By Leah Mira, RTN Staff Writer – May 30, 2024
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a global leader in the hospitality industry, and Google Cloud are expanding their partnership to improve the guest experience within the IHG One Rewards mobile app. IHG will reportedly use Google Cloud technology to introduce an AI-powered trip planning feature that allows guests to plan their vacations directly within the app. The feature is part of a series of new services scheduled to launch later this year aimed at creating a more dynamic digital guest experience.
IHG Hotels & Resorts' new trip planner provides mobile app users with personalized trip recommendations. “Working with our AI innovation partner, Google Cloud, we aim to simplify and enhance trip planning for travelers of the future,” said Jolie Fleming, IHG's chief product and technology officer, in a press statement. “Powered by GenAI, the customized trip planner will help users discover their destination among more than 6,000 IHG hotels across 19 brands in over 100 countries.”
The IHG One Rewards mobile app will soon function as a comprehensive mobile travel guide, allowing guests to create a complete itinerary and book hotels with just a few taps. The travel planner will accommodate both broad and specific requests, from late-night dinner options near a particular hotel to whether a hotel allows pets or even recommendations for events happening near a hotel on a specific date.
Investing in the technology that supports the IHG One Rewards mobile app and IHG's loyalty program is a key element of IHG's strategy to increase customer loyalty and engagement. Working with Google Cloud will enable IHG to rapidly roll out features that resonate with guests. Travel Planner will be developed using Vertex AI, Google Cloud's AI platform and Google's Gemini model.
Google Cloud became IHG's cloud provider in 2022 when the company migrated its data components to BigQuery, a fully managed, serverless data warehouse. There are a number of factors behind IHG's decision to leverage Google Cloud's AI technology for upcoming Trip Planner features, including Google Cloud's suite of AI technologies and Google's broad ecosystem of consumer products and services that create personalized experiences for travelers.
IHG continues to explore ways that secure technology innovation can drive return on investment for hotel owners and improve guest experiences, and this marks the first announcement that Google will enable hospitality companies to integrate generative AI technology, according to Carrie Tharp, vice president of strategic industries at Google Cloud.
IHG developed the tool with Vertex AI, a Google Cloud platform for building AI software, which is derived from Google's own Gemini model. The partnership between the two companies began in 2022, when IHG migrated components of its data to Google Cloud databases. Google has played a key role in helping IHG organize its data and build a foundation for new innovations.
IHG's long-term vision is to ensure the core functionality of the tool remains valuable and bug-free, and it plans to upgrade it regularly. The chatbot will be able to answer general and specific questions by combining Google's wealth of information with IHG's own data. It could also include integrations from third-party travel companies for products such as event and attraction bookings.
Google Cloud's approach to cybersecurity, data governance and privacy ensures IHG maintains control over its data and ensures that its data and applications meet compliance and security standards, a key priority for IHG. Google Cloud's responsible and ethical approach to generative AI also gives IHG the tools to directly verify the appropriateness and accuracy of its model responses.
Technology has driven several new services designed to improve guest experience. For example, last September the company announced the launch of a revamped digital booking experience for guests. The enhanced booking experience allows guests to select individual room attributes and personalize their stay with a range of enhanced features. To date, more than 5,000 hotels allow guests to select the room attributes that matter most to them.
Recognizing that 40% of its website traffic comes from these platforms, IHG has also invested in reimagining each of its hotel's websites. More than 80% of IHG's hotels have already launched new websites, as IHG continues its commitment to fully showcase the diverse offerings its 19 brands can offer guests.
The company has invested more than $300 million in recent years in its technology platform, including its guest reservations system, the recently enhanced One Rewards mobile app, the all-new IHG.com and brand.com websites for its five brands and cloud-based data analytics capabilities. IHG's partnerships with Apple, Amadeus, PPDS, Groups360 and other leading technology solution providers have been key to the implementation of these next-generation cloud solutions.
These investments have significantly increased revenue in North America and Europe. IHG will continue on its path of innovation, continually improving its technology and adding new features.
