How more travel companies make “magic” with ChatGPT

Pierre-Camille Hamana calls his company’s latest tool a “magical wand,” but there’s nothing actually supernatural about it.

It’s just ChatGPT.

Hamana, CEO of Hospitable, a software service that helps short-term rental hosts manage properties, spearheaded his company’s drive to add a ChatGPT integration that generates draft responses to guest messages.

It’s yet another example of how travel companies are embracing the technology launched merely months ago by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research nonprofit. After PhocusWire published a “chatty dozen” list of companies that had developed travel tools and services with ChatGPT, more have come forward to share stories of their implementation.

In the case of Hospitable, the company works with more than 10,000 customers and about 69,000 properties. A big part of the job is gathering hosts' messages from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and their direct booking websites. Hospitable already had an automated system for answering common questions about things like Wi-Fi and late check-outs. ChatGPT elevates that service with an assist for every possible question fielded by a host.

“The way it works, they push a button, a magical wand, to generate a reply to the conversation,” Hamana said. The button sends the context — listing, reservation and conversation history — to ChatGPT, which generates a reply.

Nearly half the time, those responses are sent “as is” to the guest, he said. Many others require only small adjustments.

“It’s already had quite a bit of impact on our customers. It’s absolutely incredible with people who, for example, have a job or are on the go and don’t have time to craft a reply. They just press a button.”

It was nearly as simple to develop, taking only a matter of four hours to implement in early April. Hamana has plans for improving the service and eventually rolling it out to all his customers.

“This is a revolution,” he said. “For us, it’s a better feature, better product. We’re very excited to be able to push the frontiers, the boundaries of that for our customers.”

Here’s a look at some other companies pushing those technological boundaries:

Hotels Network

The hospitality technology company has released a tool for hotel marketers to create personalized website messages in just seconds using generative AI. By simply sharing the desired tone and goal of their communication, hoteliers can choose from multiple options to produce personalized website messages that perfectly fit their brand and boost conversions. The tool also detects the user’s language and delivers the final messages in any language. “The AI Assistant is just the beginning of how we can leverage generative AI to bring new solutions quickly to market that are unique and not available anywhere else,” said Juanjo Rodriguez, founder of the Hotels Network.

QuadLabs Technologies

The India-based travel technology company is developing an AI-powered itinerary builder it calls QuadGPT. It offers personalized recommendations and allows for booking flights, hotels and activities in a few clicks. Said QuadLabs Technologies CEO Gaurav Chiripal: “We believe that travel should be about experiencing new places and cultures, not about the stress of planning. QuadGPT is powered by ChatGPT and designed to help the customers plan and book their travel effortlessly, allowing them to focus on creating unforgettable memories.”

GuideGeek

A new product from travel publisher Matador Network, GuideGeek bills itself as a global travel assistant built on ChatGPT. The service promises answers to queries about hotels and Airbnbs, custom itineraries, local experiences and tours, even local slang. “The days of spending hours searching Google to plan your trip are over,” the product’s website proclaims. While several companies offer similar services, GuideGeek’s website includes links to download WhatsApp, the free instant messaging and voice-messaging app. Users can then open GuideGeek from anywhere through WhatsApp.

Breezeway

The property care and services platform that aids short-term rental property managers used the generative AI power of ChatGPT to develop a suggested replies tool for property managers. The tool will read Breezeway property profile and reservation data, along with context from guest messages, to create suggested replies to guests within the company’s messaging product. Data includes Wi-Fi instructions, house rules, property manager standards, directions, local restaurant recommendations, parking availability, among other things. “Using AI combined with property profile data and task history will greatly reduce the time spent crafting messages and replies, freeing up managers' time to focus on other areas of business,” said Jeremy Gall, Breezeway’s CEO and founder. “As a result, guests can expect quicker and more accurate replies.”

Turneo

The startup is a B2B platform that seeks to simplify how hotels and other travel brands offer and manage in-destination experiences. Turneo used ChatGPT to create a travel chatbot it calls Marco to act as a virtual concierge, offering hotel guests bookable recommendations of local experiences. “The hotels, hostels and campsites that we work with today have the most incredible stories to tell about their local area and the best insights into what their guests should do during their stay,” CEO and co-founder Matija Marijan said. “Turneo is about providing the tools to help them deliver those experiences.”

Akin

The hotel operating system used ChatGPT-4 to create a personalized, multilingual AI concierge. The model responds to a range of customer-facing interactions, including emails and reviews, with the correct tone and context. Travel businesses and operators can enhance it by reviewing historical conversation logs and providing feedback. Akin is also building an action engine that processes dynamic rates and availability, enabling guests to make bookings directly with an autonomous agent with only text-based prompts. “We believe the use of AI chatbots will help relieve labor shortages in the hospitality sector and reduce the pressure of guest support and customer service costs,” said founder Jason Noronha.