Most probably, travel agents, specially the ones who provides services like hotel reservations online, must be one of those who use telephone for most of their business activities. Though the big travel portals or travel companies have call centers which operate 24 hours a day for handling right from inquiry to ticket booking as well as hotel reservation. But there are many small and medium travel agents which have good web presence, but can not afford to have a call center, or can not operate office 24 hours a day.

But with implementation of simple IVR ( Interactive Voice Response) system along with voice mail system (VMS), travel agents can easily operate 24 hours a day and increase their revenue.

Why do travel agents need IVR ?

Many travel agents already have their websites which advertise their office phone numbers. Since websites are visited by people across the globe 24 hours a day, they may get many calls from all around the world, even when it is not office hours! So, if they use IVR, they can respond to every call, and with VMS, they can record voice messages from callers and many more!

There are many people, who finalise their programs at the last moment and require to book hotels at the last moment too! These kind of business traveler try to book hotel searching in internet and by calling office numbers listed in a website of the travel agents, even at non-office hours, hoping against hopes! These kind of calls not only help convert an enquiry quickly, but also help get a good price for the travel agents.

What kind of IVR travel agents require ?

While IVR can have many features for any type of industry, but travel agents need three features which may prove to be really useful :-

a. Database Look up and playback
The travel agent IVR should be capable of looking up hotel reservation database or API to be able to provide reservation availability to any caller. This will reduce burden of manpower involved during office hours and would be useful for caller at non-office hours! Apart from this, database look up capability can detect regular client for travel agents.

b. On Demand Call Bridging Facility

The IVR should be capable of making an outbound call and bridge them together. With database look up capability, IVR would be able to detect a regular client and that is when the call can be treated an urgent call and the call can be then connected to some one responsible who can help. This will increase customer loyalty as well as reputation.

c. Voice Mail System and Email/SMS (Short Messaging Service) alert
Voice Mail System is a must for IVR for travel agents. Using this voice mail system, a caller at non-office hours can leave a voice message on the IVR. By email and SMS alert system, some one responsible will be immediately notified of the voice message, who can listen to the voice mail either by dialing or through web interface.
Normally, serious caller will only leave a voice mail. So, this facility can effectively work as a call screening during non-office hours.

So, a smart IVR can surely increase revenue for any travel agent immediately. If you own a travel company and if you do not have IVR installed, then most probably, you are losing some business!

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) System is a tool which can serve hospitality industry in many ways. Most probably, not many people in hotel industry or IVR industry may have thought about it or implemented some really smart, useful, productive IVR application for it. Well, recently, I was advising one company how IVR is useful in hotel industry, I realised IVR can be deployed in hospitality industry right from hotel bookings to room service, from providing voicemail service to bill payment!

Here is how:-

1. Advertising and Hotel booking
Hotel booking can be completely automated and can be made very enthralling experience for the caller or prospective guest! For example, if the caller is an foreign national, she can be greeted in his native language ( using Caller ID, IVR can greet her in her native language, a pleasant surprise, right ?)! And she would be able to browse through various room types, tariff, availability in her own language. She would be even able to make payment and get confirmation code on voice for any room booking! And caller gets all information of the hotels, its amenities, facilities including weather of the city where the hotel is located. Yes, IVR will be able to offer information on must visit places of the area. Never forget, it can alert booking clerk of the booking immediately on SMS and he can view the report and transaction.

If the caller had stayed back before in the hotel, she could be greeted with her personalised name ( again using caller id, if she uses same phone number). She can be treated separately than first time callers too, by the intelligen IVR.

IVR can make outgoing calls for birth day wishes, anniversary wishes automatically from the hotel they stayed before. If IVR is some how integrated with location based system ( LBS) and finds out that a guest is in the same city where the hotel is, IVR can make an outgoing call and play an welcome message to the city!
So, IVR can book rooms, get payments, confirm booking to customer, store records and identity with credit card numbers, advertise hotel facilities, inform availability of rooms to caller, automatically identify nationality and speak in the same language!
Pray, why were you missing this piece of intelligent equipment and still in hospitality industry?

2. Room Service and in house service
IVR can automate many services in a hotel. Consider, you lift the phone and hear list of services offered by the hotel. On top of the menu, it is a complimentary bottle of wine! ( I would find that hotel and stay there!) All normal services like food, outgoing call, laundry, room cleaning etc. could be availed without having to speak to anyone! Also imagine, in a foreign land, you are ordering food in your own language! Yes, IVR can have option to switch to language as per nationality of the occupant in that room!

IVR can also offer host of other services like, wake up call, voicemail, do not disturb etc. One would be even able to check what is the current bill as on that day/time!

Did I say it works 24 hours a day, without tiring, always with pleasant voice and efficient way! Most probably, if you are not using intelligent IVR for your hotel or travel company, you have not deployed one of most useful equipment for generating more revenue for you, do marketing and promotion!