Customer centricity has always been a staple point for travel businesses. However, innovation in the sector is rapidly transforming the customer experience and businesses must keep pace with both technological advancements and evolving consumer demand.
Yet, for too long there has been one element of the customer experience that is often overlooked by travel businesses – payments. Previously, payments have been seen as a functional necessity, when they can actually play a pivotal role in meeting customer wants and needs.
It’s only in the past five years or so that payments have crept into the strategic positioning of travel businesses. This has mainly been the result of forward-thinking airlines and hotel associations like HEDNA and HTNG, which realised the benefits of taking full advantage of innovative payment strategies.
Still, there are a lot of opportunities for airlines, hospitality businesses and online travel agencies to become more customer centric by utilising payments. So, let’s look at some of the payment trends arising in the travel industry and what the future holds for travel payments.
How customer centricity is shaping travel payments
Consumer demand is continuously changing and is shaping the way that payments are made. Since travel products and services such as tickets and hotel rooms can be purchased with the click of a button, instant gratification has become the norm. As the days of walking into a shop, making a purchase, and walking away with goods are becoming less relevant, businesses must find new ways to provide instant gratification to their customers.
What’s more, the payment methods offered by a business during these transactions must be quick and easy to use. They also have to be up to date with the latest trends and technology in the payments industry, as customers are quickly adopting technology that is ‘cool’ to own. That means things like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri and e-wallets, where the experience is key and payments are near-invisible.
In other words, when customers are paying for flights, hotel rooms, cruises or anything else, they want the payment experience to be frictionless, with the option to pay using their preferred payment method. For this reason, businesses must understand the wants and needs of their customers when it comes to payment preferences, in order to generate a loyal customer base and increase conversions.
Ultimately, there’s one important thing to remember when developing a customer centric payments strategy: customers don’t want businesses dictating how they pay, it’s the other way around.
Payments are transforming the travel sector
Over the last decade a number of new players in the travel industry have proven that simple, frictionless payments have changed the way companies compete. These companies are staying ahead of the game and are effectively catering to the needs of their customers.
Technology has played a vital role in this, as new innovations have led to an improved customer experience and increased revenue. One example of a frictionless payment method that is making life easier for customers is tokenization. With stored tokens, customers can make safe and secure payments without having to reach for their wallets or purses. Now, they can simply confirm a payment and it is complete.
Even easier than that, customers can simply have a conversation with Alexa and immediately book a trip without the need to log onto a laptop or phone!
What’s more, the balance between security and friction is becoming easier to manage and is reducing frustration during the checkout process for customers. With smart phones now equipped with fingerprint and facial recognition technology, customers can quickly be authenticated at the start of the checkout process, meaning they can book and pay for the whole journey in just a few clicks.
The future of travel payments
Looking forward, there are endless possibilities for businesses to improve their customer experience and offer new products and services by adopting customer centric payment strategies. For example, with post-purchase engagement or gamification taking off, businesses can use this technology to bolster conversions and increase customer loyalty.
What is certain is that businesses must continue to adopt payments strategies that meet their customers’ needs. The travel industry is changing, consumers have the say about how they want to pay and will continue to. Travel companies should learn about the technology that is available to their customers and how their customers want to use it. There will be even more coming into the limelight over the coming years.
Biography:
As the new Global Head of Travel for Ingenico, Eric Liebman has more than 20 years of experience in the Travel industry across several continents. Eric heads the Travel vertical at Ingenico ePayments, focused on helping online travel companies grow internationally and optimize their payments strategies.
