Virtual assistants provide tourists with personalized information before, during, and after their trip. Many Mexican tourism companies have already adopted this technology to reduce operational costs, improve customer service and create new direct sales opportunities.
Who would have imagined three years ago that by 2021 it would be possible to pay for a plane ticket, book a hotel, schedule a tour, and many other travel-related activities through a WhatsApp conversation assisted by a chatbot?
It is now a reality, meeting customers’ expectations for fast and effortless customer service.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is present in our daily lives through virtual assistants or AI-powered chatbots that we can easily access from our cell phones and other devices and help make our lives easier when traveling.
AI-powered chatbots
AI-powered chatbots are a major trend that tourism businesses can no longer ignore
With the mass adoption of smartphones, consumers have changed the way they consume digital content. On mobile, instead of searching for information, we interact with it conversationally. Mobile was designed for interaction, so it’s no surprise that e-commerce is becoming increasingly conversational.
According to Google, with smartphones and AI, we are entering the age of assistance.
The pandemic has also fostered the rapid development of digital interactions between consumers and tourism businesses, which requires automation due to their increased volume.
Whatsapp is the #1 communication channel in Mexico, so why not use it to book a hotel room? For hoteliers, it’s a great tool and with automation, it’s even better.
According to NDS Cognitive Labs, the number of interactions via chatbots grew from 250,000 to 1.1 million, a 340 % increase, nationwide between February and June of this year. Source CIO Mexico
Introducing Velma, Quicktext AI chatbot for hotels; speaks 26 languages across 200+ topics
Main benefits of chatbots for Mexican hotels and tourism companies
AI chatbots deliver fast, natural, and personalized communication, allowing companies to meet their customers’ needs without human intervention. As a result, agents will be able to focus on complex operations, saving them valuable time.
- Reduce operational costs: Automate the handling of recurring questions that require a lot of time on a daily basis but generate little value, such as check-in/check-out questions…
- Offer fast and personalized customer service with fewer staff: Chatbots allow users to have instant answers in multiple languages 24/7. Even with 1000 customers asking questions at the same time.
- Increase direct sales: Chatbots allow you to interact with your customers on multiple platforms such as your web chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Google My Business chat, etc., helping you increase your exposure to customers.
In addition, chatbots help convert hesitant customers by resolving their doubts and guiding them directly through the booking process.
USE CASES IN MEXICO
Aeromexico
Aeromexico leverages Aerobot AI to help its travelers in many areas: from booking a flight to check-in and receiving status notifications while also resolving doubts about various topics and tracking luggage in case of delays.
Aeromexico serves more than one million passengers per month with Aerobot, which allows it to significantly reduce its call center wait time and improve its customer service.
Aerobot, Airline Chatbot by Aeromexico
Ahau Collection
Ahau Collection– a collection of luxury boutique hotels, has leveraged Quicktext, AI specialized in hospitality, to deliver instant support to travelers and help them book easily.
Ahau Collection agents no longer have to handle repetitive queries, allowing them to focus on proactively following up with clients who have expressed interest but not finalized their reservations.
Adopting Quicktext, Ahau Collection Hoteles has significantly increased their hotel direct bookings.
Ahau Collection leveraging Velma, Quicktext AI chatbot for hotels to engage customers down the booking funnel
The right time to adopt a chatbot in your hotel is now.
Your customers are massively using chat systems, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc., and this trend is sure to grow in the future.
In fact, Google has added a chat feature in Google My Business.
GHL Relax Corales de Indias Hotels using GMB CHAT
Chatbots are not just a technological gimmick, and they do not dehumanize service. On the contrary, they are the only viable way to support the rapid growth of customer interactions.
In the 2000s, most hoteliers failed to see the web met traveler’s need for content search and let OTAs take their place. Let’s hope they don’t make the same mistake today with chatbots that meet users’ expectations for immediate information and effortless search on a smartphone.
About Quicktext
Quicktext is a technology company focused on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data solutions for hotels. It offers an AI Chatbot, Velma, that instantly responds to over 200 hotel questions, 24/7, in 27 languages and across all communication channels, including Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Google My Business, Telegram, Instagram, and the hotel’s website.
