Simone Marini knew that his sailing cruise marketplace was missing out on potential commissions created when customers left the platform to negotiate directly with boat skippers. He wasn’t sure how to improve the situation, however. Sailsquare, the company he had founded in Italy in 2014, was too small to monitor all communications, and he had not found the right software or tool to be effective.
Fortunately, design solutions emerged with introduction of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence chatbot released by OpenAI. Believing ChatGPT could be beneficial, Marini and his team developed an algorithm to detect client-skipper communication patterns. This integration was easily implemented and only took one day to accomplish. Rather than trying to sell this innovation to larger companies, Marini believed it would be difficult to find success.
ChatGPT’s accessibility has provided an equal opportunity for travel companies of all sizes, including Expedia, Trip.com, Sailsquare, and even Hospitable, a software service with fewer than 30 employees that assists short-term rental hosts. ChatGPT has become a great equalizer, as Hospitable CEO Pierre-Camille Hamana mentions, implementing difficult communication tasks through AI’s simplicity.
During a webinar hosted by PhocusWire and Miles Partnership, travel consultant Tim Peter compared the introduction of ChatGPT to the introduction of the internet and mobile phones. In addition, Microsoft’s Shane O’ Flaherty recognizes the technological progress and its equal access, excitedly opening new possibilities for travel and hospitality sectors. Christian Watts, CEO of Magpie, described ChatGPT as a brilliant product, having released a tool built with AI to create more quality marketing content. This has made the tech easily available to all companies, big and small, allowing anyone to build a chatbot with equal capabilities as an online travel agency.
Bear in mind, however, that bigger companies may find an upper hand with ChatGPT as the technology requires consistent data to function optimally. Sailsquare, on the other hand, does not necessarily prioritize success from stopped cheaters wanting to avoid commissions, but rather team up with reliable captains and inexperienced customers by verifying credentials and experiences. This provides assurance of the service, which Sailsquare believes is the best solution to encourage returning customers and providers.
Overall, the advent of ChatGPT is a revolutionary one, leveling the playing field for travel companies of all sizes. The technology has opened opportunities to create efficient yet easy-to-implement solutions quickly, allowing travel companies to give the best customer service possible.
