Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent

Artificial intelligence is nothing of a surprise these days in the travel industry. However, few would expect that it could also turn charming. When Milo Boyd, Digital Travel Reporter for the UK newspaper The Mirror, rang up Cassandra, one of HotelPlanner.ai’s new AI-powered travel agents, what followed felt less like talking to a robot and more like chatting with an endlessly patient human.

“I’m sorry. That was a generic answer. Let me come up with something a little more meaningful,” Cassandra said after offering hotel options in Tupelo, Mississippi. The apology — delivered in a friendly, natural American accent — was almost disarming. And when Boyd pushed for livelier room descriptions, Cassandra quickly adapted its tone.

Try as they might, the reporter couldn’t throw Cassandra off balance. The virtual agent kept its upbeat tone, volunteered extra travel tips, and even sounded as if it were sitting in a bustling call center — complete with artificial background chatter.

HotelPlanner offers a dream conversation partner

Cassandra is part of a growing fleet of AI travel assistants now fielding real customer calls on HotelPlanner.ai, a platform where users can choose the language and gender of their digital helper before giving it a try. While it’s currently in beta testing in the UK, in the United States, these AI agents are already a major part of the business.

Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com and HotelPlanner.ai, told The Mirror that the company’s virtual agents are now handling around 50,000 real calls every day — a number expected to reach 100,000 by the end of the year.

He added that 10% of the company’s total bookings are already made by bots. That’s a significant share for a company projecting US$1.8 billion in gross revenues this year and offering bookings at 1.5 million properties worldwide.

Hentschel is a firm believer in AI’s potential to transform customer service. He is insisting that his company’s virtual agents are “more helpful and efficient” than their human counterparts. While capable of competing “head-to-head” on both satisfaction and sales.

While human operators remain part of the team, the AI side of the business is expanding rapidly. “The agents were trained on eight million human phone calls,” Hentschel said. “They have accents, they make attempts at humor, and they’re programmed to always be helpful. They have nothing but kindness.”

One eyebrow-raising detail? Customers often don’t realize they’re speaking to a machine. “We only tell customers if they’re speaking to an AI agent if they ask,” Hentschel admitted to Boyd . “Sometimes it comes up because people ask them out on dates.”

According to Hentschel, the bots perform especially well with older customers, who appreciate their patience — even if, as he jokes, “AI doesn’t understand the money value of time.”

AI bots to conquer the entire travel industry

The rise of robot-travel agents like Cassandra comes as the wider industry embraces artificial intelligence. Just this week, OpenAI announced a partnership with Expedia, allowing travelers to book trips directly through ChatGPT.

And at the Travel and Tourism Summit in Rome last month, Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, predicted that AI would soon “double the travel market,” explaining that “people will work three days a week due to AI — and take much longer holidays.”

Sun also outlined how AI could revolutionize customer support: “Within 30 seconds, an AI in your native language will be able to speak to you over the phone. Within two minutes of a crisis, our team will be able to call travelers to get them to safety. This will be powered by AI.”

Whether that vision excites or unsettles you, the future of travel is already answering the phone. Best of all: it has perfect manners, a local accent, and an endless supply of travel recommendations!

Source: mirror.co.uk