Bobby Healy, CTO, CarTrawler
Bobby Healy will take part in Executive Roundtable: Lessons From Asia at Phocuswright Europe.
Ahead of the event, he discusses the major opportunities in mobile, what's wrong with Google and why it's crucial to stay ahead of the competition.
What topic should we be discussing right now, and why?
There are so many great new innovations that are already impacting the travel industry but are only at an early stage. I am excited about our artificial intelligence program called “RoNNie” that we launched last year at CarTrawler.
"He" rapidly responds to emailed customer queries and has cut handling time for agents from 210 seconds to just 42. We are also stepping into conversational commerce, where users of our technology can book an instant taxi via Alexa and other voice apps, and we have just launched the ability to book transport via Facebook Messenger with one of our airline partners.
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Everyone really needs to start thinking in a true mobile-first way, and it’s not just about designing for the screen size; it’s about the way in which users are using the mobile channel to book instantly. The entire customer journey and purchase cycle is changing.
What is the most misunderstood element of your role and your company?
People may think that CarTrawler is about matching our partners with transport options. But actually it’s much more than that.
What I, and a lot of other people in the business, are focused on is looking to the future and preparing our architecture, resources and technology capabilities for what is coming.
We have maintained our success by always being one step ahead. We are proud to be known as the experts in mobility within the entire travel industry. We understand and are preparing for the changes in how people will travel and purchase everything they need for their trip. We are looking 20 years ahead and already testing our technology for what is coming.
If you could change one thing about how the travel industry functions, what would it be?
I’d force Google to divest itself of its Google Flights product. It’s a clear example of a monopoly in search forcing its travel products down the necks of an entire sector and damaging innovation and competition in the entire industry.
European Union competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager recently suggested a remedy to Google’s anti-competitive behavior would be to break up the company, and I would be a supporter of less drastic measures that would limit their stranglehold on travel without destroying the value the company brings with its products.
What is the biggest opportunity in online travel in 2018?
It’s still mobile. The benchmark for "a good frictionless experience" is rising at an incredible pace, the products that offer the customer the ability to easily purchase instantly with one click in a native environment will win.
Google is a clear example of a monopoly in search forcing its travel products down the necks of an entire sector.
Bobby Healy - CarTrawler
Nobody wants to be bounced from app to mobile page and suffer from slow loading time. Those who can offer a truly seamless path to purchase will get the conversion.
Also, mobile (native) offers a far wider relationship between an airline and it’s customers through far more targeted and relevant integration. “Blue dot economy” comes to mind.
What single piece of advice would you give a new business entering the travel industry?
Don’t start off as B2C. Google are the only winners in that game. Focus on the 10-year - not the now - and build your products around a willing and dynamic customer partner.
Any travel brand worth its salt has its eyes on Asia right now – what would you say is the biggest opportunity for CarTrawler in the region?
There are a lot of great innovations coming from Asia, especially in the e-commerce space, for example payment technologies and how some organizations are efficiently using data to offer the right product and service at the right time.
We are absolutely looking at Asia. They are streets ahead in terms of one click to payment and the phenomenal success of WeChat.
Important to remember, too, that where the West is still squeezing desktop paradigms into mobile devices (Facebook), the East started off on mobile. Structurally, the technology, the applications and the consumers are built on completely different foundations.
How has mobile changed traveler behavior, and how will it continue to evolve?
As time moves on, the population gets more and more concentrated with people that have far higher expectations around mobile and are less brand loyal. Unless you ACE mobile for the upcoming generations, you will allow Google et al. to fill the gap on your behalf. See my article on the topic here.
What do airlines stand to gain next by keeping a focus on ancillary revenue?
The numbers stand up for themselves: Car rental online is set to grow at a 12% CAGR over the next five years to a value of €49 billion. Other transport will grow by 17% CAGR to a value of €474 billion. This segment includes bus, cruise, ferry, rail and transfers.
Brand loyalty is disappearing, so airlines have to switch the focus to their product range and path to purchase.
Additionally, airline apps need to grow up beyond being simple check-in devices with logos. Airlines are in a unique position with their customers, and they should cement that advantage over Google, Priceline, Amazon and everyone else by providing an excellent mobile platform to their consumers.
Naturally, they should therefore all incorporate the CarTrawler Marketplace product into their native offerings.