The gap between emerging technologies and the travel industry is one I am very familiar with as I have lived and prospered in this space for the last 15 years.
After all, my company’s tag line is “Demystifying Emerging Technologies for the Global Travel Industry."
Simply put, the travel industry has trouble embracing new technologies because of a lack of internal understanding of new platforms.
Case in point: mobile technology.
The majority of travel brands have outsourced the development of mobile apps to third parties.
It is true that these third parties have extensive knowledge of the mobile platform, but most lack an understanding of the fine points and intricacies of the travel industry. As a result, the true potential of the platform is often not realized as the tendency to simply put current Web functionality on the mobile device becomes the primary goal of the development effort.
This gap is not unique to current mobile trends.
In the early days of the Web, travel companies also lacked Web experience and turned to Web designers and architects to not only create the design of the Website, but also to suggest content and functionality.
It was not until the mid 2000’s that we started seeing titles like Director of E-Commerce at major suppliers and traditional intermediaries, a good five to six years after the Web hit the mainstream.
The problem is that as technology innovation continues to accelerate, the gap becomes not just a missed opportunity, but a true impediment to executing a comprehensive, integrated strategy.
For example, we are on the verge of the tablet wars. This is the first time mobile device manufacturers, networking companies and computer companies are all competing for the same customer.
And who is that customer? Research clearly shows that travelers are early adopters of new technology.
Tablets are an ideal platform for the traveler as they provide the convenience of the smartphone with the enhanced functionality of a laptop, but there is more. As a new platform, the tablet has a unique ability to provide a personalized view of content, integrating social networking, video, and the Web into a truly immersive experience.
The Flipboard application represents one of the first examples of a tablet app that truly takes advantage of the platform.
Companies such as Lonely Planet and Kayak have embraced the iPad with platform-specific applications, but the majority of travel companies are blind to the impending tablet revolution.
So here we are in October 2010: 75% of frequent business travelers use smartphones and travel companies are still pondering their mobile strategies, with most simply duplicating Web functionality on the mobile platform.
Few apps take advantage of smartphone functions such as the accelerometer or compass. Though location is an obvious dimension of most travel apps, few have delivered personalized, context-aware information providing services that match the traveler’s specific situation.
With mobile marketing apps such as Shopkick revolutionizing the retail industry, few travel companies have recognized the merchandising revenue opportunity on mobile platforms.
The pace of technology innovation will continue to accelerate and with the continued importance of social media and new mobile platforms, travel companies need to create cross-functional teams involving all departments in their technology initiatives.
It is not sufficient to have marketing or internal tech lead these efforts, but involving operations, customer service, call center staff, distribution, supplier relations and finance in these initiatives can help breakdown the natural silos that exist at most travel companies to delivery technology solutions that are truly customer-centric and take advantage of the new emerging platforms.