How AI and Bots are Improving the Travel Industry
The travel industry is one of the biggest proponents and early adopters of AI technology and applications. AI and machine learning are a natural fit for travel, a somewhat volatile industry that ebbs and flows based on a large number of wildcard variables. Customer service has been the primary way AI is being steadily integrated into the travel experience, although there are a host of other potential applications for the technology.
Hotels are a prime location for AI adoption and the Connie robot being deployed by Hilton Worldwide Hotels is one of the most well known examples. Connie is an AI-based concierge that uses AI and speech recognition to provide a variety of tourist-related information to guests who speak to it. The two-foot-high robot acts like a human concierge, assisting guests arriving at the front desk and fielding a host of questions at the Hilton locations where it is being used.
Connie also learns from each human interaction, building its knowledgebase to improve future communications. The robot uses IBM’s Watson AI technology as well as the travel database WayBlazer to fuel its knowledge and provide real-time recommendations and answers to common questions.
A number of other hotel chains have trialed or are actively using AI solutions, including Wynn Las Vegas, which integrated Amazon Echo in its rooms. The Echo enables guests to use their voices to control lighting, temperature and television settings and also offers personal assistant services. The Clarion Hotel in Stockholm was also an early adopter of Echo, using the technology to create a chatbot butler to help guests order room service, hail cabs and offer tourist information and tips.
The AI concierge being used at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is called Rose, and is unique in that it includes a calling card with phone numbers, enabling guests to text requests.
