AI is the major trend but video is second

Attending a marketing conference this week which had both Google & Meta on the same panel, AI was of course the main topic. But maybe surprisingly, video came in a close second. The Google representative said, “Video is now table stakes in marketing” whereas the Mata rep said the key was “thumb stopping content”.”

Meanwhile at WIT in Singapore the presentation there by Google put up a slide saying, “Make video a core part of your strategy!”

Announcing the core takeaways from the GetYourGuide “Unlocked Fall 2024” event, CEO Johannes Reck dedicated a full paragraph to video saying, “We believe videos are the best way to show travelers what their next trip will feel like, but they have to be authentic.” Reck says they “already shipped hundreds of videos across our platform.”

This analysis suggests the scramble is well and truly on in the Experiences sector thanks to Airbnb announcing their return to experiences will be “video-first”.

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Hilton uses AI to better serve sight impaired guests

Hotel chain Hilton have partnered with Be My Eyes to leverage AI to better support their sight impaired guests.

“Be My Eyes, a free mobile app, connects visually impaired users with sighted volunteers and company representatives through live video and AI.”

The app can “assist guests in navigating various aspects of their hotel stay, including adjusting in-room thermostats; operating coffee machines; identifying window coverings; and locating hotel amenities such as meeting spaces, bars, restaurants, gyms and spas.”

In an interesting twist in this article posted on Travelagewest.com the article had this disclaimer: Editor’s Note: This article was generated by AI, based on a press release distributed by Hilton. It has been fact-checked and reviewed by a TravelAge West editor.

My Note: Remind me to tell you one day about how a version of this idea could be used to revive local media in small towns.

Get trained in AI

Two big announcements this week on AI training opportunities.

GroupNAO announced the second season of the AI Opener for Destinations program for DMO’s will kick off in 2025. Season one included nearly 60 DMO’s from Europe and the US.

The program is “really about empowering DMOs to explore and absorb the potential of AI in practice, while building a #community of destinations that addresses pressing challenges — from ethical considerations to responsible and transparent AI use.”

Meanwhile in MENA, “SPARK has launched an ambitious tourism initiative in the MENA region, beginning in Saudi Arabia.”

Working with Google, their program will be “focusing on equipping participants with advanced digital tools, artificial intelligence (AI) skills, and essential soft skills to help shape a sustainable, innovative, and diverse tourism sector.”

How to use data with AI

At the WIT summit in Singapore, OTA Agoda talked about how they think about data when it comes to AI.

"What we're seeing today with generative AI is how ignorant we are. We thought we had a lot of data, we thought we knew a lot but actually we're finding out everything we don't know. Users are telling us now more than ever what they actually want to see," said Agoda's chief technology officer Idan Zalzberg

In explaining their path of shying away from being data-driven to taking a much more data science approach Zalberg said “"We like to start with a vision and use science to bring us from where we are today to that vision and that's where the data is more like the fuel."

Are LLM’s search engines?

A couple of fascinating pieces this week on this topic.

The first a LinkedIn post from Malte Landwehr which brought in some data:

“While web search engines send a lot of clicks to the open web, this is not the case for LLMs.

For ChatGTP, only 2% of sessions result in a click to the open web.

And for Google Gemini, it is a ridiculously low 0.01%.”

Landwehr also discovered that nearly all links out of Google’s Gemini go to…………… Google in its many guises and forms.

These stats received confirmation in another report this week, when Mario Gavira, vice president of growth at online travel agency Kiwi said “When the whole ChatGPT thing exploded, I was very bullish that this would be a massive disruptor because users would be so excited, in fact, it didn't move the needle at all or, if it moved at all, it was marginal.”

AI to power group bookings at hotels

News out of Korea this week that startup RIAD Corporation has “launched a new AI-powered trading platform called RIA, aimed at automating the coordination of group bookings between hotels and travel agents.”

According to the report “A key feature of the platform is the “Smart Hotel Finder,” which enables travel agents to search group prices for hotels worldwide. By analyzing millions of travel data, RIA can forecast accurate group rates that meet their requirements.”

Having organised a few global conferences in my time, this sounds good to me!

If you think someone (or everyone) you know or work with could grow from being more informed on the topic of ai + travel (or could use the training above) then please forward this email to them and they can click the button below:

Disney goes viral thanks to AI - but not in a good way….

Interesting report this week about photos of Disney World in Florida going viral.

“Images spread online supposedly showing Disney World in Florida underwater as a result of Hurricane Milton appear to be fake and have been generated using artificial intelligence.”

The images “appeared to have circulated on a number of social media platforms, gaining millions of views on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as a number of websites reporting on the storm, AFP found.”

Occurrences like these can of course be highly impactful in a travel customer’s decision-making process. It would be interesting to know the following week’s cancellation rates once the park re-opened as a result of these viral images for instance.

Who would’ve thought tourism would be getting deep-faked!

AI in the skies

A couple of pieces of news this week about AI funding and plane chartering in aviation.

BeaconAI has raised $15M from investors including OpenAI’s Sam Altman to help bring more AI into the cockpit.

“Beacon, which was founded in 2021 and has raised a total of $20 million in funding, offers artificial intelligence assistance to flight decks to improve flight safety and boost efficiency.”

Meanwhile JetAI dropped two new product updates.

The first is CharterAI which is “integrating voice capabilities and enhanced comprehension. The product’s AI agent is expected to be capable of listening, understanding, and carrying out booking requests with remarkable accuracy and efficiency. This innovation is expected to accelerate operator response times, a traditional bottleneck in the bespoke process of chartering a plane or an empty leg.”

The second is Reroute AI where “AI continually scans the inventory of empty legs in the US to find reroute candidates to match with a consumer trip request.”

Slack Group!

Where is Tony?

There are a few places upcoming where you can find me if you like.

Tickets are now booked to both TIS in Seville (late October) and WTM in London (early Nov). If anyone is interested in catching up at either of those places, please send me a message. (Especially Seville - not sure I know too many people going to that one so if you are - yell out!!).

I’ve reserved my place at the London Travel Massive event to be hosted by Stripe. You should too if you’re going to be in town, but be fast because as of writing this, half the spots have already gone!

The Everything AI in Travel community (that’s you) will likely be having a bit of a get together on the Tuesday (Nov 5) for a couple of beers in the evening. Local Alex Bainbridge will be choosing one of his favourite typical English boozers. Details in the Slack group.

The Everything AI in Travel marketplace is now launched - please just jump on the site to grab your listing if you have an AI tool or service that you want the industry to know about.

Most clicked last week was the link to the first ever fully AI Travel commercial for TV. Actually it is the new most clicked ever article! Great to see the interest!

That’s it - you’ve made it to the end of this edition. I’ll be putting the result of the most clicked post in next week’s edition so you can see where others are focusing. If I’ve missed something, you’ve got a tip or any feedback at all - you can simply reply to this email and it will come straight to me.

I’m doing this for You so please don’t be shy to tell me what you think