Conversations around artificial intelligence (AI) and its uses are going on in every industry, from health and transport to banking and art.
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The travel industry isn’t immune to this, and you’ll no doubt already have encountered it when researching a trip, whether that’s through AI overviews, chatbots or even influencers.
But while plenty of us are happy to use the technology, what we’re willing to use it for only goes so far, with just 44% of travellers saying they would let AI plan out their itinerary.
That’s according to a survey from Mews, a hospitality management software used by hoteliers, with 3,250 tourists polled across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.
According to the poll, the most common uses for AI are watching hotel rates – with 63% of travellers using it for this purpose – and translating on the spot (56%).
One of the best uses for AI is letting it pull on various data sources to compile a complete picture without wasting time, and in the ultra-competitive world of travel, this means using it for customisation.
But, perhaps unsurprisingly, travellers aren’t a big fan of AI using data collected on them through online behaviour or social media data being used by hotels, with 43% consenting to the former and 34% to the latter.
Travellers are, however, happy with AI using stated preferences (61%) and past stay history (56%).
How comfortable a traveller is with the use of AI varies from country to country, too, with Italian travellers being the most optimistic about AI's role five years from now (51% vs. 39% on average), with Spain having the most positive attitude towards AI (58%).
“Having clever technology is great, but firstly, we should know whether guests want a task done for them or want to be part of it. Get that wrong and even good AI feels intrusive,” Josef Starýchfojtů, Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) of Mews, said.
“We're building for human hospitality: technology handles the mundane, repetitive admin, and hotel teams have more time for their guests."