Roboptimism

Richard Singer

President - Travelzoo Europe

ITB 2016

• 25 offices in 11 countries

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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