Customers prefer messaging and chat as methods of communication with travel companies, reveals the latest research by Clickatell.
The Chat Commerce Trends Report: Travel Edition 2022 unveils how US consumers prefer to interact with travel agencies, hotels, and airlines.
The majority of consumers (87%) say they would like to use mobile messaging to chat with travel companies for various reasons, including booking updates and upgrade notifications. Most surveyed consumers (95%) say that personalization plays a significant role when they receive booking updates, especially flight delays or late check-ins. Moreover, 48% of consumers are interested in receiving quick notifications like booking updates from travel businesses.
Out of all generations, Gen Z and Millennial travelers are most interested in mobile messaging with travel companies because it is convenient and fast.
"By enabling communications and purchases for their customers in chat, Clickatell has opened the doors to convenience and personalization across travel brands," said Pieter de Villiers, CEO and Co-Founder of Clickatell.
"The data shows that there is an opportunity for travel brands to deliver services to their customers easily and conveniently via mobile messaging, which consumers desire and demand. Perhaps now more than ever, consumer loyalty is up for grabs and travel brands need to capitalize on every touchpoint."
When communicating with hotels, consumers cite receiving a mobile message that their room is ready and requesting early or late check-in as the top preferences. 58% of consumers say they want a notification that their room is ready and 41% want to be notified to upgrade their room. When it comes to hotel reservations and room upgrades for using a chat payment link, 58% of consumers would prefer to book a reservation while 47% would want to upgrade their room.
In addition, 80% of consumers say they find it more convenient to use a travel desk via mobile messaging compared to other channels. The report also shows that iPhone users are more compelled to use mobile messaging with travel companies than Android users.
