Editor’s note: This interview is part of a Q&A series with winners of the ORIGIN Innovation Awards 2020. Trabble is a winner in the category Startup Awards–Internet Solutions.
COVID has had an impact across the board, although different industries have faced varying degrees of difficulty in dealing with its impact.
“Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic is definitely one challenge that affected almost all businesses, but none as badly as the Travel & Hospitality sector, and this challenge is certainly an emerging trend in every industry,” said Ian Low Jian Liang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trabble, in a TechNode Global Q&A.
Trabble’s solution involves automated self-check-in and guest engagement Software as a Solution (SaaS) platform, which provides guests with a contactless experience throughout inquiries, bookings, and services, all delivered through chat. Trabble integrates chatbot, machine learning, and AI to automate and streamline business operations and unify multiple chat platforms. This results in a single platform for easy, efficient, and productive management by businesses.
This enables hospitality businesses to increase revenue channels, guest satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Trabble empowers businesses to seamlessly serve their guests 24/7 via guests’ own mobile devices throughout their travel–pre-trip, check-in, in-trip, check-out, to post-trip. This minimizes physical exposure to both staff and guests while enhancing high intimate service standards digitally, to serve their inquiries, reservations, access, and concierge.
In this TechNode Global Q&A we learn how technologies are improving the way we travel and move around the globe amid changing global landscapes.
What are the emerging trends in your industry that will drive innovation?
Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic is definitely one challenge that affected almost all businesses, but none as badly as the Travel & Hospitality sector, and this challenge is certainly an emerging trend in every industry.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a greater need for social distancing as part of wider health and safety concerns. Thus, there is a surge in demand for digitization and automation in daily operations so as to minimize face-to-face contact in our daily life. With COVID-19 redefining the travel scene, and with social distancing and health and safety concerns being more stringent.
During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, Trabble saw almost no new sales as the industry is severely affected. We were fortunate that 2019 was a really strong year for us in terms of profitability, and we used this time to expand our suite of features and functions of our Trabble solutions. We are constantly finding ways to allow our clients to improve their brand positioning as a safe, low-contact business, without compromising their guest engagement and service.
What is interesting is that the pandemic has helped better position our products, from what used to be a “good to have” innovative product, to now a more “need to have” position for the return of post-COVID tourism. We are now seeing an increase in clients, as many are already preparing and gearing up for the return of post-covid tourism. As most of the industry has retrenched up to 80 percent of their staff, it has increased the value of Trabble to help ease their operations and increase productivity, making it a good opportunity for them to revamp their SOPs.
What are the three key challenges in the travel industry?
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Frontline tourism and hospitality staff deal with repetitive questions and menial tasks, leading to high manpower costs and low guest satisfaction in Guest Enquiries, Reservations and Services.
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Highly fragmented market and high Online Travel Agencies’ commissions, where hyperlocal knowledge & services for last-mile services are not easily accessible to travellers.
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Wider health and safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus leading to a lack of a seamless travel experience.
What solutions are you providing as a response to these challenges?
Our vision is to consolidate the fragmented travel industry, by providing a Guest Engagement solution that is flexible, transferrable, and revolutionary to travel businesses globally. We help businesses leverage technology to upskill staff and automate operations and level the competitive landscape for smaller industry players especially in post-COVID travel.
Trabble’s SaaS platform helps to fully automate the self Check-In/Out process for hospitality businesses. It helps travel businesses automate customers’ Guest Enquiries, Reservations, and Concierge Services via chat. By integrating Chatbot, Machine Learning and AI. Trabble automates and streamlines business operations and unifies multiple chat platforms onto a single platform for easy, efficient, and productive management by businesses.
This helps travel and hospitality businesses increase revenue channels, guest satisfaction and operational efficiency. We empower businesses to seamlessly serve their guests via guests’ own mobile devices, hence minimizing physical exposure to both staff and guests. As such, Trabble is able to help businesses minimize interpersonal contact without compromising high service standards, while still creating a seamless experience for travelers with one-click access to our growing marketplace ecosystem.
With strong strategic partnerships and tech integrations with fellow industry businesses, Trabble has achieved a fully automated self-check-in software that encompasses Pre-Trip to Post-Trip. We empower businesses to seamlessly better serve their guests 24/7 through chat – in a manner that is interactive, intimate, and engaging — all through guests’ own mobile devices.
What makes your solution unique?
With the development of our fully self-onboarded Saas solution, businesses will be able to quickly roll out the solution in a plug-and-play model, with different affordable pricing options available to cater to different customer segments.
Quic.Key is also a feature that allows our clients to deploy Trabble’s self-check-in solution, so as to allow their guests to check-in pre-arrival in the comfort of their own homes, go straight to their rooms skipping the queues at the front desk, and all with the convenience of using their own devices.
Apart from these, in keeping up with the new normal of post-covid tourism, Trabble is working in partnership with Singapore Tourism Board (STB), to develop a new and innovative product, Quic.Tour. Quic.Tour is a platform that allows for travelers to get audio tours and concierge services, with the ability to interact with the live Licensed Tourist Guides. This will enable recreation of an intimate travel experience for tourists, whilst meeting the needs for the new post-COVID social distancing norms.
Ultimately, our products all help in further consolidating the travel and hospitality industry by facilitating a closer working relationship between accommodations, travelers, and tourist guides. Through this, we hope that our industry continually strives to serve travelers better through the help of technology and constant innovation.
Tell us more about your team
Our vision is to consolidate the fragmented travel industry, by providing a Guest Engagement solution that is flexible, transferrable and revolutionary to travel businesses globally. We help businesses leverage technology to upskill staff and automate operations, and level the competitive landscape for smaller industry players especially in post-COVID travel.
Trabble is a highly experienced team that consists of a CEO, CTO, Chief Experience, Chief Navigator, Chief Storyteller and Chief Marketing, supported by a team of developers. We started with the winning of the Changi Airport Hackathon and eventually by acquiring our first hotel customer with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board.
Our Trabble team is greatly driven by passion and creativity. As a rather young team with strong passion and unique individual experiences in both the travel industry and startup scene, we are always open to new ideas and feedback, maximizing each opportunity that comes our way – be it accelerator programs, investments, mentor sessions with industry leaders, and more. Our team is strongly built on trust, believing in each team members’ commitment and contributions, as well as being receptive to one another’s feedback and criticisms to continuously seek and build on the best practices in developing and distributing our products and services. Thus, we have always been able to work effectively and productively although working remotely, even since before COVID-19 pandemic, and hence able to efficiently coordinate with sales in overseas markets as well.
Health passports are likely to become the most essential travel document
Featured image credits: Unsplash