Business travelers are seeking a blend of digital solutions and human intervention, according to a report.
The Travelport Digital Business Travelers Research 2019 reveals 57% are looking for “hybrid support” via Live Chat services.
The survey also reveals that 40% of business travelers in the United Kingdom believe recommendations from travel consultants have the greatest influence on travel decisions in the planning and booking phase.
Business travelers are also turning to digital services such as voice search, with 66% claiming they have used it to research a trip.
In addition, just over a third (34%) say they have researched and booked a trip entirely via smartphone.
Many have hit a wall with their devices, with 41% calling it “very painful” when they can’t access booking information on their smartphone whilst on the move.
When it comes to disruption, 43% of business travelers say they want face-to-face conversations or phone calls to sort things out.
That said, the acceptance of chat services is rising, with 32% saying they are happy to be serviced via WhatsApp or similar.
Despite the Travelport findings, a survey from the Business Travel Show reveals skepticism from travel buyers around the impact of technologies such as chatbots.
More than 50% of the 134 European buyers surveyed believe bots and other emerging tech such as blockchain will have no real impact on the industry over the next three years.
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The Travelport research also reveals the acceptance of digital once travelers are in a destination, with more than half of travelers (53%) looking to access concierge services via their smartphone and a similar percentage wanting a digital key for their hotel room.
The study was carried out by Toluna Research for Travelport with responses based on more than 8,100 business travelers across 25 countries.
Paul Broughton, Travelport’s vice president and managing director for Northern Europe, says: “The research has demonstrated the need for blended digital and offline solutions, as travelers are increasingly turning to travel agents when they have complex issues and digital solutions for more straightforward immediate support.”