Building a Collaborative Corporate Culture & AI with Tom McGarry from Holiday Extras

Summary

Tom McGarry, Head of New Business at Holiday Extras, discusses his journey in the travel industry and the company's focus on business development and ticketing. He explains how the company is leveraging customer data to offer personalized recommendations for things to do while traveling. The conversation also delves into the company's culture and the efforts made to create a collaborative and flexible work environment. The impact of COVID-19 on the company's community and culture is explored, as well as the changes in consumer behavior, such as the shift to online chat for inquiries and bookings. Holiday Extras has seen a shift from phone calls to chat session, with roughly 80% of of customer interactions now made through chat. Flexibility in bookings, such as the ability to change or cancel without penalty, has become paramount. Holiday Extras is working on making all of their products flexible and easy to change. They have developed a system to amend bookings even for partners that don't support API connections, ensuring a seamless customer experience. Holiday Extras has also utilized AI to improve the customer experience, including creating an AI tool for theater bookings and a tool for insurance policy understanding.

Key Takeaways:

• Holiday Extras focuses on business development and ticketing in the travel industry.
• The company leverages customer data to offer personalized recommendations for things to do while traveling.
• Holiday Extras has created a collaborative and flexible work environment to foster a positive culture.
• The company navigated the challenges of COVID-19 and maintained its community and culture.
• Consumer behavior has shifted towards online chat for inquiries and bookings. Holiday Extras has seen a shift from phone bookings to chat bookings, with roughly 80% of bookings now made through chat.
• Flexibility in bookings, such as the ability to change or cancel without penalty, has become paramount.
• Holiday Extras is working on making all of their products flexible and easy to change.
• They have developed a system to amend bookings that don't support API connections, ensuring a seamless customer experience.
• Holiday Extras has utilized AI to improve the customer experience, including creating an AI tool for theater bookings and a tool for insurance policy understanding.

You can find out more about and connect with the speakers here:

• Tom McGarry, Head of New Business at Holiday Extras

You can find out more about the research that we mention in the episode here:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠2024 Experiences Traveler Outlook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - The 2024 U.S. Experiences Traveler Outlook report delves into the state of the U.S. experiences traveler – who they are, what they want, what are they looking for in 2024 – and some key trends shaping the tours, activities and attractions sector for the coming year. 

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠2024 US Tour Taker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - The second report from the 2024 U.S. Experiences Traveler study delves into the state of today’s tour taker – who they are, what they want, and how they choose, book and share.
• Arival Guide to AI in Experiences - How tours, activities and attractions are improving the guest experience, saving money and growing their business with AI today

Connect with the hosts of The Voice of Experiences, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Joyc