Remote work isn’t a new thing in the tourism & hospitality industries.
It existed long before Covid-19 forced companies to send their employees to work from home and to teleconference on Zoom. The ideal image of “remote” work is to jobs and careers that can be performed from anywhere, especially a secluded cabin in the woods or bungalow on the beach with a mojito and a breeze. Employees in the travel industry often already work in their dream destination, but they can easily still complete their work remotely from any destination now. The travel industry is in a unique position during these unprecedented times to leverage remote work as it is more widely accepted by today’s professionals now.
Travel agents have been essentially working remotely for decades. Their work entails connecting travelers to resorts, cruises, and airlines via curated itineraries. This is all done via internet connections now. Travelers do not need to come into an office to discuss itinerary options that can now be sent via email or text. Allowing travel industry employees to work remotely can increase their productivity and won’t prohibit them from completing their work. Using remote employees might be an organizational advantage in providing top-notch service to potential travelers.
Customer service call centers and travel agents don’t need a centralized office to complete their work anymore. With technology moving so fast these days, there are multiple apps and programs that allow for this work to be done remotely. Most of the work is already done via the phone or email anyway because of the speed of traveler’s lives. Why pay for an office rental, furniture, utilities, etc.? Aligning remote employees with exact time zones with their desired working hours to reach the ideal consumers can give your company 24-hour global coverage without employees arguing who will cover the midnight shift.
Many US-based companies have factories in Asia, Central America, and South America. These companies frequently fly managers and executives back and forth across the world to collaborate with plant managers, check projects, and inspect products. Remote agents can do work better and more affordable with customers from their country, allaying any difficulty in the booking procedure. Remote work has been a major catalyst for the travel industry as fully remote companies are looking to meet up annually or quarterly.
This is already an area of success for travel agencies. Booking agents often work remotely and are independent contractors. Reworking this model to other positions can help travel and hospitality companies cut costs while still meeting their customers’ needs.
An essential function of a travel writer is to, well, travel. Traveling journalists may have perfected the remote work gig before anyone called it ‘remote work’, telecommuting, or work from home. This romantic position has shown the successes that remote work can have. Employees don’t need to be in an office to complete their essential functions efficiently and in a timely manner. They can converse with editors, arrange photographers, and send in their work thousands of miles away. They are always an email away and can even work while another continent is sleeping, if they are in a different timezone.
Websites in the travel industry typically have beautiful backdrops of beaches, forests, and people enjoying themselves. A web designer doesn’t need to be near, at the resort or have ever even visited to create a website that allows companies to market their amenities and allow vacationers to book travel. Since many institutions allow travelers to book through third-party apps, a web developer might need to be available to fix any issues your software might have with the online travel agencies software, in the middle of the night. If designing webpages off the grid seems like a line of work you’d be interested in, you can learn remotely and become a web designer without a degree. If you already have the skills, connect with the travel industry now.
Tech companies are starting to take their rightful place in the travel and hospitality industry. Airbnb, Agoda and VRBO have taken a significant portion of the market share from hotels. As the hotel industry tries to find ways to keep more of their direct customers, they will turn to technology to scale as well. Hiring data scientists to collect and organize travelers’ data, compare pricing to other hotels in the area and those who visited your site but didn’t book can help maximize the number of travelers that book your experiences or rooms in the future. Data analytics is a tool that the top hospitality and tourism companies are finally using to get lifelong customers and maximize their online marketing efforts.
Experts who specialize in GoogleAnalytics, Facebook/Instagram Advertising, and OTAs can be leveraged by any travel company, and they can be based anywhere in the world while working in the virtual space for your hotel or travel company’s website and bookings.
Proper data analytics can help turn one time website or social media visitors into life long customers by dialing in targeted marketing of the right products. Resorts and other vacation hotspots already generate data that can bolster customer satisfaction leading to better reviews and more future visitors & bookings. If collecting and organizing data about your travelers sounds like a vacation, you can become a data scientist by attending one of the top data science bootcamps. If you already have the skills, don’t be shy – jump into the travel industry!
The travel industry should excel at remote work because it’s already had an introduction long before Covid-19. Those afflicted with wanderlust to travel around the world need to work remotely to support their adventures. The travel industry can easily tap into the pool of talented remote workers and also open up more to the possibilities to allow its current employees work on the beach of their choice. As more technology gets infused into the travel and hospitality industry, it would behoove travel companies like hotels and travel agencies to hire technology experts from the top coding bootcamps who are willing to work remotely.
Take the step to hire one remote worker and be more flexible with your staff. See the results and be open to hiring more and more remote workers to be successful in the Covid-19 times when marketing of hotels is trickier than ever. It’s time to be creative and adapt. Remote work might be the solution you’ve been searching for.
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