Hays Travel boss Dame Irene Hays says the retailer’s future lies in using new technology such as artificial intelligence combined with “human touchpoints” to react faster to clients’ needs.
Hays said the company was responding to a rise in customer expectations in terms of the speed they want to book and hear back from a travel company.
To achieve this, Sukie Rapal has been appointed to the new role of head of customer engagement to oversee its customer touch points and the customer journey. Rapal has more than 20 years’ experience in the sector including at The Midcounties Co-operative and cruise.co.uk.
Hays said: “We have to spend an inordinate amount of time and money understanding who our customers are and their preferences. It’s about the speed we as a company put an offer in front of customers before they even know about it.
“We need to persuade people this holiday is the one they want. I think the people who do well in the future will move into the metaverse and make better use of virtual technology.”
Hays said being able to book quickly and have a secure, value for money holiday were all messages the company needed to “hit” in its turn-of-year campaign.
“The way we are interacting with our customers has never been so complex and never been so reliant on speed,” she said, adding: “We believe this is where all our energies should be to make sure our customers get the best they can, irrespective of how they contact Hays Travel.”
She said the company could use technology better to track how its customers react to its social media posts quickly and understand their behaviour.
“Articifical intelligence is the obvious [way to do this],” she said.
Speaking on the same panel, Travel Counsellors chief executive Steve Byrne said it was important travel businesses interacted digitally with customers just as well as companies which only interact digitally. “That’s a minimum,” he said.
But he said having a relationship of trust with clients was potentially more important.
He added: “If you build trust with the customer they will forgive you if the digital experience is not as good. The digital experience is important but trust is just as important, if not more.”
