Strategy – Travel Tech Business
Creating Next-generation Travel Solutions through a Fusion of AI and Accomodation Facility Management Systems
Masahiro Awa
Director
In charge of Travel Tech Business
DX in Response to Labor Shortages: Addressing a Pressing Industry Problem
Following the impacts brought about by to the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel and accommodations industry began to see returns in demand from 2022 onward as the pandemic subsided. Recently, customer numbers have recovered to levels that exceed even those prior to the pandemic, with a strong emphasis on visitors from overseas.
The New Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan received Cabinet approval in March 2023 and now provides support for the abovementioned industry. However, many businesses were forced to suspend operations, reduce their scale of operations and take other such measures due to COVID-19’s effects, causing many employees to lose or leave their positions. As a result, immediate problems faced in travel and accommodations center not on bringing in customers, but on rectifying labor shortages. As stated in the Basic Plan, the industry in question faces pressing challenges related to digitalization, digital transformation (DX) measures and the like; however, we firmly believe in the major growth potential of the travel technology field.
Dynatech Inc., which provides the “Direct In” accommodation reservation system, the “Dynalution” property management system (PMS) for accommodation facilities, and other such solutions, is taking full consideration of accommodation facilities as well as destination marketing/management organizations (DMOs) to strengthen the functions of existing solution measures while coming up with new solutions to counter labor shortages and promote DX.
Moving forward, accommodation facilities will require self-service systems to replace staffed reception operations, multilingual solution systems to address customer questions and needs in place of human workers, dynamic pricing frameworks that adjust to supply-and-demand conditions, and other such innovations. Through the coordination of AI and PMS operations, many new services are emerging to provide automation as well as accommodation facility DX and maximized facility profitability. These represent current trends in travel technology as it relates to AI utilization.
Strengthening Both Companies Through Newly Established Business
Dynatech has primarily worked in collaboration with ValueCommerce over the years. Many people view ValueCommerce as a performance marketing firm whose operations center mainly on affiliate marketing, and few see us as a company with a major presence in travel technology.
Therefore, we have established the Travel Tech Promotion Office, which will operate from this fiscal term onward and clearly convey, both within the company and without, our firm focus on the travel technology field. By making full use of the top-class business assets possessed by Dynatech and combining our manufacturing-field human resources and cutting-edge technologies, ValueCommerce will strive to create new travel technology solutions. And by further strengthening the functions of Direct In and Dynalution while cultivating travel technology solutions which are set apart from the competition through their AI and data usage approaches, and integrating these elements in a unified manner, we believe it will be possible to build new value.
In order to realize prompt actions in response to changes within the travel technology field, we will proactively collaborate with startups and other organizations whose solutions and technologies exhibit potential synergy with not only ValueCommerce, but with Dynatech as well, in order to create new services and keep pace with evolving market needs.
Becoming Leaders in AI-based Travel Technology Companies
Through strengthened collaborations between ValueCommerce and Dynatech, we hope to grow both organizations into leading AI-based travel technology companies. This will make it possible for us to solve problems faced by society and grow the potential of the travel and accommodations industry.