2016 saw the rise of chatbots, with major messaging and social platforms like Facebook Messenger, Skype and Slack allowing bot integration. Many businesses including leading hotels took a cue from them and leveraged chatbots to reach out to their audience and ensure customer satisfaction. Here’s how you can do the same:
1. Direct Bookings: With online travel agencies charging somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of a hotel reservation fee, leading hotel brands are looking for more ways to attract direct booking. Bots can be integrated either with the website of the brand or popular messaging apps to register direct bookings.
2. Website Customer Support: While many hotel websites offer the option of live customer support, the response time is often high and leads to a high bounce rate. Leveraging bots for the same purpose ensures the customers get what they are looking for in a few seconds.
3. Pre-arrival Assistance: A hotel bot guides its guests even before they reach on site by providing them with directions to the hotel and responding to any on-the-way query.
4. Real-Time Support: Instead of calling up the front desk each time there’s a problem, guests can enquire the bot and get instant responses. Guests can also convey their requirement or feedback to the bot, which can forward it to the concerned hotel department instantly. This will also leave the front desk free to attend to problems that need human supervision.
5. Push Marketing: Based on their previous interactions with the guests, a bot can create respective guest profiles and based on their preferences, intimate them about other hotel services. This includes making reservations for dinner or booking a ride to the airport.
Chatbot development is on the rise as chatbots are all set to transform one industry after the other. Watch this space to know how chatbots are being leveraged for industry verticals like FMCG and Apparels.