It’s no secret that AI is paving a new way for consumers to approach how they plan travel and events, from personalized travel routes to streamlined guest logistics. So what does that mean for founders in the industry and the planners working relentlessly to put on these large group trips and events? We dove head first into the topic during our Think Tank Brunch last week.
We invited top-tier meeting and event planners in our community for an exclusive, and interactive brunch discussion featuring our Co-Founder Alexa Berube and Kenny Totten, Co-Founder of group airfare booking company AllFly. The travel tech leaders sparked an engaging conversation where planners could discuss their experience using AI while also learning about new AI solutions and tactics to apply to their planning process starting today.
To kick off the morning, Brooklyn Comedy Collective led some ice-breaking activities, creating an engaging atmosphere, and fostering connection amongst our planners and hoteliers. Planners were inspired to connect with premium suppliers like Brooklyn Comedy Collective on Reposite to elevate their next networking event. Following the light-hearted start, we began the discussion by chatting about AI’s transformative role in the group travel and event space. Kenny launched us into our Think Tank, sparking a thought-provoking discussion: Is AI a force of good?
In the realm of travel technology, the answer is a resounding YES. Our discussion focused on utilizing Chat GPT as well as Bard, Google’s AI language model which is a powerful tool to generate ideas and insights for travel planning. We ran through a number of real-life scenarios where professional planners could leverage Bard and Chat GPT to save hours of time in their planning process, here’s just a few examples:
These examples show that AI is an incredible tool to give general benchmarks and ideas but in order to plan with 100% accurate pricing, quotes and proposals you’ll want to use Reposite. For example, in the case of comparing Park City and Dallas, Bard can help you get a sense of which destination is most cost effective during the time period your client requested, but it can’t provide the group room block rate with 100% accuracy that Reposite can.
AllFly brings its unique AI solution to the table by saving planners time booking group airfare. You can experience the power of their solution by checking out their free forecasting tool which helps group planners optimize their travel booking schedules. By inputting the details of upcoming group trips, including departure cities, dates, and the number of people traveling, the tool can estimate costs in seconds. This offers a way for planners to compare their budgets and book faster. “So many times companies lose money by booking too early or too late. We help them book at the right time,” noted Kenny.
Once airfare is taken care of, Reposite is a group planner’s best friend. Reposite uses AI to match planners with suppliers in as little as 24–48 hours, saving planners hours of Google search time. Alexa walked us through the RFP process where you can input all of your group requirements from hotels, restaurants, and transportation to fun and unique activities. What once took hours of time searching to connect with group sales directors and contacts, is now simplified and streamlined on Reposite’s platform. Planners have access to over 22,000 supplier offerings in over 2,500 locations and can connect with them either by posting an RFP or searching the database to connect directly.
Our session wrapped up with a well-earned mimosa and a guided tour of the stunning James Nomad Hotel, one of Reposite’s premium suppliers. The rooms and group meeting spaces were a perfect venue inspiration for our planners, not to mention the swanky cocktail bar downstairs with jazz, The Seville for a happy hour.