Artificial Intelligence (AI) now offers this ability to analyze in ultra detail, to model and take advantage of data by implementing optimized predictive algorithms. How can we use it in our businesses and make the most of it?
Understanding AI
Artificial intelligence (#AI) What is it? If the term alone can scare more than one, we will see that it hides very simple mathematical operations: additions, multiplications and divisions. Because artificial intelligence is neither more nor less than the automation of probability calculations that we could do by hand.
AI is a new, evolving and experimental science. As it is difficult to define human intelligence precisely, artificial intelligence is an attempt to imitate human intelligence using a robot or software. This aims to replace tasks that humans are able to perform, but also tasks that surpass them.
A neural network
Just like human intelligence, artificial intelligence works through the interconnection of a neural network. Experts created precisely equations with variable parameters. The equations are interconnected which then allows an artificial intellectual stimulation. Concretely, the knowledge of AI results from these equations, which are also called operating units. These constantly enrich each other and work together. Thus, this artificial neural network integrates the data that the human wishes to process.
Each neuron in a neural network is represented by an equation whose parameters are variable. These equations are interconnected, i.e. the result of one equation can be used as input value of another equation.
A training
Artificial intelligence must first be trained. This training phase consists in finding by trial and error the ideal values for the variable parameters of these equations. To do this, we offer artificial intelligence data whose expected result is known.
In the case of real estate rents, we can for example communicate to the AI a list of apartments, including the number of rooms, the surface area, the exposure, the floor as well as their price. The AI will then go through the list of apartments, one by one, and try to vary the parameters of the equations so as to obtain a result that is as close as possible to the price of the apartment. When the list has been scanned several times and the cost (i.e. the difference between the real price and the result found by the equations) will be deemed appropriate, it is possible to consider the learning completed.
Using trained AI
We can then enter the inference phase. This simply consists of making calculations using the equations whose parameters have been adjusted during the learning phase.
To take the example again, in order to determine the price of a new apartment, we just have to communicate to the AI ​​the characteristics of a new apartment so that it is able to predict the price by inference. The data (number of rooms, area, etc.) are used as input to equations and it is possible to obtain a prediction of the output price.
AI calculations are inherently inaccurate, artificial intelligence is based on probability. The performance of an artificial intelligence varies greatly depending on the quality of the data used and the correct selection of the parameters to be taken into account.
One of the greatest strengths of artificial intelligence is its versatility. The same neural network can be used to determine the price of an apartment or estimate the success that a film will have at the box office or even predict occupation in a tourist or hotel unit….
There are, however, different architectures of #neuron networks (the difference lies in the interconnection between the different equations) depending on the type of task we wish to perform. Some types are more optimized for certain types of tasks: object recognition, speech recognition, etc.
Holiday accommodation rentals, hotels, catering or transport, tourist sites and all other services related to #tourism take advantage of the latest technologies, and in particular AI, to optimize their logistics, management or save time for travellers, customers or visitors.
Using AI in our businesses
Artificial Intelligence is set to play a major role in the evolution and renewal of the tourism industry.
Apollo Plus is a French company expert in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence that designs optimized tailor-made predictive models. The hyper-reliability of the models, combined with the pragmatism of the optimization levers and operational management tactics, generates quickly measurable benefits. With this solution, the company has a management tool to leverage its know-how and infuse Artificial Intelligence into its operations: optimized sales, inventory control, increased service quality, improved productivity, market share gain, identification of lost sales, detection of behavior modification…
https://www.apollo-plus.com
Here are the areas in which AI can help the company in its management to make the right decisions :
- Data consolidating ;
- Business prediction ;
- Determination of targeted campaigns ;
- Evolution of the product or the personalized service.
1. Data consolidating
Every company today has a lot of data collected and often to be processed to understand it, analyze it or even establish a report.
AI allows, in a first step and in a simplified way, to collect your data and present them together for better analysis.
You use a hotel management system (PMS), software for your catering activities (POS), software for managing your spa, but any other tool such as ticketing, boutique management software or a CRM. These tools taken independently are extremely precise and allow you to carry out analyses. However, it is always complicated to link them together and to make cross-analysis of global understanding of the activity. AI allows you to consolidate your management tools and link them together to establish the connections of your activities such as knowing how much a customer of your hotel spends in your restaurant, your spa at your shop and thus knowing precisely the total income of your customers in all of your activities. This allows you to quickly know where the sources of your activities come from and thus know how to develop them.
The AI will also collect other data that you do not always follow precisely such as the weather, the calendar with weekends, public holidays, school holidays, festivals or events in your catchment area and measure it precisely the effects on your activities: Are you really impacted by the weather and how your customers react ?
The wealth of AI is the volume of data processed and the history you have of your activities. You will thus be able to understand more precisely who your customers are, where they come from, are they growing or decreasing, how much they spend in your activities (and therefore an average basket of your customers by geographical area), at what time they use your services and therefore what are your hours of high activity, your hours of low activity. Should we stay an hour longer open or is it better to close at a certain time? All its information will now be accessible to you by day, by period, by customer segment, etc…. This information thus classified is crucial for making the right decisions.
2. Business prediction
Before proposing its approach in industry and Supply Chain trades, Apollo Plus cut its teeth in the sports and entertainment sector. The high volatility of demand in this sector has enabled it to develop very robust models and levers which find a natural field of application in the Supply Chain. Tools for data enrichment, advanced analysis and identification of weak signals give Apollo Plus a competitive edge.
Thus, with a sufficiently large history (minimum 3 years), but also the integration of the variables of your activities (holiday calendar, special events, public holidays, etc….) the AI provides you with a day-by-day prediction of your activity: number of catering customers, occupancy rate of your hotel, number of visitors. It should however be noted that in our hotel, restaurant or tourism activities, prediction is difficult because it often depends on many external elements. Generally, predictions within a confidence interval are between 15 days and 1 month depending on the variability of your activities.
The AI can also prepare an annual budget for you and then follow, day by day, with the realized if you stay in a correct interval of predictions. Any discrepancies will then be integrated by the AI which will recalculate your models and continue to continuously reduce its discrepancies. No more endless days every year to prepare a budget. From a simple analysis to date, you have your budget over 12 months rolling permanently !
In these periods of increasingly troubled by external elements that influence our activities, AI makes it possible to have a permanent adaptation of activity forecasts and thus allow the company to adapt.
In the example of a tourist activity, an activity prediction makes it possible to adapt its resources. Do I need additional staff to respond to a rapidly growing activity? If the activity is calm, I can also plan to reduce my staff, give recoveries and thus allow my loads to be adapted to the activity. What are the periods when I must have all my vital forces? What are the periods when my teams can take leave without affecting the activity of the company? The AI also allows, in advance, to know when I have to invest in my company to be ready when my activity takes off.
3. Determination of targeted campaigns
In which regions is it better to target marketing campaigns to attract the maximum number of visitors ?
Question that AI can answer, thanks to its algorithms. To achieve this, as much raw data as possible is analyzed: the reservation time, the method of payment or the place of origin of the visitors. All this information is then simplified before being communicated in the form of maps by country, region, department. The company can thus detect areas with high potential to target its communication or marketing campaigns. No need to spend large budgets on national advertising, AI allows you to target the geographical areas of your catchment area as precisely as possible.
In addition to the origin of its customers, the IA also provides a detailed analysis of the typology of its customers: Single adult, couples without children, family with one child, family with two or more children, groups of friends, etc… Do you really know the profile of your customers, or visitors? A simple impression is not always the right answer and many companies are surprised, after analysis, to see that their target customers are not always what they thought.
Thus the launch of a communication campaign, in a specific geographical area and on a specific customer segment, makes it possible to target expenditure but also to measure its effects. An additional contribution of business after a campaign is now measurable and quantifiable.
If AI allows you to adapt your communication strategies, it also helps from a logistical point of view for crucial management decisions. In our example, a tourist place can decide to close one day in the week. But which day to choose? Should I trust a first impression? The AI does this analysis work on behalf of the company with the most complete history possible and concludes the quietest day or days where the company can close by limiting the impact on its activity.
4. Evolution of the product or the personalized service
On the “End-users” side, customers or visitors, AI is also advancing rapidly.
A hotel room automatically personalized to the tastes of the customer, virtual reality glasses as brochures, chatbots to answer vacationers’ questions 24 hours a day: new technologies are emerging in the tourism sector.
In the hotel of the future, reception can even be done using a facial recognition mirror. Then, the room will adapt instantly to all the requests made at the time of booking: temperature, light atmosphere, choice of canvas in the digital frames hung on the walls or even music to play. The developments are almost endless for customization pushed to the extreme for its client.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of developments in the field of tourism through AI.
- Artificial intelligence now makes it possible to take reservations online. Thus, tourists no longer need to fill out paper forms to send to their vacation spot, and no longer need to make phone calls. Indeed, vacation spots have specialized platforms for booking stays online, simplifying all the procedures for as many people as possible. Artificial intelligence in the world of tourism, present through online reservations, also makes it possible to collect the personal data of the tourists welcomed. Platforms can also collect customer reviews to influence potential future tourists. The use of artificial intelligence to communicate through chatbots is widespread today. The sculpins make it possible to best guide tourists in order to answer their questions and meet their expectations. It is estimated today that 80% of tourist requests are answered through an online chatbot.
- Today, voice assistants such as Alexa exist. Thus, it is possible to be able to communicate with artificial intelligence, which will itself make your phone calls and make your reservations online for the most advanced platforms in the field. Beyond online reservations and phone calls, Alexa is a new communication tool in the world of tourism. Indeed, through a simple voice call, it is possible for Alexa to translate words into another language. This asset is used in particular during tourist trips abroad. In some hotels and other tourist places, the voice assistant Alexa (to name only one name of artificial intelligence) can also allow room service to be ordered. The artificial intelligence thus transmits your request to the hotel, which immediately takes care of the delivery !
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
ALBERT EINSTEIN – MATHEMATICIAN, PHYSICIST, SCIENTIST (1879 – 1955)
- Artificial intelligence is now present in the tourist world. Indeed, it is possible to let your journey be guided by artificial intelligence. Thus, the computer will propose types of transportation adapted to your desires: cost, date, travel time… The AI also allows the reservation of a vacation spot adapted to the wishes of the customer. Many tourist places are thus referenced: campsites, hotels, holiday clubs or luxury hotels… The excursions corresponding to the chosen holiday destination are also offered following previous reservations.
- Artificial intelligence has become a real mediator between holidaymakers and owners for seasonal rentals. Indeed, the computer tool allows the booking of all holidaymakers through a single platform. The use of an online booking platform also allows the creation of a customer file. The latter facilitates the sending of targeted promotions for vacationers who decide to return to the same vacation spot several times, for example. Thanks to artificial intelligence and the computer tool, reservations and cancellations are instantaneous, within a few seconds. Thus, managing the money collected is also no longer a problem: everything is regulated by IT.
Science is what the father teaches his son. Technology is what son teaches father.
Michel sERRES – Academician, Artist, Author of philosophical works, Writer, Teacher, Essayist, Historian, Historian of science, Philosopher, Professor of philosophy, Scientist (1930 – 2019)
- In the age of new technologies, new algorithms make it possible to travel… from your sofa. Thus, it is possible with the help of a smartphone and a virtual reality headset to be immersed in a foreign territory in no time, at an unbeatable price. This new way of traveling also has its limits. If artificial intelligence makes it possible to travel from your sofa, it is not possible to taste or smell the local cuisine or to set foot on the ground of various tourist places.
- Artificial intelligence now makes it possible to reserve all the smallest details of a trip through IT. Thus, everything seems to be in place, from transport tickets to the activities planned on site. Once there, artificial intelligence continues to accompany holidaymakers to their holiday destination. Thus, multiple applications can be offered to tourists for various hikes, or to carry out a guided tour using their smartphone. For example, some museums or places to visit offer QR Codes inside, allowing access to podcasts that guide visitors through the history and discovery of the place.
An incredible range of possibilities for the hotel, restaurant and leisure sector !
The sustainability of the entire travel industry depends on the ability of companies to recognize and seize the opportunity of AI and place it at the center of their strategies in terms of customer experience and service but also in the finer management of its business, the resources to be dedicated in relation to the expected results.
As the machine settles into our lives, we can get the most out of it if human qualities are revalued. As with all sciences, it is of course the use made of them that takes precedence over the rest. Artificial intelligence is a considerable advance that is shaking up the codes and the way of working. Tasks that used to take a lot of time and effort a few years ago are now available within a second. The company can thus concentrate on the analysis and the strategy.
Artificial intelligence in no way takes away the importance of human intervention. Indeed, in order to make the right decisions, it is important that the operational teams at the heart of the company’s activity can be involved and complete the analyzes provided. AI is not an exact science and will never replace human intervention and it will always be necessary to challenge it, ask the right questions or even question its conclusions. Anyway, in the end, it is the human who naturally makes the decisions !
It is therefore unthinkable to do without human, but he must refocus on his added value and focus on more qualified subjects.
The tourism industry therefore needs a technology capable of referring to humans when it reaches its limits. With such a device, customers, visitors or tourists can above all have access to the right information as simply as possible and at any time. To be competitive, tourism companies will have to be able to achieve this clever mix of instantaneousness and availability of hyper-detailed information associated with personalized and irreplaceable advice from human beings.
This complementarity between man and technology will allow the establishment of more efficient customer relationship services, always in search of customer satisfaction.Â
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the hospitality and tourism industry and providing companies that have already adopted intelligent tools, including data analytics, with a sustainable competitive advantage. This is a new technological cycle requiring hotels and tourist sites to modernize in order to be able to turn the corner and gain in operational efficiency.
Beautiful perspectives to grasp and use intelligently !
