ChatGPT may have got the world talking following its launch in November 2022, but concerns are growing that the business travel sector is failing to keep up with the conversation about AI.
The sector has been considered as a far more natural fit for AI adoption compared to leisure travel, as the business traveller is forced to travel for duty as opposed to his or her own personal desires and tastes.
That means an AI which knows the time, date and location of the event the business traveller must attend can easily create an itinerary that will serve all requirements.
And with new research released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in its Annual Global Report and Forecast in July showing the business travel sector is currently worth $1.48 trillion globally now, and set to hit the $2 trillion mark by 2028, it would seem the industry is ripe for digital automation.
But with fears abounding in the business travel sector about job losses, data security and the complexity of the business travel sector, worries are growing that (travel management companies) TMCs are failing to reap the benefits of the technology.
Scott Wylie, the chief technology officer of business travel technology provider TripStax, said that many TMC agents, who seek to add value at every stage of the booking with their own expertise, view the technology with suspicion.
He added: “AI could diminish that, if you automate a task that an agent has previously done then you reduce the value of that agent’s work.”
Wylie said that while data protection is an issue, he added TMCs are building their own AIs to protect data privacy but added more needs to be done on data anonymity to ensure any information used can’t be traced back to the traveller it is linked to.
Similarly, he added AIs will use information available on the web and while a human might spot something that is wrong, an AI is less likely to do so.
Wylie said: “The reality is while AI and open AI made a news splash you’ve got lots of people running round talking about compliance and issues about data.
“You can get AI to give you as many incorrect answers as correct one as it does try to fill in the gaps on occasion.”
Meanwhile, ATPI group commercial director Katie Skiterall argued that security concerns are largely irrelevant.
She said that security is already core to every TMC’s offering, to such an extent that any client pitch includes a security questionnaire that must be answered to the client’s satisfaction before the real conversations take place.
However, Skiterall admitted this focus on security might be slowing the initial adoption of the technology, as companies decide how best to protect their technology and what roles they want it to play.
She said: “It’s about leaning in with caution as decisions have to be made; that’s what the delay is across the industry as companies are making those decisions and putting in rules.”
Skiterall also sought to allay TMC agents’ concerns over their jobs, saying AI would instead allow better client communications while freeing agents up from menial tasks by introducing practices like auto-ticketing and auto-invoicing.
And she urged TMCs to work together and share knowledge to develop the technology for the industry, adding: “Buyers are expecting it.”
Spotnana vice president of partnerships Johnny Thorsen said that human agents would never go out of fashion at the TMC and tech provider due to their ability to handle crises.
He added while an AI agent might be able to handle 80 per cent of all bookings they are ineffective at solving unusual or unexpected problems when information and help is most urgently needed and which can be a regular occurrence in business travel.
This allows humans to stand out when trouble occurs and which is when TMCs can demonstrate their value to the client.
While Thorsen was confident that security is more than adequate for data protection in AI development, he said a far bigger problem is even a single TMC will use different technologies in different parts of the world and so hampering the collection of data required to train the AI.
Nor are hoteliers helping the process of effective data collection Thorsen said, adding: “A lot of content online in the travel industry is extremely fragmented and outdated.
“Hotels have an unknown number of descriptions online and it is hard to know which one is right.”
While TripAdvisor is often cited as a source for AIs to use to gather information on a hotel, Thorsen argued many of the reviews are useless to the business travellers.
He said: “The reviews are only relevant if they relate to your needs as a corporate traveller – if you travel first class you don’t care about a backpacker’s opinion.”
Thorsen also said that TMCs should also be focusing their AI development on the supplier chain and travel’s fluid pricing, even if it creates a new set of problems.
He added: “AI can take advantage of the ups and downs in pricing; it can be much more dynamic and pick up changes in the market.
“But if you use AI to look for the best pricing then suppliers will counter that with their own AI designed to sell at the highest price. It will be interesting to see how the models battle it out.”
He also argued that the technology can also drive sustainability in the industry by working out the greenest travel arrangements for a client as opposed to the most convenient.
So while the AI conversation is ongoing in the business travel world, TripStax’s Wylie urged TMCs to stop talking and start making decisions about their use of AI.
“Travel, like any industry, has to accept AI is here and will be used,” he said. “The reality is if you turn your back on it completely then other people will fly past you rapidly.”
The same goes for hoteliers keen to take a slice of the lucrative business travel market, but how they do so, as well as how they respond to the new issues the technology inevitably creates, remains to be seen.