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According to a report from Accor, highly-personalised service is becoming the key differentiator for travel advisors. The report, titled ‘Tailor-Made Touch or Digital Efficiency?’, looks at the strategies, technologies and trends impacting leisure travel advisors in the recovery and beyond. It says that while continually digitally transforming their operations is of course vital, even more important is to develop the services and nurture the partnerships that can help them delight and connect with their customers on a level that is beyond what alternative intermediary models can achieve. The report, focused on the European market, outlines how the pandemic accelerated the transformation of the leisure travel intermediary market, with the widespread adoption of digital technology and many key players shifting their models in a bid to become platform businesses or b2b technology providers. It supports the notion that, used properly, technology from messaging platforms to payments and artificial intelligence can be travel advisors’ best friend, helping them to optimise their capacity with a wide variety of inventory; access powerful digital distribution channels; better understand their customers, market themselves and provide more sophisticated and efficient services. However, it argues that even more key to travel planners’ success as they evolve is the ability to get close to their customers, to provide the high-touch personalised service now expected by travellers. Saskia Gentil, SVP Sales, Europe & North Africa at Accor, explained: “Consumers increasingly value the ability of travel advisors to remove the stress from their trip, tailor it to their preferences, plan every last detail in a flexible way, and be the reassuring presence that takes care of problems when they arise. “The ability to provide this bespoke level of service is a …

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