LJ Rich will be a keynote speaker at this year’s TravelTech Show which takes place at London’s Excel, 25-26 June. Here she shares her thoughts on the impact of AI on the travel experience.

1. We’re hearing a lot about AI creating ‘hyper-personalized’ travel experiences. Can you share some insight on how this might transform a typical booking process, and what should travel operators be thinking about right now to prepare for this shift?

One of the reasons I love to travel is to soak up new experiences, meet new people, hear new music and be inspired outside my previous parameters.
My typical booking process always involves heavy research in order to enjoy the journey as well as the destination. I’ve visited an astounding number of airports and transport hubs, so I’m at the point now where I can arrive anywhere and enjoy it. However, if I’m in a group I need to understand how everyone feels about riding a bus, trying a new place to eat, or travelling at night. We all have unique levels of comfort based on our experiences and inclination - understanding this is key to immersing ourselves in that beautiful feeling of being elsewhere.

Right now I think travel operators working out how to augment AI’s capability with a human touch will get ahead - querying an AI model might give an output on whether a hotel has a pool or a kids’ club - but to purchase that particular trip a customer needs more! How can we adjust this result for everyone? What are the pool opening hours? What are the snacks like? How far away are the rooms? What’s near the accommodation that guests might enjoy? If it’s a business trip, which rooms have the best wi-fi? AI might help in planning an experience, but people can help to make it special. Particularly in the case of travel operators and agents, who know a customer well, can use AI to further qualify more tailored recommendations for every stage of the trip, from quiet zones in airports for example to gym opening hours at a hotel.

2. Traditional travel involves multiple touchpoints - from initial research to post-trip reviews. Where do you see AI having the most immediate impact across this journey, and what’s one key mistake you’re seeing travel companies make when trying to integrate AI into their customer experience?

The typical booking process can be quite daunting for a customer who travels infrequently, so training an AI to complete web forms could be solved easily - but (and it’s a big but) we’d need to trust the model with our personal data, and (as always with machine learning) the responses would need verifying for accuracy.

Your difference is not how you’re using AI, but rather how are you acting on feedback, both good and bad? Many successful companies are clearly giving repeat customers more than a place to stay or a transport method. AI is just another technology and is not needed everywhere - I say this having worked with machine learning for nearly 9 years! I still enjoy composing music traditionally as well as co-composing with AI. It’s not a replacement - simply another tool for humans, run by humans.

3. Where do you see AI adding most value across complex or high-value bookings?

Part of leading a production team at the BBC involved booking complex and costly travel plans. The team would take turns transporting 8 people plus kit to various parts of the world from Boston to Bangalore. I’d go further, researching where to eat and stay as much as the stories we’d cover.

Once everything was booked, I’d create a ‘call sheet’ with lots of info - from rendezvous times & places (you can find me at the best coffee in the airport 3 hours early) to logistics like booking references, flight times, directions to where we’d stay. I’d go further - nearest hospitals, helpful numbers, other contingencies. I still do this when I book trips with my family.

Services like Tripit and Wanderlog already offer itinerary building, but this is where AI can really add value. Taking existing travel bookings and augmenting them with personalised food recommendations (Japanese, Indian, interesting places with a view, places that cater for specific dietary requirements), personalised things to do (amusement parks, comedy/music events, nature activities), even suggesting modes of travel to and from these events (bus, train, bike, modes of transport that cater for those with accessibility requirements). All this information exists, but pulling it all together to better support the traveller experience and manage trip logistics more effectively is how and where AI will continue to add real value.

I would definitely love an AI-enabled Call Sheet for both business and domestic trips!

4. AI promises both operational cost savings and enhanced customer experiences. For travel operators working with tight margins, how do you recommend they prioritise AI investments to achieve both goals simultaneously?

I believe the best place for AI investments is in predictive analysis and data visualisation right now. Anyone talking about cutting costs with AI will be in a race to the bottom, risking making their company a transactional experience when now, more than ever, we need to make a genuine connection with our customers, from being a friendly guide to an adventurous client or giving reassuring support for a relaxing getaway.

I’ve worked with the United Nations ITU AI for Good Global Summit since 2019 - and seen many organisations realise that removing humans in favour of AI also removes a unique customer touchpoint. So instead of measuring success in financial terms, I would suggest prioritising training and support that augments your existing people - and honouring the work they do. As a restaurant reviewer, I still note when it’s evident the staff are looked after - the food tastes better in an authentic atmosphere and I’d be much more likely to return and recommend. The same applies to travel experiences and operators.

5. AI’s effectiveness in travel relies heavily on customer data. How should travel companies be approaching data collection and usage to power customer experiences?

I think gaining insights from large amounts of anonymised customer data is a surprisingly powerful way to create memorable experiences. But part of the magic is understanding what to do with these insights, and knowing where best to apply them.

Data visualisation can be quite fun in a closed system, for example, drinks orders are very easy to track.  So let’s imagine a correlation: that people are ordering juice at 3pm by the pool when it’s cloudy, but drinking water when it’s sunny.  Offering a small juice ‘taster’ at 2:45pm when it’s cloudy is a reasonably low-cost gesture that would be received well and may convert to a purchase to a higher-revenue generating juice order for the rest of the afternoon. From a stock perspective data visualisation could also save on costs - food prep for breakfast could be altered accordingly depending on how many late check-ins for example. None of this data needs to be linked to an individual, but rather broader purchase trends at key times. This can better inform operations and really add value to the guest experience by highlighting popular items and signalling when orders need to be made so that wait staff always have what the customers want – a more enjoyable experience for everyone!

6. Looking ahead 12-18 months, what’s one AI-driven capability that could really give travel operators the competitive edge, and what should companies be doing today to position themselves for that opportunity?

I’m sure everyone reading this knows travelling can be stressful for some. So let’s reframe hyper-personalising as collecting preferences and acting on them - travel agencies specialising in package holidays can use AI to pull together an airport guide for families with small children (checked by a person!) -  though I predict that companies outperforming the competition will be the ones making small, meaningful gestures that resonate with customers.

As an example, while a frequent traveller relishes secretly knowing the most likely departure gate in advance, families with young children would love to sit near a play area where parents can drink a nice cup of tea while the children climb around. Aviation fans like me love to know the best places to watch the aircraft take off. Simply ticking the ‘business’ or ‘pleasure’ box alongside whether a customer is travelling alone or with a child could trigger an email with tailored, more relevant ‘airport tips’ which look personalised without overstepping. Simple, supportive, tailored communications that can add value and more importantly, build customer loyalty in the long run.

7. You have created immersive travel experiences around the world as an artist. What would you say is the secret to engaging people in interactive multi-media experiences?

The journey through an airport for so many of us follows a predictable and comforting routine - get through security, look around the shops, eat some food, head to the gate. We are everywhere and no-where. Some of my best creative work comes out of these semi-real spaces, and many artists feel the same!

So how do we engage someone who has their routine planned? My creative work is always about unexpected connections - finding the delight, the joy in a shared experience.  I adore the sound of travel, with playlists for different aircraft models, and have created 3D recordings of airports and train journeys as part of many commissioned musical works.

The times I have been lifted out of my airport habits have always been with art, beautiful visual and audio sensory displays - from the landscapes art installation in Amsterdam’s Schiphol during its renovation to the unbelievable water features in places like Dubai airport, and Changi airport, even the beautiful curves of LHR T5 and the gorgeous split flap airport departures board at Frankfurt – I could go on! There’s so much space available to delight travellers! Creating unique experiences that merit more than a passing selfie is easy when we get artists involved (and paid fairly).

We long to experience the world. Our prize is to celebrate how we’re so connected despite the miles and languages that seem to separate us. Our journeys inspire us, and we bring that inspiration to whatever we do next - it’s what makes travel such a valuable and memorable experience.

TravelTech Show is free to attend for travel technology specialists involved in or responsible for the technology within their travel business and consultants who help travel businesses select technology solutions. Suppliers must purchase a visitor pass if they wish to attend. TravelTech Show has the final right to accept or deny any registration.

Registration closes tonight, 23:59 Friday 20 June. To register and find out more please visit: traveltech-show.com/register