interests," said Kabir Hotels will be able to get more creative with base room rate — for example, a king bed with help with coaxing travelers into spending more
Shahani, CEO of marketing tech firm Amperi- upselling this year. Like the airlines have done, a sea view on a high floor — to create a room money. Exhibit A: Regent Seven Seas launched
ty. “Having an integrated view of all their data many hotels are linking their various databases that meets their needs.” an interactive mobile quiz where travelers could
enables them to do that.” together with the help of tech vendors such choose between various options to build the
as Amadeus, Channex, Impala, Mews, Oracle, The widespread consumer use of mobile devices perfect Alaskan cruise. With each response, Regent
Airlines have also been giving travel manage- Sabre, and Shiji. is fueling in-the-moment sales pitches. Hotels learned about customers' latest preferences for
ment companies more insights into cross-sell have been learning how to time their promotion excursions. The cruise line then emailed travelers
options for corporate travel, such as adding "Many hotel groups have centralized a customer's emails and push notifications with the help of promotions based on what it had learned thanks
ground transportation to a flight reservation. transaction, profile, and preferences data into a data science. to help from marketing tech startup Jebbit.
They’re using new communication methods to so-called golden record," said Tim Sullivan, chief
talk with newly enhanced reservation systems revenue off icer of hotel marketing tech f irm "A big theme of 2019 for hospitality companies Some consumers may grumble about what they
from travel tech middlemen Amadeus, Sabre, Cendyn. “Now they can analyze a customer’s will be the improved timing of offers," said Jason see as a shakedown, but travel companies are
and Travelport. More airlines this year will display record and tailor offers to what the person will Bryant, CEO of hotel upselling tech startup Nor1. looking at it differently. "Travelers are typically in
visual representations of their ancillary products, have the highest propensity to like.” "Hotels are now able to tap machine learning a good mood when they've just booked a trip,"
such as access to expedited airport security lines, to know precisely when to send, say, a special said Buchanan of Rokt. "It's a moment when
which will encourage agents to attach more The lines between selling and upselling are discount for the hotel’s restaurant or an invitation consumers are especially receptive to add-on
products to corporate travel bookings. beginning to blur. Some hotel groups, such as for a late check-out in exchange for a nominal offers, which can sustain the positive mindset."
Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and charge, to a particular type of guest."

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