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Running a travel agency? And looking to add a chatbot to your travel website? Look no further!

“The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.”

This quote comes from the British traveler Sir Richard Burton. This geographer and world-renowned ethnographer captured how it feels to take on the adventure to unknown places with such a statement. It inspires you to keep on traveling no matter what the odds are.

Not taking into account the current pandemic, the search for cheap flights is a recent, ongoing trend. And we’re sure that it will be booming once again once all of this ‘COVID-stuff” is finally over. The facts remain, though, people want to visit their favorite destinations in the most affordable way possible. 

That said, can a chatbot builder make a travel website more successful? Let’s find out!

First, what makes a “Good” travel website?

Many people consider traveling a luxury. It is one of the reasons why lots of people in the travel business launch eCommerce-type websites to sell their travels and other travel-related goodies. But, even though all these websites promote affordable traveling… Not all travel websites are created equal.

See, there are certain attributes to look at to see if a travel website is performing at its best. For instance, the websites of travel businesses must have clear terms and conditions. These will include relevant policies on refund and cancellation. Aside from these, contact details should also be present.

And next to having Live Chat, one thing that should be on a travel website is a functioning chatbot on these travel websites. What’s cool is that a chatbot can request all types of information like the customer’s email address and telephone number, or it can share information like the office address of the Travel Agency. But, what really does wonders is a Live Chat component combined with a chatbot. This will streamline customer support for both support agents and their customers; travelers. It’s wonderful, as these automated conversations can answer customer concerns in a jiff! More on this as you read along.

Let’s take a look at the top 3 significant features of a travel website:

1. Search filters

Update the results on the destination search from interested tourists. Filters may include where the destination is and the schedule of the visit. Apart from these, browsing customers should also be able to customize according to holidays and hotels. Include filters on details like all-inclusive trips and city breaks. Filters can be for beach travel and romantic destinations. It could also include those for family-friendly locations and other possible filters as well.

2. Beautiful photos

A travel website without photos featuring the places is boring and bland. Images speak a thousand words, right? For a good example, take a look at how AirBnB leverage photos to ‘speak’ to their customers. Consider adding something similar to your travel website as well. Oh, and although they may look like a cliche, you can always lead in with photos of the world’s most in-demand destinations. I.E. when you are offering North American tours, you may include high-resolution images of Niagara Falls or the Big Apple. 

3. Live Chat WITH a Chatbot 

The third – and perhaps most important – element in a travel website is Live Chat with a chatbot. From time to time, while browsing your website, customers have questions popping up in their minds. Questions other information or elements on the website may not be able to provide. Moreover, when you’re dealing with customers from different places and time zones worldwide, they too need to get immediate answers to their concerns. Chatbots can answer over 80% of those repetitive questions in an instant… As a result, you unclog your support queues, and your human agents are able to provide more quality service to the customer that requires a human touch.  

These are but a few things a chatbot can do for a travel website, so let’s take a look at what else a bot can do:

Other Travel Chabot Key Elements include:

• Show Customer Testimonials
• Communicate Favorite destinations
• Customizable calendars
• Pricing in detail with no hidden fees
• An interesting approach in booking a trip
• Integrated Google Maps
• Checkout form from within the bot

Using a ‘Travel Chatbot’ Midst the Pandemic

If you’ve been reading our blogs, you already know about the importance of a chatbot and what it can do for you, and your business. And in this particular article, you already learned how necessary it is to provide a website for travelers. But, now more than ever with COVID-19, the need for more fast and accurate information for travelers is a must! See, whether it’s a booking that suddenly is canceled due to another lockdown, automating voucher hand-outs, or people wanting to book a trip because they’re already pre-empting when free travel is going to be the norm again… People planning to travel amidst the pandemic simply expect accurate on-demand information. 

At the time of writing this blog, there are travel restrictions in place in various locations worldwide. Yup, lockdowns everywhere! But this is where ‘travel chatbots’ are showing their worth. See, a chatbot can answer most common travel concerns. In fact, 80% of the questions customers have can be automated. Opening up more time for the human agents, allowing them to provide a more quality service to people who need a human touch. It takes away a big burden (and heaps of stress) from your human agents, as they don’t need to answer each repetitive question anymore.

But, this does not end here. Because a chatbot should be set up in the right way. Yes, a chatbot must be able to provide accurate and precise information – But it’s always good to have some sort of ‘Connect to Human’ button visible in the chat – so people can connect with a real human agent at any time. Also, a bot should not keep repeating itself… We thought it would be cool to check out current travel chatbots. And, in our data, we see that a lot of visitors complain about repetitive answers from chatbots. This can easily be solved with condition rules or randomizing the way the bot is answering these questions. 

Chatbots for your Travel Website

Instead of programming one yourself using complicated code, or hiring a developer to do the work for you… We recommend you to use a chatbot builder to create a customer support chatbot for your travel website.

Features of a “Good” Travel Chatbot:

When setting up the chatbot, what are the features that you should look for?

• Forecasts for the weather. Information about the weather is essential for every traveler. Good travels chatbots deliver this information to you with customization. 
• Personalized relationships. A chatbot may also have features that can help plan the perfect vacation. For instance, a chatbot can ask whether you are a morning person or a night owl. After a few moments, it can offer recommended tours based on this input.
• Auto-follow up. The chatbot can be set up to give a reminder. Like, when a customer didn’t complete a form, they are to receive notifications to still complete this form.
• New lead notifications. Those who created the chatbot will be the first to know about new leads – you can have the chatbot qualify leads, and have your sales team close them!
• Save you your precious time. Through the asked questions panel, chatbots can help tourists save more time. So, they can visit more locations during their trips.

Top responsibilities

Still not convinced to add a chatbot for Messenger to your travel website? Then, take a look at these benefits:

• First, a travel chatbot will simplify the travel experience. It means that you won’t have to go through tens to hundreds of travel websites to complete your itinerary.
• Second, a chatbot can also be used to make recommendations. They can take this from your personal preference. Do you like visiting lakes? Are you bringing the family? The process of automation will look from hundreds to thousands of options… Then, it will prepare the final list from your choices. They may recommend theme parks for family trips. Or, streets lined with clubs, if you are with friends. 
• Third, you do not need to go through a lengthy process to get the transaction done with a chatbot. A chatbot can streamline the process of bookings and payments. It can also share tips and inspiration to make the entire trip seamless. Do you want to know the fastest way to get from your hotel to the attraction in your itinerary? You may ask the chatbot for help.

On its basis, a ‘travel chatbot’ provides customer care. I mean, imagine not needing to find an information booth, because a chatbot can offer all the information right there on the spot… Or, do you need to know where the nearest ATM is? Simply ask the chatbot to locate it for you.

Conclusion

So, to answer the question: “What makes a good chatbot for a travel website?”… It has to be comprehensive and navigable. Plus, it has to be knowledgeable. Just imagine asking your travel questions to the front desk officer, or imagine calling the customer service agent over the phone when arranging your flights? These people know how to answer customers right away because they have the information readily available. You want to have your Travel Chatbot to have access to the exact same knowledge, so it can deliver the exact same information to a customer in need of help.

(Pro Tip? Have the front desk officer, or customer service agent, come up with questions and answers, and add those to the chatbot!)

That said, now that you know the impact chatbots have on the travel industry… It’s about time that you contact a trusted provider to build the bot, right? So – and I may be a little bit biased – why not give Clepher a shot? See, Clepher is a chatbot builder and marketing suite that’s changing the way you market in the years to come. Chatbots are quick to respond to any question a customer may have, at any given point of the day. Therefore, it makes the job easier for humans on your team as well. Your humanoids don’t have to answer dull and repetitive questions anymore, but instead, they can now provide quality service to the people that do need a human touch.

With that in mind, to use conversational marketing at this level, you need automation. And this is exactly what Clepher can offer you. Chatbots are relatively new. But, they already proved themselves enough times… They are here to stay, and they’ll help you to automate support and to increase your sales and revenue.

Got questions? Perhaps about how this ‘chatbot stuff’ works? Then simply head over to Clepher.

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