If you want a stress-free travel experience, let chatbots help you find deals, book flights and hotels and create custom itineraries. Plus: Learn why you should have a VPN, too. 

In the past, planning a trip was a time-consuming and often frustrating experience. Even today, many travelers have to spend hours researching flights, hotels and activities that fit within their interests, budgets and dates. 

But now there’s a new way to plan travel: chatbots. Generative AI chatbots are programs that simulate human conversation, using natural language processing and machine learning, allowing users to complete a variety of travel-related tasks with a digital device — almost as if they were communicating with a person.

Even if you’re a seasoned pro, chatbots can still help you plan your next trip. New tech tools are making travel planning easier than ever. According to research by Humley, a UK-based tech company that creates AI-assisted chatbots, 87% of people surveyed said they would use a travel chatbot if it could save them time and money.

Today’s chatbots are not like HAL, the sentient AI in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. They’re simply tools that can help you make your travel planning easier.

A travel chatbot can act as a personal assistant, offer budget-friendly travel options, book transportation and offer suggestions based on user behavior. If you have an issue, it can seem as if airlines make you wait on hold for longer than the flights you’re trying to book. Why wait on hold for an hour when you can speak with a smart computer immediately? Hop aboard this growing trend.

Benefits of Travel Chatbots

As chatbots become more nuanced and sophisticated, they offer a wider range of benefits for both travelers and travel businesses. Plus they’re able to learn and adapt to your personal needs. Here are the most common ways bots are revolutionizing the travel industry:

Up-to-date information: One of the biggest benefits of travel chatbots is that they can provide travelers with up-to-date information on prices, destinations and packages. This information is constantly being updated, so travelers can be sure they’re getting the best possible deal.

Multilingual support: Chatbots can be programmed to speak multiple languages, which makes them accessible to a global audience.

Personalized recommendations: Travel chatbots can also provide personalized recommendations to travelers. This is done by taking into account the traveler’s interests, budget and travel history. This can help travelers to find the perfect experience for them.

Real-time response: Forget limited office hours and automated voice prompts. Chatbots are available 24/7, so you can get help with your travel plans no matter what time of day it is. They’re also versatile enough that they can pass the baton to a human agent if things get tricky. With almost half of all customers expecting round-the-clock availability, real-time answers are the name of the game. 

Increased efficiency: Chatbots can help travel businesses increase their efficiency by handling a large number of customer inquiries without the need for human intervention. This can free up staff members to focus on other tasks, such as providing more personalized service to customers.

How Chatbots and Other Tools Can Make Travel Planning Easier

They make initial inquiries a breeze.

Navigating travel plans can be as chaotic as a tourist rush at the Louvre. Ever-changing rules and questions about travel insurance, restrictions and fees, can leave your head spinning. But fear not: These trusty sidekicks can answer your questions quickly and reliably, without the long wait for a live agent. 

They track lost luggage.

When your luggage goes missing in a labyrinth of unfamiliar airports, fear not, weary traveler, for the chatbot is here to lend a helping hand (or virtual voice). Armed with real-time data from airports and other points of departure, they can offer immediate assistance to track it down. And should misfortune strike and your baggage goes entirely AWOL, a chatbot can guide you through the bureaucracy of filing a claim. 

They make suggestions you might actually find useful. 

Chatbots can collect data about customer preferences and behavior, which can be used to improve the travel experience for future customers. And armed with some of your personal preferences, these digital dynamos can get quite adept at weaving their magic to create your ultimate travel package, seamlessly bundling flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and even sweet discounts on tours and activities. 

Think of chatbots as concierges with insider knowledge, coming up with hidden gems you might have otherwise missed. 

They can find the most favorable conditions for booking. 

Chatbots like Expedia’s on Facebook Messenger, can be the ultimate deal-finder. Just type in your desired destination and travel dates, and even throw in specific requests like non-smoking rooms or all-inclusive resorts — and the chatbot will swiftly sift through a variety of options, presenting you with a curated selection of relevant options. 

They can also simplify arranging wheelchair services, changing check-in dates and selecting the best seats. With a few taps and clicks, you can effortlessly finalize your reservations, make payments and voilà! Your detailed itinerary will be whisked to your phone’s text app or email inbox.

They help reduce the frustration of the cancellation process. 

Nobody likes dealing with cancellations, but with chatbots, the process has never been easier. They’re equipped to easily access customer info, retrieve reservation codes and navigate refund policies. 

Bonus tip! Set up a VPN for deals, privacy and access to foreign streaming platforms. 

A VPN (virtual private network) can act as a cloak of invisibility, a gateway to unbeatable deals and a VIP pass to entertainment options. It encrypts your data, masks your location and routes your online usage securely. 

What does that mean for travelers? First, access those sweet local deals! Connect to a server in your desired region and unveil a treasure trove of unbeatable prices. Second, you can indulge in global entertainment — log onto Netflix UK, for example, no matter where you are. 

Here’s how to set up a VPN:

1. Find a reputable VPN provider with the right features.

2. Download and install their app.

3. Sign up, configure and select your desired server location.

4. Connect with a single click, and you’re off to the races.

5. Confirm your new virtual location by checking your IP address on a dedicated website.

Travel Help — No Humans Needed

Need to arrange wheelchair services? Find the best deals? Score a sweet excursion package? With chatbots and AI, you’ll save time and effort — and, chances are, have a more pleasant experience than you would being on hold for interminable amounts of time and getting shuffled around from one department to another. And they’re getting better at an exponential rate.

Don’t be afraid to embrace the power of chatbots, because the tech travel journey has just begun! –Tony Olsen