Robots And Artificial Intelligence In Travel_Singer (PDF, 36.5 MB)
Transcript of Robots And Artificial Intelligence In Travel_Singer (PDF, 36.5 MB)
Roboptimism
Richard Singer
President - Travelzoo Europe
ITB 2016
• 25 offices in 11 countries
• 28 million members worldwide
• 100 million unique visitors worldwide
• Over 2.2 million Facebook fans
• Over 4.2 million app downloads
• We publish over 250,000 travel deals every year
THE FUTURE IS ALREADY HERE
THIS IS NOT SCIENCE FICTION
VIDEO
2015 WORLWIDE ROBOTIC TRENDS*
*source World Robotics 2015 Report
INDUSTRIAL SALES25%UP
DOMESTIC SALES40%UP
2/3APAC
ROBOTS POLARIZE
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”Professor Steven Hawking
ROBOTS POLARIZE
“Virtual reality will not see the end of face-to-face communication.”Sheryl Sandberg
COO - Facebook
ROBOTS AND AI IN TRAVEL -
WHO ARE THE EARLY ADOPTERS?
ROBOTS - DIVISIVE
IN THE HOTEL WORLD
"With robots, you don't get personalized
service"Those are the touches
people still want."
Steve Choe, General Manager,
InterContinental Los Angeles
ROBOTS - DIVISIVE
IN THE HOTEL WORLD
“That may be true of most high-end
hotels"but robots would be popular at hotels
that cater to millennials with a fascination for
high-tech gadgets. In a four-star hotel in
Silicon Valley, this would be a nice novelty.”
Lynn Mohrfeld, President, California Hotel and Lodging Association
MORE EARLY ADOPTERS IN TRAVEL
MORE EARLY ADOPTERS IN TRAVEL
2015 KLM launched Spencer
at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Spencer goes “far beyond the
skills of the current generation of
robots” guiding groups of
passengers directly to their
departure gates.
But the trillion dollar
question remains=
Does the typical holiday maker want
robots to feature in travel?
FUTURE OF TRAVEL PROJECT
Over 6000 people:
FUTURE OF TRAVEL PROJECT
FEAR, OPTIMISM AND COMFORT
ROBOPHOBIA
• 39% find robots scary
• The Chinese are least scared 14%
• The French/British are most scared 50%
• Women are more scared than men
47% vs. 32%
• Under 35s are most scared, but
still only 45%
ROBOPTIMISM
• 77% expect them to be a big part of life
• 73% think they will improve our lives
• 4 in 5 people in Japan and Spain
are optimistic
• 97% of the Chinese respondents were
positive, as were 85% of Brazilians
• Women were only slightly less
optimistic than men
COMFORTABLE WITH ROBOTS IN TRAVEL
Fairly Comfortable
Very Comfortable
100%
0%
50%
ADVANTAGES OUTWEIGH DISADVANTAGES
81%
81%
79%
77%
76%
FASTER DATA
DON’T TIRE
MULTI-LINGUAL
SAVE TIME
GOOD RECALL
REMOVES JOBS
IMPERSONAL
CULTURAL NUANCES
LACKS CREATIVITY
MAKE US LAZY
75%
75%
70%
68%
60%
HOTELS
YOU ARRIVE AT A HOTEL=
83% prefer human hotel
receptionists
17% prefer robot hotel
receptionists
IF THE HUMAN CAN’T ANSWER ALL YOUR
QUESTIONS=PREFERENCE SHIFTS
41% still prefer human
hotel receptionists59% prefer robot receptionists
that can answer all questions
ACCEPTING ROBOT RECEPTIONISTS=
• 18% of us would not accept the
use of robot receptionists under
any circumstances
• Most of us would accept robot
receptionists if they were
accompanied by a human 53%
• 53% think humans would do a
better job than robot receptionists
HOTEL PORTERS ARE REPLACEABLE
• 3 in 4 would welcome the use
of robots as hotel porters
• 37% thought robots would be
better than humans at being
porters and a further 25% thought
they would do just as good a job
ROOM SERVICE?
• 2 in 3 would welcome robots
providing room service in hotels
• 57% thought robots would do
just as good a job, or better,
than humans
• Not a personal security issue
OTHER ROLES
YOU ARE IN A RESTAURANT=
81% prefer human waiters
19% prefer robot waiters
However@Chinese would prefer the robot waiter
58% over the human 42%
Germans 45% wouldn’t accept a robot waiter under
any circumstances
IF THE HUMAN WAITER IS ONLY FAIRLY
EFFICIENT=PREFERENCE DOESN’T SHIFT
56% still prefer human
waiters
44% prefer the more
efficient robot waiters
ALL ROLES TESTED
Would do as well as humans or better
53% 50% 49% 48% 47% 42% 38% 30% 25%
Help
Desks
Airport
Check-in
Waiters Bar
Staff
Cruise
Crew
Air
Cabin
Crew
Info
Desks
Hotel
Check-inPhone
AgentsRoom
Service
62%
Hotel
Porters
57%
THE MOST PROTECTED
(CUSTOMER FACING) HUMANS IN TRAVEL
• Less acceptance of robots in the
roles of air cabin crew and cruise
ship customer-facing crew
• All countries agreed humans do a
better job than robots in these roles
• See these customer facing roles
becoming life saving roles.
THE MOST PROTECTED
(CUSTOMER FACING) HUMANS IN TRAVEL
Only in China did more than half the respondents
feel robots would do as good a job or better than
humans
Also a life saving role?
After air cabin crew and cruise liner staff, human
bar staff are most protected by all nations
WHAT SHOULD ROBOTS
LOOK LIKE? - AN EVEN DIVIDE
46% think robot receptionists
should look human
54% think robot receptionists
should look like machines
52% think robot waiters
should look human
48% think robot waiters
should look like machines
In China 3 in 4 prefer human looking robots
BUT ROBOTS SHOULD SOUND HUMAN
EVEN IF THEY DON’T LOOK IT
*of those who expressed a preference
70%* think robots should
sound human
30%* said they should sound
like a machine
ROBOTS IN CHILDCARE
• 55% think robots should be
employed in childcare
• Surprisingly amongst parents of
young children 62%
• French parents least keen
• All countries like the idea that a
nursery robot could look like a character in a children’s book
DRIVERLESS VEHICLES
• 75% would get into a driverless
car on holiday
• Increases to 89% if there is a
human there if things go wrong
• 42% think driverless cars will make
roads safer
VIDEO
CONCLUSION
• Globally, consumers are highly receptive to robots in travel
• Currently robots are being used, conservatively, in travel
for publicity or service functions
• Future opportunity lies in the advantages of machines over
humans: data and CRM
• Cultural differences and nuances- the combination of
human and robot is preferred (other than by the Chinese)
• Skill up. Survive. Thrive.
FINAL THOUGHT=
Richard Singer
President - Travelzoo Europe