Are you delivering great leisure experiences, but poor customer journeys?

Your idea of the perfect vacation this summer may be relaxing by the pool - but the travel and hospitality industry is anything but relaxed. So what's happening and how can it be fixed?

The world of travel and hospitality is in a new era of growth and transformation, according to Deloitte's 2017 Travel and Hospitality Industry Outlook. The report notes that global business travel spending has hit a record-breaking $1.2 trillion, up 5% on the previous year.

Consumer spending on travel and hospitality has been rising too. In the US, renewed consumer confidence helped leisure travel gross bookings sustain a growth rate well ahead of gross domestic product (GDP), according to Deloitte.

Sunny days, you'd think? Well, actually...no.

Hold those Margaritas. The painful reality is that the travel and hospitality sector is also suffering from a serious case of turbulence.

Economic upheaval, geopolitical turmoil, natural disasters, pandemics, game-changing innovation and rising consumer demands are shaping the industry, according to Deloitte. But how companies react to this environment seems to be key to their success. In fact, the winners in 2017 will likely be those most responsive to change, points out the report.

US travel, hospitality and leisure companies can only do so much to tick all the boxes. And many of the turbulent forces just mentioned are completely out of the control of enterprises. In an increasingly unpredictable world, it's vital for the sector to provide security against fraud as the bedrock for great customer service.

Three things you need to bear in mind...

Consumer desire #1: Security

Discovering your card details have been compromised can ruin anyone's leisure time. To solve the problem, companies need to offer PCI DSS-compliant secure payment methods -whether their customers are paying online, using a mobile app or making a card-not-present payment over the phone with a contact center agent.

Consumer desire #2: Choices

Consumers want to be able to pay for things in the same what that they do in-store or online. So, Eckoh created the world's first, truly ground-breaking solution that would allow consumers to pay over the telephone using Apple Pay on an Apple device. You can also capitalize on this new solution as well as consider Live Chat Pay.

Consumer desire #3: Simplicity

Plans change. People forget times and booking numbers. And their PC is at home! So how can you help customers when they're in a rush, on the move and need results fast? The answer is to have a desktop solution that allows your agent to be logged in to all your applications and systems through one solution. This will save time and inconvenience when helping to check, change or update a customer's booking.

Discover more

Read this insightful eBook to CNP Crime in Contact Centers to see how simple it is to boost customer confidence and avoid becoming the next headline for data breaches.

If you'd like to know more about secure payment then give us a call at 866 258 9297 or drop us an email at tellmemoreUS@eckoh.com

^{Sources:
[1] InterContinental data breach expands from 12 to 1,200 hotels: ZDNet April 19, 2017}