From lost luggage to paradise found: 5 ways unified AI platforms transform travel service

I have serious wanderlust and want to see as much of the world as I can. I LOVE to travel!! My love affair with travel started during Spring Break of my Junior year in college. While many of my cohorts were flocking to hotels, cruise ships, beaches, and bars, I took my very first solo flight to join a group of biology students in Costa Rica studying macrofungi. Sadly, my luggage didn’t join me. After landing during a raging rainstorm, I realized it hadn’t arrived. I didn’t see it again until six days later and discovered that at least one of those species of macrofungi had taken up residence in it.

Late last year, I had the opportunity to take a trip to the gorgeous country of Zambia. It was a fantastic trip with many wonderful people and memories, but there was one slight snag during the journey. Though I arrived at my destination on time, my luggage didn’t—again. It languished back in the U.S. over 7,400 miles away for several days. Clearly, I’ve not learned to pack light since my college days.

And while the logistics of moving luggage across borders and airlines is certainly challenging, there are solutions that can help travel and hospitality companies avoid mishaps like that. From enhanced AI technology to better communication and customer interaction orchestration, here are five ways to turn travel chaos into 5-star customer service every time with one exceptional AI-powered service platform.

1. Keep travelers smiling all the way to their destinations with AI

Did you know that 64% of customers will drop brands after just one poor service experience? One! That may seem harsh but it’s the price of upsetting customers. And spoiling expensive vacation plans people have plotted for months or even years is a surefire way to lose their loyalty and their business. So, how do you prevent attrition-driving customer experiences?

Put customers first using intelligent, unified solutions. To connect with travelers, you need to meet them when and where they begin planning—whether browsing for flights, hotels, or excursions online, or checking out personalized offers in your app. By offering tailored recommendations and making booking as smooth as possible, you can build stronger relationships with travelers throughout their journey.

Companies also need to step up their game with service automation and proactive communication. Real-time updates, personalized real-time notifications, and follow-ups after the trip can make all the difference in keeping travelers happy and loyal.

That’s why so many travel companies are turning to NICE CXone Mpower to create smoother, more memorable experiences that keep travelers coming back. CXone Mpower is shaping the future of AI-driven customer service for travel—and plenty of other industries too. If only every airline was using it.

What’s its secret? CXone Mpower uses AI built specifically for customer service. CXone Mpower makes workflows, agents, and knowledge much more efficient. You get unified interaction orchestration, workforce augmentation, and customer service automation at scale. That way you can deliver top-notch service with ease and precision.

Pretty cool, eh? But that’s just the start.

2. Keep your travelers' stories straight, no matter the channel

One of the most frustrating aspects of my trip was having to repeat my bag issue over and over to different airline employees. First to the airline staff at the airport, then to an unintelligent chatbot, then to numerous customer service representative via chat and phone, and finally, by email to their support team. It was an exhausting merry-go-round that threatened to turn my sunny trip into a whirlwind of distress.

Your customers expect consistent and informed communication that connects across every channel. Whether they’re using self-service or chatting with an agent on a website, interacting on social media, or calling a helpline, every conversation needs to be tracked—and remembered—in real-time.

But when companies rely on disconnected systems (a "Frankenstack" of software solutions that don’t communicate with each another), providing a seamless, satisfying experience becomes impossible. And customers get the feeling that as a company, you simply don’t care about their needs. There’s no faster way to support your competitors by driving your customers right to them.

How can companies solve this problem? Improve communication with CXone Mpower by consolidating data for every interaction so your customers don’t have to repeat their stories. CXone’s interaction orchestration connects all interactions and workflows across every touchpoint. The system shares data from every conversation so that as a company you can anticipate their needs and make customers feel heard, known, and understood throughout their travels. That’s how you build customer loyalty.

3. Get your front- and back-office teams working seamlessly on the travel road

Yet another challenge is getting your front-line agents and back-office teams to work together seamlessly. While companies often focus on agents directly dealing with customers, there’s often a gap between them and the teams handling important things like baggage or flight coordination.

Even when agents want to help, they don’t always have access to the information they need to solve problems quickly. While my luggage languished stateside for days, numerous different agents provided me with very different responses to questions like:

• Will my luggage be on the next flight to Johannesburg?
• Who is responsible for getting my luggage to my ultimate destination?
• How will you coordinate with the other airline to get my luggage to my ultimate destination?

An infuriating experience that made me give up any further efforts. Going shopping seemed like a far better solution.

Whether tracking bags or dealing with flight delays, front-line agents need to have visibility to the entire end-to-end process to provide customers with accurate, timely answers. CXone Mpower to the rescue! CXone Mpower breaks down these silos by aligning teams to workflows, so customer needs can be addressed holistically. This means your front-line can deliver faster responses and more accurate solutions, while reducing customer frustration. Back-office teams stay informed and can pitch in to solve problems without delay.

4. Be the proactive hero your travelers need by contacting them first

Most travel and hospitality companies today send basic reminders to travelers: check-in notices, flight status updates, alerts about room upgrades. While these are helpful, they don’t go far enough, especially when things go haywire. Companies need to be much more proactive in communicating the status and path to resolution. Had I received proactive updates about the status of my luggage, the issue would have been a mere inconvenience instead of a significant distraction from my adventures.

Don’t force customers to chase you down for information. You need to anticipate problems and communicate with them before customers have to ask. If you’re waiting on them to reach out first, you’ve already risked losing their business.

CXone Mpower enables organizations to stay on top of anomalous events and proactively communicate updates to customers in-the-moment. With CXone Mpower, companies can identify and confirm individual customer needs and requirements, and then engage travelers with timely, essential notices across multiple channels.

Shifting from reactive to proactive engagement is one of many reasons why CXone Mpower is a true evolution in customer service AI technology. By being proactive, you can not only reduce frustration but also show that you’re invested in delivering a positive travel experience, even during times of crisis.

5. Optimize self-service and automation for stress-free travel adventures

Automation and self-service tools are key to improving the customer experience. Many travel and hospitality companies already have these tools in place to let customers handle things on their own, but just like any advanced AI technology, they require constant care and grooming to keep up with evolving traveler expectations. It’s not just about saving money—it’s about creating an experience that actually works for your customers every time.

Travelers want quick, easy platforms to get answers fast—whether it’s checking a flight, tracking luggage, researching amenities, or changing a booking. When these tools don’t work smoothly, it creates stress when all people want to do is get to their destination and simply relax.

CXone Mpower is leading the charge in customer service automation, offering everything from highly accurate generative FAQ-bots to complete process automation, giving companies the power to scale, offer best-in-class self-service, and use AI to make it all work seamlessly across channels and journeys. At the heart of CXone Mpower is AI that puts your customers first, ensuring that all the data, knowledge, and context is in place to delight and exceed expectations.

With intelligent, AI-driven workflows, you can streamline the whole customer journey. This means faster responses, more productive agents, and service that’s spot on. Plus, CXone Mpower gives you real-time insights and scalable automation, helping travel companies make better decisions, boost efficiency, and succeed long-term.

Start redefining what’s possible in the travel and hospitality industry

Spring Break is here. Then, Memorial Day after that, the Fourth of July, and so on. Not to mention the millions of journeys taken every year between peak travel periods. Reflecting on my personal experiences during my Zambia trip, it’s clear that the travel and hospitality industry faces significant challenges to meeting the needs of today’s customers—but it all begins with a shift to one AI platform.

Stop promoting your competitors by pushing customers away. It’s more important than ever to commit to technological advancements, process optimization, and seamless customer experiences to help you turn upset travelers into loyal and satisfied customers by redefining what’s possible.

Find out more about how CXone Mpower can help you. See why Marriott International chose our platform to replace their legacy solutions, and how Carnival UK improved guest experiences on two major cruise lines.

Then watch a short video demonstrating how you can help travelers relax with their toes in the sand instead of being blasted by a sandstorm of anxiety.