Technology has always played a key role in the travel industry and businesses will be adopting new innovations and layered solutions to help continue to drive business and create efficiency as the market is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. Capital also continues to flow into travel technology startups at a steady but tempered pace with several new companies scoring double digital funding to finalize products and expand services. Travel providers are shifting focus to revenue generation and are looking at technology as a way to gain advantage in a fiercely competitive marketplace. Consumer behavior may also be tempered as travel clients become more specific on how they spend their travel dollars. The push to elevate guest experiences while controlling and reducing costs continues to spur innovation in the travel technology sector.
Staying Connected at Sea
Most cruise pros will defer to the fact that shipboard WiFi has a lot of room for improvement. Staying connected is an amenity that travelers prioritize when researching travel nowadays and luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas has made vast improvements to its fleet in regards to connectivity. Utilizing Starlink’s low orbiting satellite internet service, Regent has outfitted its entire fleet with hardware and now offers high speed WiFi internet on all its ships and cruise packages. In the digital era, this is a welcome advancement to luxury cruise clients and is sure to give Regent an advantage in the marketplace. Starlink’s reliability and global coverage makes it an ideal technology for cruise line applications.
US Travelers Get an Added Convenience
Renewing passports has been an archaic experience as of recent but the necessity for vetting and background checks validates the slow process. The US State Department has been testing online passport renewals for some time and has recently launched the service officially. US passport holders can now fully renew their passports online. Applications, renewal payments and photo uploads can be handled through one interface. Travelers with passports that have expired within the last five years or are expiring within the year can use the service and processing time is approximately 6 to 8 weeks. The State Department expects around 5 million travelers to use the service over the next year. Online renewals are a welcome convenience for US based travelers that can plan ahead.
Hyatt Upgrades the Backend
Travel is a data driven business and Hyatt has recently upgraded their property management technology to capture critical guest insights. Oracle Opera Cloud will be implemented at over 1000 Hyatt properties with the goal of streamlining operations and managing critical guest data and behaviors. On-site management can utilize insights to improve guest experiences and eventually, increase transactional revenue. Standardizing PMS across the brand will help Hyatt control costs as well as offer consistent information management and resources to property operators. Data can be the advantage that hoteliers need to compete in a very crowded marketplace.
The Long Term Relationship of Technology and Travel
Technology and travel have always had an intricate and dependent relationship. The industry employs technology in all facets of the business and has been on the forefront of operational and guest service innovations. As the industry refocuses its efforts to increase efficiencies and reduce costs, guest experiences have also become a major priority as the future value of the individual is considered. In 2024, Traffic and volumes are expected to finally surpass 2019 statistics and providers are ready to maximize each guest interaction to drive revenue and businesses are adopting customer facing technologies as well as improved operational infrastructure to drive revenue and reduce costs.