Startup working on generative AI for travel agencies Trava: Travel Weekly

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San Francisco-based startup Trava is developing a digital platform for travel advisors looking to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity in key areas.

“A lot of companies are building chatbots for travel and basically trying to replace travel agents,” said Katka Opocenska, co-founder and CEO of Trava. rice field. “That never happens. Quality is not there.”

Trava generates an initial itinerary based on guidelines from your advisor, including hotel prices for specific dates.

Trava generates an initial itinerary based on guidelines from your advisor, including hotel prices for specific dates. Photo credit: Trava

Instead, Trava will empower travel advisors with AI that makes their job easier and increases productivity across several key areas of travel planning, including customer onboarding, planning and itinerary creation. She said she aims to

Opocenska has a background in technology, having previously held positions at Google and Sonder. His co-founders, Mike Kitson and Steve Coffey, who are chief technology and engineering officers respectively, have design and engineering experience. They were her Sonder team building a digital app for guests and an internal productivity platform.

Opocenska said the app includes a concierge experience for guests to enjoy, bringing the team closer to what a travel advisor does in terms of recommendations and plans.

Katka Opoczynska, co-founder and CEO of Trava

Katka Opocenska, co-founder and CEO of Trava Photo credit: Trava

They left Sonder to start their own company and Trava was born.

Initially, the trio considered setting up a customer-centric online travel agency, but realized the competition would be tough. But through that process, the team identified areas where planning could really benefit from AI enhancements.

Then they realized that “the whole industry is doing things like that,” Opocenska said. They focused on agent productivity software.

Trava’s Focus Areas

Client onboarding is the first area where Trava will deploy AI to help agencies.

To avoid multiple email back and forth (Opocenska said Trava is biased toward younger audiences who prefer text-based communication rather than phone calls), Trava has deployed AI to ask questions and provide details. Collect.

“The end goal here is that when a customer completes this uptake, they have everything they really need as a travel advisor,” she said. “No need to go back and ask additional questions.”

Trava will generate an itinerary for you with one click.

Trava will generate an itinerary for you with one click. Photo credit: Trava

Next, Trava will provide AI assistance in travel planning and research. Trava will generate an initial daily offer based on your advisor’s prompts. Opocenska said Trava will integrate pricing APIs for hotels, so the itinerary will include images and up-to-date prices.

Advisors can change anything manually or by asking AI assistants to do partial redesigns.

Finally, Trava generates the final itinerary for the client.

Opocenska said the platform also includes useful features in the back office, such as allowing agents to call hotels before customers arrive with additional benefits they can receive. You will be prompted to confirm

The company has several other ideas to implement toward its ultimate goal of increasing productivity by 50%.

“I think we can,” said Opocenska. “I think it’s very feasible without compromising quality.”

still testing, improving

Trava is still testing the product. While not his B2B product at the moment, Opocenska’s ultimate vision is to deliver the software that powers travel agencies.

The company continues to test the platform internally. Opocenska expects a minimally viable product to be ready this year, possibly as early as the summer. Advisors interested in learning more can contact him online with Trava.

similar efforts

Some companies have combined Travel Advisor with AI in the past. Paul English’s Laura, founded in 2015, is one of them. Laura eventually shifted to corporate travel before exiting the business in 2021 with a sale to Capital One.

But Opocenska said Trava’s difference lies in the technologies available today, such as generative AI.

“We didn’t have the technology before, but now we have the technology,” she says. “For us, day and night are really the same.”



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