Excuse the pun, but it’s been a turbulent few years for the travel sector.
As we enter the year 2025, the COVID-19 pandemic may seem a distant memory, but its impact on the travel sector was severe.
The travel bans and mass holiday cancellations led to a significant decline in trust in the sector.
Yet, the industry has fought hard to win back that trust over the past few years.
Indeed, the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index Report for July 2024 ranked "tourism" fourth out of the 13 industries surveyed.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s Travel Study for 2024 revealed that the airline industry achieved a record-high customer satisfaction score of 77. Meanwhile, "lodgings" also experienced a three percent year-on-year improvement.
In short, the travel customer experience sector seems to be trending in the right direction, making it a prime target for a CX boost, and Booking.com is grabbing the GenAI bull by its horns.
Booking.com's GenAI Story
Like many businesses, Booking.com is looking to generative AI (GenAI) to help strengthen and expand its CX offering.
Late last year, the travel behemoth introduced a number of new and revamped AI-powered features, all aimed at delivering "more tailored and time-saving solutions for travelers."
Chief among these new features is its Smart Filter tool, which allows travelers to describe their ideal property in their own words.
Whereas previously, users had to manually filter search results to find their desired accommodation option, they can now ask for exactly what they want.
For example, a customer may type: "Apartments in Barcelona with a kitchen, onsite gym, a rooftop bar, and a sea view."
The Smart Filter uses GenAI to scan Booking.com’s inventory and apply relevant filters to provide a tailored list of options, streamlining the search process and saving time.
For Joe Futty, VP of Product Marketplace at Booking.com, it is the tool’s personalization capabilities that really spark the imagination. He said:
"Our journey with AI for over a decade has always been about leveraging technology to make travel more intuitive and personalized, helping us fulfill our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.