Guest Post: Travel brands that delay AI adoption will be uncompetitive by the end of this year, if not sooner

Adam Platt, group chief technology officer at Forge Holiday Group, urges all to act quickly

In a fast-moving market, waiting on AI isn’t caution, it’s a competitive risk. Some still view AI as the latest buzzword, but it’s already business-critical. Travel brands that hesitate risk being outpaced by those willing to experiment and embed these tools at speed.

At Forge Holiday Group, which owns several UK travel brands including Sykes Holiday Cottages and Forest Holidays, we’ve made AI adoption a priority. The results have only confirmed our belief that this technology is – and will continue to be – vital to our success.

AI is reshaping how we deliver value and service to both holidaymakers and property owners. And there are many examples, within and beyond our organisation, of teams using AI to deliver measurable business impact.

Enhancing customer service

Customer service is one of the areas where AI offers the most immediate potential. Tools like natural language processing, summarisation and chatbots are reducing manual tasks and enabling faster, higher-quality support.

We’ve introduced automatic call transcription and case summarisation, allowing agents to spend less time writing notes and more time supporting customers. This change has reduced after-call work by 50%. We also use AI to scan customer feedback and detect which guests most urgently need to speak to us – meaning we can respond faster to sensitive issues, while also spotting trends that guide broader service improvements.

What’s more, we use our WhatsApp chatbot to triage enquiries, with this now handling 30% of inbound messages without needing a human advisor. These are typically more routine requests, such as key collection information, but automating them reduces contact volumes and supports service teams.

Crucially, these tools don’t replace people – they enhance them. AI enables colleagues to focus their efforts on the important customer conversations at hand, and streamlining tasks frees them up to deliver higher-quality service.

Supporting lead generation

AI also drives smarter, faster lead capture - vital in a sector where timing is everything. It allows for real-time engagement, even outside office hours.

Skyscanner offers a good example. Its use of conversational AI on platforms like Messenger helps travellers plan trips, explore deals and ask questions through a responsive digital assistant. This is scalable, always on and aligns with the way people now expect to interact with brands.

We’re using similar logic with Kate, our out-of-hours AI assistant for prospective property owners. ‘She’ collects key details, then passes this to our recruitment team for timely follow-up. Meanwhile, our WhatsApp bot engages leads immediately after they submit their details – gathering photos and property features. These tools are shortening the sales cycle and ensure we strike while interest is high.

Driving operational efficiency

One of AI’s biggest strengths lies in eliminating repetitive, time-intensive work.

Using regenerative AI, we’ve enhanced image quality on photos submitted by owners that would previously have been rejected for being too small or low resolution. As a result, image rejection rates have dropped from 70% to 15%, saving hours of manual processing. Writing property descriptions has also historically been time-consuming. But with AI-assisted tools, we’ve increased content output by over 60%, helping us list new properties faster.

Outside travel, similar benefits are being seen elsewhere. Retailers are using AI to analyse customer reviews and shape product strategies. Airlines are deploying machine learning to predict maintenance needs, saving millions in downtime.

AI removes friction and frees up resource. It’s not about job cuts – it’s about reallocation. And the returns are already visible. 

Further changes to browsing and bookings

AI won’t just improve how holidays are serviced – it will change how they’re discovered.

Much of today’s online search experience still relies on filters, dropdowns and scrolling through long lists. But that model is shifting. For example, Booking.com is exploring personalised itinerary builders and real-time search reordering powered by generative AI.

We’re also looking at how tools like ChatGPT interpret and surface our holidays, and how voice or chatbot interfaces can support guests as they move through their booking journey.

If, or more likely when, customers start holiday planning via AI assistants rather than search engines, the implications for visibility and competition will be significant. Travel brands will need to think not just about keywords and SEO, but about how their content is structured for machine understanding.

Move fast on AI or fall behind

Rolling out AI tools is one thing. Embedding them into culture is another. We’ve learned that success lies in clear guidelines, company-wide training and encouraging experimentation at all levels. As well as appointing specific ‘AI Guardians’ across the business and investing in future talent with our AI Apprenticeships, we’re simply encouraging people to try, test and share.

AI technology is developing unbelievably quickly. Nobody really knows what will be possible in the next three months, never mind three years. The pace of change means those who experiment today will lead tomorrow – on customer service, efficiency and innovation. Because by the time AI becomes standard, the winners will already be decided.