Artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly changing the world, and the travel industry is no exception. Much was shared about streamlining hotel operations and the power of AI. revenue managementand travell The industry is starting to feel the impact of this technology, especially when planning and researching travel.
This introduction of AI is not unreasonable. According to a recent report 62% of millennials You will appreciate any insights, tips or hints from your AI companion while on vacation. From asking ChatGPT for travel recommendations to accessing AI at OTAs, travelers are looking for ways to speed up the planning process.
For the hospitality industry, the way customers engage with traveler travel dream and plan pages is changing (again!), and businesses must adapt to these new expectations.
A brief overview of AI-powered travel search
Trip.com was one of the first companies. Online travel agency (OTA) We plan to launch TripGenie, an AI-based chatbot with itinerary planning and in-app booking capabilities, in February 2023. Other OTAs quickly followed suit, with Expedia's in-app Chatbot and Booking.com's AI Trip Planner developed a few months later.
Rafat Ali, CEO of Skift Talk about a new AI planning chatbot.“The results are very common, at least in the travel planning department. Even as I write this, travel planning through ChatGPT is already commercialized. However, Expedia, Booking, Airbnb, Trip and others should soon address the issue and allow LLMs to be taught on a unique and exclusive collection of content that ChatGPT/Google Bard or any other travel player does not have.”
Not surprisingly, Google has made great strides in implementing AI technology to help with travel searches. Announced last May and gradually rolling out for testing in various countries, the new Generative AI Search Experience (SGE) aims to improve the search process by integrating artificial intelligence and conversational features into Google search results.
In addition to providing text snippets that describe the property, image link cards from various sources, and the hotel's Google Business profile, SGE also allows travelers to ask AI follow-up questions.
Only time will tell which platform travelers will gravitate to to help with the planning process. What’s important for hoteliers now is understanding how AI tools obtain information (and how to increase the likelihood of being included in recommendations).
Here are three ways to prepare for a new AI-powered travel search.
1. Optimize your Google My Business listing
Your business's official listing and profile on Google is called Google My Business. This is a free tool that helps you promote your property on Google Search, Google Hotel Search, and Google Maps. Google My Business lets you connect with your customers, post business updates, and gain insights into customer interactions.
Google Ratings can have a huge impact on your visibility and conversions, so make sure your hotel name, phone number, website, address, city and zip code information is correct in the 'Property Profile' tab. Plus, see complete, up-to-date information, including photos and amenities.
Make sure your property website is present on a variety of relevant websites and that your NAP (name, address and phone number) is consistent across the listings. Related sites include OTAs, local travel websites, lodging associations, business directories and business listing sites, managed listings, social profiles, and more.
2. Website optimization
Hotel websites are a key revenue channel for attracting and converting travelers. If you haven't already done so, you should make your facility's site the most accurate and comprehensive source of information about your business. It must satisfy the visitor's intent and satisfy their EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Credibility) aspirations.
These are four assets for designing a website that will build trust with your potential customers.
- image: High-quality, eye-catching, professional images are essential. People who love to travel enjoy scrolling through images of hotels to see what they can expect when staying there.
- Short format video: Short videos are more than a trend. Travelers love this type of content because it's personal and easy to consume. The best part is that it doesn't necessarily require a significant investment. The key is to be authentic and on brand.
- review: Travelers trust AI recommendations, but they want reviews to back up the suggestions. Adding previous guest reviews to your hotel website will help potential guests trust your hotel and feel more confident about staying at your hotel.
- Responsive Design: It's not news that mobile travel bookings are on the rise. Providing your website visitors with a poor mobile user experience can greatly jeopardize your results.
3. Invest in SEO
You want AI to find the information you provide about your property, not third-party sites. Earning the respect of AI means your hotel website must appear trustworthy and relevant. This is where investing in SEO pays off.
You can improve your hotel SEO without spending a lot of money. Here are some basic best practices to improve your rankings:
- Create high-quality, original content for your target audience. You should start by analyzing your typical customers, their needs and requirements, and how you can best serve them. Understanding your guests' preferences, what inspires them about your property or destination, and what drives them to book will help you create unique content. Leverage your expertise and insight. Content written by people for people is very important to search engines.
- Do keyword research: Analyzing your website visitors’ keystrokes can be a powerful tool for optimizing your website pages. This will ensure that your page shows up when users search for those keywords online. It's important to include your target keyword and its variations in your page's meta title, meta description, and text title (H1, H2, or H3). However, you should be careful not to overuse keywords. This may have a negative impact on your website ranking.
- Get the technical basics right.: From building a sitemap listing all pages on your website and ensuring there are no broken links or redirects to speed optimization, internal linking, and meta tags, technical SEO basics help search engines and AI bots understand your site. It helps us “understand” and rank things. The website is now faster.