Three Ways to Improve Traveler Payment Experience
Andrew Mazur
Senior Business Development Manager @ DataArt | Driving Technology Transformation
On October 11, DataArt hosted the webinar, “3 Ways to Improve Traveler Payment Experience” as part of an ongoing series addressing trends, technology, and thought leadership in the travel industry. Alexander Shchedrin, VP of Strategic Services at Travel, Transportation, and Hospitality at DataArt, moderated an engaging discussion focused on new travel payment trends and the rise of advanced payments and subscription models.
DataArt partnered with Stripe to host a joint webinar exploring ways that innovations in payment solutions can help businesses grow in challenging times. The panel, moderated by Alex Shchedrin, VP of Strategic Services at Travel, Transportation, and Hospitality at DataArt, also included:
Together, these industry leaders discussed three solutions for improving payment experiences for the travel industry.
Discussion Point: How Do We Improve the First Purchase Experience for Travel Customers?
Sam Schulte from Inspirato believes that differentiable value propositions are needed to engage in discussion with new customers, especially among Gen Z. “Slightly different from a fully self-service model from a sales perspective,” Schulte continues that “we do want to spend time getting to know our prospects and guiding them through the process.” That is why they make transactions as easy and seamless as possible to get the customers excited to book their next trip. Ron Rich, from The Parking Spot, agrees with the importance of seamless transactions, discussing how his company has invested in frictionless account management coupled with a tier program to encourage first purchasers to keep using them for new perks.
James Lemon from Stripe summed it up, saying “there is a war on for that first customer purchase.” Direct booking experience must be the heart of a commercial strategy. Placing seamless transactions at the front and center is how such a strategy can be achieved. Lemon also took the discussion further, imagining a future where “super apps” would allow customers to book various parts of a single travel experience through different partners without leaving the platform. “We need to be thinking of these super apps,” he said, adding that this vision might be a few years away.
Discussion Point: What Opportunities Help Guarantee Repeat Customer Experiences?
According to?Ron Rich, customers who have already booked with your payment platform will often have a lot of their preferences communicated to the provider; loyalty members are often eligible for tailored experiences designed to facilitate their repeat purchases. Email campaigns to existing customers let them know when to book in advance to avoid obstacles during high-traffic seasons. Social media is also useful for reaching existing customers and helps bring them to the provider sooner by letting them know that by, booking earlier, they are guaranteed a better rate. For?Ron Rich, the solution to building repeat customer engagement comes in the form of investment in the subscription model, which he called a loyalty program. “Our customers literally need to use a single QR code since all their information is already stored on their account,” he added, saying that these perks get better as their customers go up the ladder of their loyalty program.
Sam Schulte?emphasized the need to leverage technology to supplement subscriber services by predicting when regular trips are and reminding customers to book sooner rather than later. Customers can be both offered the ability to have the trip bookings done for them as part of the subscription or doing it themselves based on recommendation. “Most forward-thinking travel companies are asking themselves, ‘what is our Amazon Prime'?” as?James Lemon?puts it.
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Since in the travel industry not everyone has the resources to build up subscription models and obsess over loyalty customer experiences, a good solution is to simply ‘borrow’ off-the-shelf affordable tech to remove friction points.
Discussion Point: How Do We Leverage Post-Purchase Experiences to Turn Customers into Repeat Customers?
“Once a trip is booked, that’s really when the fun begins,”?Sam Schulte?said.?Schulte?and his team are dedicated to capturing preferential data about customers to know what they like to do while they are traveling. They use that data to create a customized trip itinerary for them, both in terms of personalized outreach and technology tools to make these experiences exciting.
"If you aren't upselling during your traveler journey, you're being neglectful,”?Lemon?said. He explained that not only is that neglectful toward the company and its shareholders, but it is also neglectful toward the guests themselves. They do not have as enjoyable of a trip and the company misses out on a valuable revenue stream.
“Guests want to be given valuable permissions,”?Lemon?said. Guests want to be shown the better restaurants, the best place to park, and so on.
Final thoughts: How Do We Use Technology in the Process of Modernization and Innovation for Better Customer Experiences?
According to?Lemon, the industry should be asking itself, “What is our ecosystem?” and needs to figure out how to put a whole range of services on offer in front of guests. Companies still use payment services that require customers to put in bank account details, rather than sending out a Stripe link that enables instant payments.
DataArt professionals have helped numerous companies in the travel industry develop and apply various custom technological solutions, particularly in the Automation and AI fields. Contact us if you are looking for a technology partner and travel domain knowledge.
You can find the full version of the webinar recording?here.
Originally published here.