Automatic

📈 With a survey of over 10,000 consumers and business respondents from 22 countries, Zendesk underscores five emerging trends in customer experience (CX) that leaders are focusing on.

📋 The article discusses the challenges and strategies for technology vendors entering the hospitality market, focusing on startups and early-stage companies. The author, former CEO of HTNG with over a decade of experience, has advised hundreds of market entrants. Key points include the complexity of the industry's structure, where technology purchases require agreement among owners, managers, and brands, with brands only buying 10-15% of hotel tech. Successful strategies involve identifying direct customers, understanding the roles of stakeholders, navigating brand integration processes, considering direct or indirect sales approaches, and having sufficient financial runway with sales cycles typically lasting 12-24 months. Practical advice includes focusing on ROI calculations, targeting independents or developers, and dealing with brand relationships and fees. Companies need to be aware of the fragmented, slow decision-making process in the hospitality industry and prepare for high selling costs.

🛒 Bain surveyed 700+ U.S. online shoppers, finding 71% unaware of using generative AI despite its prevalence in online retail. Customers are optimistic about AI, with half recognizing its transformative potential. Key design principles for integrating AI into retail include enhancing traditional shopping experiences, extending interaction types beyond chatbots, rethinking data exchange, ensuring transparency and trust in data handling, and reimagining customer service. Errors and inaccurate info were top concerns for 57% and 56% of customers, respectively. Strategic adoption can improve personalization, efficiency, and customer relationships. – Source: Bain Generative AI Usage Survey, July 2024 (n=714)

🔧 RPA is transforming the hospitality industry, offering efficiency boosts and better business outcomes. Five Steps to RPA Adoption include: assessing operational processes, creating a business case, defining capability targets, mapping execution path, and executing with continuous optimisation. Key areas for automation are finance, customer service, and housekeeping. RPA reduces manual data entry and processing times, leading to error reduction and cost savings. Continual performance monitoring is crucial for long-term success and alignment with evolving business needs. Infographic by techtalk.travel.