AI Thinks We Are Cool!
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
A few days ago, Anne got an AI generated description of our company and brand.
Here it is:
“We've been following Visit Dream Destinations Dba Dream Destinations with great interest and have come across some remarkable reviews from your satisfied clients. From being European River Cruise Experts to providing top-notch travel planning services, your dedication to delivering the highest quality experiences is evident. Anne & Hank Schrader, as certified travel professionals, have undoubtedly created an exceptional brand.”.
While we appreciate this awesome review, I’m not sure this review is based on any personal knowledge of who we are—they just scanned our website and maybe some blogs and generated the summary.
You may wonder why we would tell you this—AI is going to be part of travel and there is concern among travel advisors that it is a threat to our profession.
We are not concerned about this, as we have weathered a lot since our start in 1995, but we need to explore this further and learn together the advantages and disadvantages of AI in the travel industry.
What is AI?
AI is the abbreviation for artificial intelligence. There are 2 main types of AI—generative AI (gen AI) and machine learning (ML). Some folks in our industry think that AI will result in reimagining what it means to book, plan, and experience travel.
This would be a newer way to interact with customers. I’m not so sure AI will revolutionize our role as travel advisors, but there can be no doubt that the digital age has made the industry better. There will be changes and it is probably too early to predict all the changes but perhaps just a recap of our experience in the digital age can provide us with some clues to the future.
The Human Touch
In our industry, there is one constant—quality interaction between us and our clients and potential clients. Could this interaction be replaced or enhanced using AI?
Some possible uses of AI are to create digital assistants that could plan, recommend. book, and monitor travel during the trip. It would require knowing a client so well that you could segment a clients’ desired trip preferences by their searches and digital presence.
In theory, sounds like a great idea. For simple trips, it probably is the wave of the future—"recommend 4 hotel rooms near the city center at this price range” (your query) would be an appropriate use of AI, as they could quickly scan options and respond to the query. That could certainly reduce your search time.
Again, it raises the question about the quality of information used to curate a response—all of us have seen information in a digital format that is inaccurate or misleading at best. Eventually it will get to the point that it is very useful and works to the satisfaction of the user, but, in my opinion, we are not there yet.
I have read that currently only information from 2021 or earlier is available for AI use, but I have no way to confirm this, and if true, a lot has happened since then in the travel industry—most river cruise lines were requiring us to wear masks to sail in 2021, and that is no longer required as just one example of how relevant and timely the AI responses are. It does raise the point that timeliness and accuracy of the responses is a potential problem area.
Marketing Using AI
The concept here is called: hyper-segmentation” where AI would respond to the queries and selectively determine the best trip based on your responses. Segmentation is not a new concept—we classify travelers by their preferences, but I find the idea of too much segmentation can result in a bombardment of unwanted marketing messages and offers by travel professionals searching for new clients. Not sure this will happen, but the potential worries me. Maybe this is why there are so many warnings about AI.
I prefer our approach—you opt in for our blog or visit our website and then reach out to us.
Our Logo
Here is part of our home page on our website www.dreamdestinations.com
We won a Wave Award in 2018
AI for River Cruises
I’m not sure it is the answer for river cruises. In the UK, I just read an article about a new agency that relies on on-line responses to make decisions about which river cruises to book and the whole process is online.
The real question is—where do they get their information to filter and make recommendations? Here are a couple of examples:
So, do they rely on Conde Nast Readers Survey published on 3 October 2023 to make the decision on which line to use for a potential river cruise client? I disagreed with the results only last week in a blog post. Who is right—neither of us. It is my opinion and as I say over and over, all river cruises are great options. No matter how hard machine learning tries, when there are split opinions, they can’t solve the problem accurately. After all, AI data will only spit out what it has been fed in developing the answers to your query.
Do you rely on awards won, or cruise critic? Are they using published reviews influenced by advertising dollars? AI can only scan the information and process it, then make judgements based on the algorithms programed into the response.
If I’m spending $15,000 to $20,000 on a river cruise vacation, I want someone to explain what is the best use of my money that matches my travel style—not a machine that says X number of people picked line Z, so you should also.
So, what do you do? You must talk with an advisor (hopefully us) and determine if they are better than AI.
ChatGPT for Travel
ChatGPT is both generative AI (gen IA) and machine learning AI (MI). Why? It starts off as answering questions or prompts with answers that are generated. As the process continues, it learns more and refines it responses., making it machine learning. You may already be using a form of AI for customer service, where the computer begins the conversation and when enough information is gathered, then a customer service representative takes over the conversation and provides the action required.
This AI will be best, in my opinion, for simple trips that already have folks using OTAs (online Travel Agency’s)—Expedia and Kayak already have plugins, but you have to use ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT is great for simple input--where do you want to go? how much do you want to spend? Give me 6 suggested cruises—they can handle that. The idea is to have human-like conversations with the computer to assist you. There is a ChatGPT app but make sure it is created by OpenAI (free but there is a subscription option that costs $20 a month) but already there are fakes out there. The real advantage of ChatGPT is speed—in seconds it can respond to the query.
You may be wondering—why not just use search engines? The short answer is that ChatGPT is designed to have a conversation, while a search engine uses indexes of web pages to find the information requested. For now, it is clear that search engines provide the best up-to-date and accurate information. As I told you earlier in this segment of the blog, there is a service called ChatGPT Plus which also includes scanning the internet, which will probably provide better quality results.
A limitation of ChatGPT—it uses servers and could get overloaded if too many people are online, so the system tells you are at capacity. Another limitation—ChatGPT does not provide sources for its answers.
Determine which cruise line is best for me—too hard at present—all have earned awards; digital articles pick a wide variety of options, and all are good. Whose opinion is right?
Another use of the ChatGPT that is already in place on river cruise company websites, is pop-up responses trying to get more information and direct you to a desired trip. I would recommend caution here—the cruise lines have a vested interest to get you to book as quickly as possible and may narrow your search too quickly. Remember, AI on a company website can’t answer questions that require a human touch and judgement yet. Also, travel is an emotional experience, and the machine does not have the ability to make truly emotional responses like we can by listening to you.
So, How Do You AI In Your Travels?
Carefully is my advice. One thing AI can’t do well is apply human judgement. AI might speed up the research process, but it can’t pick the right cruise for you on a river cruise. It might be able to tell you what the lowest price is but can’t tell you the value of the cruise for your travel style.
Our Final Thoughts
We never panicked when the internet went worldwide—it just made our clients more astute and interested in travel. I think for now our jobs are safe from AI. To be candid, we were never worried about it. Let the online agencies use AI but we will only use it if it is reliable and improves our response time on our end to find you the best options quicker. Even then, we will need to insert our human judgement to ensure you get the best trip. You will never see a ChatGPT on our website or a way to book online from our site—you need our human judgement and interaction.
I don’t think you would want it any other way. This is still a people-to-people business and will stay that way. Even now, we often find clients who say they are confused by all the information—it is just too complicated for most. Don’t worry—we can and will provide you clarity if you decide to use us to plan your trip—honest, fun, and reliable with your best interest at heart.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 52 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
