Although artificial intelligence has been around for 70 years, the rise of generative AI represents a significant leap forward in capabilities.
And unlike yesterday’s next big thing – take your pick from Web3, NFTs, augmented reality, quantum computing – generative AI is already being used by millions.
“Unlike many new technologies, consumers have their hands on it at the same time as big corporations do,” said Simon James, group vice-president of data science and AI, Publicis Sapient.
As the public increasingly uses ChatGPT for real-world purposes like shopping, travel planning, and making reservations, ChatGPT Plus users (those who pay $20-a-month) now have access to a growing number of third-party plugins.
In travel and hospitality, Open Table, Kayak and Expedia were early adopters, announcing their integrations with the chatbot in March and April this year, followed by several others, including Skyscanner, Trip.com and GetYourGuide.
Once downloaded from the store, a limit of three plugins can be enabled at the same time. So, for instance, a Chat GPT Plus user can plan a holiday by searching flights (Skyscanner), searching hotels (Expedia) and booking restaurants (Open Table).
Unlike single travel websites or metasearch, generative AI does a much better job of replicating the conversational experience that a customer might have in a traditional travel agency.
Although many of these plugins are still in the testing phase, industry observers point to the huge potential for generative AI to serve up increasingly sophisticated trip planning that assimilates personal preferences as well as inputs like weather forecasts.
Companies can join a waiting list to make a ChatGPT plugin. OpenAI, the organisation behind ChatGPT, says: “Users have been asking for plugins since we launched ChatGPT because they unlock a vast range of possible use cases. We’re starting with a small set of users and are planning to gradually roll out larger-scale access as we learn more for plugin developers, ChatGPT users, and after an alpha period, API users who would like to integrate plugins into their products.”
Is it a surprise that the major hotel brands have not created their own ChatGPT plugins yet? Fred Novella, managing director, Global Asset Solutions, commented: “The first-mover advantage of those companies that have already embraced generative AI might not hold up over the long term. The chessboard may get overturned. Still, getting out there first doesn’t hurt. The hotel operators missed an occasion.”
Of course, hotels have more to think about than the booking stage. Perhaps the incentive has not been so strong for hotel brands to invest in what is essentially just another booking channel (and one that is currently behind a paywall). However, if ChatGPT usage grows, integration would become inevitable.
During a short video, Darko Vukovic, CEO and founder, PolyAPI, demonstrates how any hotel business (a single hotel, a chain, or a consortium) can have a ChatGPT plugin via PolyAPI and how customers might use it. The PolyAPI platform is available via the Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
Arguably, it is after trip planning and booking that generative AI really comes into its own for hotels, since it can help in personalising the overall guest experience.
Alliants, a tech vendor and consultant with hotel clients like Four Seasons and Nobu Hospitality, recently responded to a problem that hotels encounter every day.
“When speaking to front desk and concierge employees, they told us that guests typically make requests for restaurant reservations or spa treatments on the same day or the day before. This often means the hotel is unable to fulfil the guest’s wishes,” said Heather Byron, SVP services, Alliants.
Alliants created a new module that encourages guests to plan their stays and make bookings further in advance. Guests can view their itinerary on their phones and based on their profiles and preferences, the AI-powered module displays every guest with a unique selection of activities outside and inside the hotel/resort which can be booked directly.
For concierges and front desk agents, the module displays all their contacts and venues in one place, plus single view guest profiles.
Byron added that the software, which can handle high volumes, provides personalised service at scale that would traditionally require large numbers of customer service employees.
Messaging is another productive channel for cross-selling and upselling and obviously ripe for chatbot integration. Just as AI can automate replies to FAQs, it can also send special offers, invitations, and travel alerts at the right times.
Messages are also a new source of guest data. Byron noted: "We leverage ChatGPT to suggest responses to guest messages and provide summaries of chat and request histories so that guest experience staff can get up to speed in a matter of seconds."
The rate of adoption is expected to increase. Vukovic at PolyAPI said: “My personal belief is that hospitality, along with retail and ecommerce, will be the fastest adopters of AI because they already make their services and content very public to attract customers, so sharing content with AI is not scary. They are conceptually familiar with channels and will view AI as yet another way to reach customers and offer their products and services. They respect the customer's needs generally more than other industries. And they have to fight hard for margins, so efficiency is a very welcomed and ROI is measured and expected.”
For investors, partnering with organisations that are fully engaged with digital transformation and generative AI is likely to become increasingly critical.
At IHIF this year, hotel owners threw out a warning to hotel brands that continue to exercise brand standards that insist on closed systems and/or restrictions on which software operators can use.
Rupert Simoner, board president of HR Group, a multi-brand owner and operator with 150 hotels in Europe, said: “Digital guest journey systems are going to be so critical to our success, we are not going to run our operations on something we can’t control and design, because there are other brands out there with whom we can work.”
Susan Bland, managing director of RBH Hospitality Management, added: “It is a brave move to say no to certain brands because they are not as tech savvy. But as an industry, we need to move this forward, and the only way is to stand up to those that are holding us back.”