In an era where customer expectations are constantly evolving, the travel industry is expected to deliver a seamless experience to customers that starts as soon as they start researching their travel options. At Mint Payment’s recent roundtable dinner, a group of leading travel professionals gathered to discuss the future of customer experience. Here are some of the key insights from our discussions.
Setting New Standards for Customer Experience
Today’s travellers compare their booking experiences to the best-in-class digital interactions they encounter daily. Major players like Uber and Amazon have set the standard for providing frictionless search and purchase experiences. While they don’t directly compete with travel, their service standards are setting the benchmark.
Travel agents and tour operators prioritise delivering exceptional service and support to their customers. It’s evident that those who thrive are those provide not only remarkable travel experiences but also deliver a seamless booking journey.
This starts with those first touch points on social media, online and in store, through the personal interactions with their consultant, to payment and post purchase support.
Our discussions on the evening highlighted that the key moment of truth for many is the ability to capture customers at their point of peak excitement - whether they're planning a trip from their couch or making spontaneous decisions during conversations with friends. The ability to quickly convert these moments of inspiration into bookings and streamline processes to make conversion frictionless is essential.
For many, the processing of payments remains one of the biggest friction points in the customer journey. The customer experience is not only impacted when they use their credit card to pay their deposit and secure their dream holiday, but also the follow up process of providing final payments, purchasing additional services or making changes right up to the day of departure.
Our guests highlighted three key critical factors that may impact customer satisfaction:
- Being able to provide a range of payment options to the customer throughout the booking process
- Building trust throughout the booking and payment process
- Being flexible, such as being able to accept foreign currency payments from international customers
Navigating the Digital Transformation Journey
The complexity of selling travel presents specific challenges in to those seeking to transform or digitise the customer experience. Energetic discussions highlighted the need to modernise both internal operations and customer-facing processes - but the goal isn't just digitisation for its own sake. Transformation is about creating more efficient workflows that benefit agents, suppliers and customers. Due to the specialised nature of travel, a key challenge is finding the right technology partners to support travel businesses – every business is unique so finding the right partners that take the time to understand and collaboratively build solutions is essential.
Streamlining B2B Networks
Our group included travel leaders from high growth travel agent businesses, international tour operators and global sports travel brands. All attendees agreed that the complexity of travel booking networks demands sophisticated solutions. Key challenges identified included:
- Rigorous technology vendor qualification processes
- The importance of accelerating the flow of funds
- The growing need for dynamic multi-currency management
Establishing best practices in these areas is crucial for smooth operations in today's volatile market conditions.
Understanding "The New Boomer" Traveler
Our industry's traditional mature, kid-free traveller demographic is evolving significantly. Today's mature travellers are much more digitally savvy, while still being less dialled into digital communications. This shift requires travel businesses to tailor their:
- Customer engagement and marketing strategies
- Service delivery methods
- Payment experiences
The key is creating experiences that are both sophisticated and straightforward, meeting these travellers’ expectations for efficiency and ease.
Passion as the Differentiator
Perhaps the most compelling insight from our discussions was the role of passion in travel businesses. Our industry leaders shared how their genuine enthusiasm for destinations and experiences remains their strongest selling point. Technology's real value lies in its ability to free up time for these meaningful interactions - allowing travel professionals to spend less time on administration and more time sharing this passion with their customers.
Looking Ahead
The future of travel businesses lies in finding the perfect balance between digital efficiency and personal touch. By addressing these key areas, travel agencies and operators can create truly frictionless experiences that delight customers while streamlining operations.
If you interested in learning more, or would like to discuss how Mint can help your business with frictionless way to accept and make travel payments, our team is ready to assist. Contact us today.
For travel businesses looking to enhance their customer experience, the message is clear: focus on reducing friction in your digital processes while maintaining the personal touch that makes travel truly special.
