Travel companies are still absorbing COVID-19’s financial impact, and investing in CX now may seem too great a burden for many of them. Ultimately, how can you be more intentional about unlocking the value of customer experience and bringing back the magic of travel?.Do you move as fast today as you did when the pandemic first struck? Research shows that you can move faster.Do you know the sentiment of your customers without ever having to ask them? Research shows that you can understand your customers more deeply.Do you believe your customer experience is consistently high across product, service and digital? Research shows that you can aim higher.This report explores the critical role of CX in the travel industry at this pivotal moment in time. Common challenges include inconsistency in CX across products, services, and digital difficulty predicting customers’ sentiment without having to ask them and time lags in going to market with updates, releases and enhancements. Yet while travel executives may believe their companies deliver strong CX today, our research indicates there is room for improvement. In this changing landscape, travel companies that prioritize CX can gain loyalty, build resilience, and future-proof their businesses. COVID-19 only accelerated these trends, leaving the travel ecosystem in a game of catch-up. Whether it’s more tailored products, greater digital parity with analog services, or faster turnaround, customer expectations of what great customer experience (CX) looks like have shifted significantly.

Visit our Travel page Customer experience is the challenge of the recovery Will travel players manage to reboot customer experience before travelers’ “honeymoon phase” comes to an end? Or will thinning customer patience shock the system? As travel volumes increase and business travelers return, there is potential for a wave of customer dissatisfaction-at a time when loyalty is up for grabs. Given the seeming contradiction between performance and satisfaction, the true situation may simply be that leisure travelers are happy to be on the road again after a year of being stuck at home. Furthermore, operational capacity is strained, staffing challenges are widespread, airline complaints are up, rental cars are hard to come by, and hotel amenities and services remain substantially pared down. 2 “ US consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis, McKinsey survey results,” May 13, 2021,. While surveys and customer satisfaction rating analyses show many travelers are satisfied with their experiences-some, surprisingly, more so than before COVID-19-a deeper look at the data reveals troubling undercurrents.ĭespite high satisfaction ratings, negative sentiment is on the rise. In this report, McKinsey and Skift Research assess the current traveler experience and find mixed signals.

Being stuck at home