Innovation in the voice channel is not only possible, it is necessary
Ring2Travel 05/06/2024
The data has spoken: the voice channel continues to grow. Compared to the same period in 2023, so far this year we have seen a more than remarkable increase in both bookings made by phone (+40%) and the revenue generated by them (+60%). The desire for vacations and the desire to travel do not cease, and we are on the way to another historic year for tourism.
However, to achieve such positive results, it is not enough to try to answer as many calls as possible. And here's a silly example…
I just booked my hotel room for next week in Madrid because I have the pleasure of being a speaker at the Smart Travel News Inspire event. I did it in a major chain, I will not say which one. First of all, I had to book by phone because the web booking engine did not give me an immediate confirmation. Surprising, isn't it? But let's leave online aside for the moment.
I called the hotel and they treated me well. Friendly and quick. When they have already made my reservation (non-refundable, breakfast included, to be paid directly at the hotel), they tell me that it will be valid until 6:00 p.m. on the day of arrival (my train arrives in Madrid around 11:00 p.m.) and that if I want to protect it until the time of my arrival, I will have to leave the details of a card as a guarantee. Reasonable. So far, barely passed.
The worst part comes when I ask for the method of sending the card number and he tells me to give it to him verbally. No secure payment link to tokenize the card, no recording system to encrypt or distort the voice... nothing. There is still a long way to go.
You may be able to invent something truly groundbreaking at some point in your life. You may even be able to get your creation to catch on and end up being useful to many other people. But let's not kid ourselves... This is really complicated. However, innovation can come in many other ways, such as reinterpretation, finding new uses, or simply making the best use of what already exists.
Just as hotels use email campaigns to communicate with their guests, someone figured out that agents could do the same over the phone. And the truth is, outbound campaigns have proven to be a very useful resource for rewarding past guests and encouraging them to return to the destination and property in the future.
It is imperative to refine call center operations by designing and implementing a caller identification system that allows, on the one hand, to better identify market needs and, on the other hand, to minimize the intervention of the human factor in those calls that hide an intention more of consultation than of reservation. In this sense, access to the conversion rate and its monitoring provides very valuable information on customer behavior, making it possible to better distinguish between the different existing profiles and to personalize the service much more. Artificial intelligence has a lot to say on this point.
It is also important to have different methods of confirming reservations and validating personal information so that what happened to me today does not happen again. Sending payment links has proven to be a very effective and secure system that also drastically reduces the cancellation rate.
The rapid detection of price discrepancies with other channels and the application of protocols for automated price changes based on pre-configured business rules are common practices in booking engines. Why is it so common for unintended price differences to occur between direct online and offline channels? The answer lies in something as simple as system integration.
When both channels are aligned, at least from the start, with a common pricing structure, integration with loyalty programs and billing systems, etc., it goes a long way toward increasing voice bookings and, ultimately, direct sales.
In addition, the comfort and well-being of the customer has been prioritized with the implementation of services such as Multi-quote, thanks to which different accommodation alternatives and/or holiday packages can be offered in a single call and all these options can be sent to the customer in a single email, with direct booking links, thus avoiding the tedious task of comparing prices on different websites.
Hotel call centers play a critical role as the first point of contact for guests and a source of valuable information for hotels. The ability of agents to identify emerging needs has led to the development of new tools and services, such as intelligent redirects or the ability to confirm reservations after midnight.
Their conversations provide the hotel with feedback on the reasons why calls did not result in a booking (high prices, lack of availability on certain dates, specific requests, etc.), allowing them to adjust their strategies to improve the customer experience and increase conversions.
In addition, the needs or incidents communicated by guests over the phone reveal the shortcomings of the hotel or hotel chain, some of which can be solved directly by the agents (cards not activated for e-commerce, payment gateway failures, errors in the web content or broken functionalities that prevent the reservation from being completed, etc.).
A call center, contact center, or customer experience center, whatever you want to call it, is about much more than just leaving the phone in the hands of on-duty agents. It is about providing a proactive service, not a reactive one. It is about professionalizing a channel, the voice channel, which, although it is one of the essential pillars of direct hotel sales, often falls to departments that are already saturated with the mere fulfillment of their natural functions.
This process requires resources of many kinds. It requires investments in technology, daily metrics and analysis, specialized personnel, integrated tools, and innovation. The voice channel, due to its opaque nature, cries out for an ad hoc revenue management and direct sales strategy with at least the following five fundamental objectives.
However, to achieve such positive results, it is not enough to try to answer as many calls as possible. And here's a silly example…
I just booked my hotel room for next week in Madrid because I have the pleasure of being a speaker at the Smart Travel News Inspire event. I did it in a major chain, I will not say which one. First of all, I had to book by phone because the web booking engine did not give me an immediate confirmation. Surprising, isn't it? But let's leave online aside for the moment.
I called the hotel and they treated me well. Friendly and quick. When they have already made my reservation (non-refundable, breakfast included, to be paid directly at the hotel), they tell me that it will be valid until 6:00 p.m. on the day of arrival (my train arrives in Madrid around 11:00 p.m.) and that if I want to protect it until the time of my arrival, I will have to leave the details of a card as a guarantee. Reasonable. So far, barely passed.
The worst part comes when I ask for the method of sending the card number and he tells me to give it to him verbally. No secure payment link to tokenize the card, no recording system to encrypt or distort the voice... nothing. There is still a long way to go.
Innovation is not just about inventing the wheel, it is also about making the best use of it
You may be able to invent something truly groundbreaking at some point in your life. You may even be able to get your creation to catch on and end up being useful to many other people. But let's not kid ourselves... This is really complicated. However, innovation can come in many other ways, such as reinterpretation, finding new uses, or simply making the best use of what already exists.
Outbound Campaigns
Just as hotels use email campaigns to communicate with their guests, someone figured out that agents could do the same over the phone. And the truth is, outbound campaigns have proven to be a very useful resource for rewarding past guests and encouraging them to return to the destination and property in the future.
Quality of service
It is imperative to refine call center operations by designing and implementing a caller identification system that allows, on the one hand, to better identify market needs and, on the other hand, to minimize the intervention of the human factor in those calls that hide an intention more of consultation than of reservation. In this sense, access to the conversion rate and its monitoring provides very valuable information on customer behavior, making it possible to better distinguish between the different existing profiles and to personalize the service much more. Artificial intelligence has a lot to say on this point.
Booking confirmation methods
It is also important to have different methods of confirming reservations and validating personal information so that what happened to me today does not happen again. Sending payment links has proven to be a very effective and secure system that also drastically reduces the cancellation rate.
Unifying Online and Offline Rates
The rapid detection of price discrepancies with other channels and the application of protocols for automated price changes based on pre-configured business rules are common practices in booking engines. Why is it so common for unintended price differences to occur between direct online and offline channels? The answer lies in something as simple as system integration.
When both channels are aligned, at least from the start, with a common pricing structure, integration with loyalty programs and billing systems, etc., it goes a long way toward increasing voice bookings and, ultimately, direct sales.
Multi-quote
In addition, the comfort and well-being of the customer has been prioritized with the implementation of services such as Multi-quote, thanks to which different accommodation alternatives and/or holiday packages can be offered in a single call and all these options can be sent to the customer in a single email, with direct booking links, thus avoiding the tedious task of comparing prices on different websites.
Trust and Personalization
Hotel call centers play a critical role as the first point of contact for guests and a source of valuable information for hotels. The ability of agents to identify emerging needs has led to the development of new tools and services, such as intelligent redirects or the ability to confirm reservations after midnight.
Their conversations provide the hotel with feedback on the reasons why calls did not result in a booking (high prices, lack of availability on certain dates, specific requests, etc.), allowing them to adjust their strategies to improve the customer experience and increase conversions.
In addition, the needs or incidents communicated by guests over the phone reveal the shortcomings of the hotel or hotel chain, some of which can be solved directly by the agents (cards not activated for e-commerce, payment gateway failures, errors in the web content or broken functionalities that prevent the reservation from being completed, etc.).
Put a call center in your life
A call center, contact center, or customer experience center, whatever you want to call it, is about much more than just leaving the phone in the hands of on-duty agents. It is about providing a proactive service, not a reactive one. It is about professionalizing a channel, the voice channel, which, although it is one of the essential pillars of direct hotel sales, often falls to departments that are already saturated with the mere fulfillment of their natural functions.
This process requires resources of many kinds. It requires investments in technology, daily metrics and analysis, specialized personnel, integrated tools, and innovation. The voice channel, due to its opaque nature, cries out for an ad hoc revenue management and direct sales strategy with at least the following five fundamental objectives.
- Optimize service quality
- Maximize agent performance
- Improve customer experience
- Increase conversion
- Build guest loyalty
