It is undeniable that the global travel and hospitality industries were among the hardest hit when the world shut down due to the pandemic. While embracing digital transformation has long been on the radar of travel and hospitality firms before the pandemic, events from the previous year have forced many organisations to accelerate their plans and rethink how they do business, to cope not only with strict health and safety requirements but also with evolving customer needs.
“This period of disruption has shown all of us how essential re-invention is for travel and hospitality companies,” says David Peller, Managing Director, Travel and Hospitality, Amazon Web Services (AWS).
As borders reopen and the demand for travel returns, industry players understand that they cannot go back to business-as-usual.
“Travel and hospitality companies have embraced digital transformation during the past year, both for survival and for reinvention. The cloud has given them, among others, the advantage of agility and innovation. Technologies born of these times will stick around and improve the way we fly, eat, stay and experience the world moving forward.”
Another key change that the industry witnessed was the shift in consumer behaviours. Customers’ travel patterns and requirements have transformed to be centred on health and safety. Additionally, many digitally savvy consumers are now expecting tech-driven and personalised experiences.
“The pandemic has shown just how fast expectations can change for passengers and guests alike. Now more than ever, business leaders are more focused on finding the right technology that fits the unique needs of consumers today. CIOs and CTOs across the industry are looking at ways on how they can ‘do even more, with even less’,” explains Peller.
According to Peller, customer demands for travel and hospitality services today are driven by three key elements: cleanliness, flexibility and experiences.
Cleanliness refers to compliance with regulatory ‘health and safety requirements’, which have become a top priority and have taken on a very different meaning over the past 18 months. Flexibility is focused on the ability to change or cancel reservations, especially with the fast-evolving and uncertain market. Last but not least is experiences. Customers today seek brands that prioritise guest or traveller experiences by providing innovative and seamless services.
“To attract and retain loyal travellers and guests, companies need to provide experiences that are differentiated, tailored and memorable,” says Peller. “At AWS, we support travel and hospitality businesses of every size and segment, around the world – and their leaders – to become more agile and resilient. We’ve observed first-hand how much innovation has been stimulated from this period of disruption – and of course, how much of this has been delivered using the cloud.”
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A good example of this is Seera, one of the Middle East’s leading travel and hospitality businesses. When the company saw demand drop at the start of the pandemic, it started talking to AWS about how the cloud could help reduce costs and soon also began to explore how cloud computing could be used to develop new services, increase automation, and improve security.
The power of data
Data is key to thriving in any sector and plays a significant role in helping the travel and hospitality industry to understand customer behaviour and adapt strategies to provide the best experiences.
Peller explains, “Data is at the centre of our industry, for sure. For too long however, data has been siloed. There’s a large amount of data on the supply side of travel. And then another volume of data on the demand side.”
Companies are relying on the agility and the data processing power of the cloud to break-down traditional data silos. They are also tapping into advanced cloud technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to turn data into actionable insights, enabling businesses to create favourable customer experiences.
“With AWS, companies can process their data, identify what is meaningful, experiment with algorithms, then optimise a customised, personalisation model. This allows companies to make relevant recommendations that deliver an enhanced and inspired guest experience,” says Peller.
Looking ahead, Peller predicts consumer requirements in the travel and hospitality sector will continue to evolve. “Customers are divinely discontent – their expectations are never static – they go up. It’s human nature,” he says.
“Companies cannot rest on their laurels as what works today, might not resonate tomorrow. Today’s innovation will be taken for granted by tomorrow. Our focus is on innovating for our customers, who in turn take these innovations and create what’s next for their customers and whatever the future brings. The flexibility and agility to innovate is a huge asset in helping the travel industry be prepared for the future, however uncertain the future can be.”
