This a contribution from Simon Akeroyd, VP corporate strategy & business development (pictured below), Amadeus
In just a few short years since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015, wearable technology has gone from niche applications to being everywhere, changing the way we exercise, communicate, eat and even sleep.
Asia Pacific is already the most concentrated region for device ownership in the world, and the market for smart watches has become even more competitive since smaller local companies have also got in on the act – with local players like Shenzhen-based OPPO and India’s Noise offering lower-priced models which are finally making wearables accessible to a much broader customer base.
Until recently, wearable adoption within the travel industry was a ‘nice to have’, driven predominantly by a desire to improve traveller experience. However, Covid-19 has accelerated the need for industry-wide adoption as a necessity to ensure passenger safety and hygiene through contactless processing.
Simply put, wearables and biometrics are now an imperative for post-Covid recovery that the travel industry has to move quickly on.
Here are the four wearable applications that have the biggest potential for changing the way we travel in the post-Covid landscape, and considers what the industry needs to do to get on the front foot.
Contactless and seamless passenger processing at airports
Travel restrictions are starting to ease in some geographies, but social distancing and high levels of hygiene at airports will be here to stay for the near future.
One solution is for wearables to be used as the new ‘ticket’ so that passengers can pass through airports seamlessly, without even having to touch their surroundings.
On smart watches the technology already exists for a single code to be locked on the screen. Or for an app or digital wallet to push travel documents to the wearable user at the exact time that they are needed, based on their location within the airport.
Ultimately, the wearable carries the traveller’s trip ID, allowing passengers to pass from baggage drop to gate with minimal ‘friction’ and ‘contact’.
Airports and airlines would need to ensure that implementation goes hand-in-hand with advances in biometrics (like facial recognition) to guarantee that safety and security keep pace with ease of movement, but the ability to eradicate points of physical contact from passenger processing could be well worth the effort for airports seeking to reassure travellers that it is safe to fly.
Once the infrastructure around this is in place, the possible applications also extend to the potential for the passenger to receive real-time information about their trip and destination – this could be anything from a push notification to inform a customer that their baggage has arrived, to weather and traffic updates – all conveniently displayed on a smartwatch or announced directly to the passenger via their earpods.
Parallel reality for safe airport experiences
Other exciting applications of wearables are hyper-tailored wayfinding and crowd management, which have obvious benefits in a post-Covid world for helping to reduce queues and thereby maintaining safe social distancing, particularly at busier parts of the terminal.
This is done through what is known as ‘parallel reality’ technology, whereby hundreds of passengers can simultaneously share a digital display, sign or light and each see something different – all made possible by wearables. Display screens can be tailored to communicate individual messages to each passenger in their language and at the exact time they need it. This is already being beta tested by some airlines and, if successful, could quickly become mainstream to provide completely personalised wayfinding and travel information in the terminal, from personalised flight updates to boarding time and upgrade status.
Beyond the benefits to crowd management, the possibilities for enhanced customer service and marketing, once this technology is up and running, are enormous too.
Enhanced inflight services
Beyond the terminal, wearables have the potential to also shake up the in-flight experience. In the post-Covid world, this may be more important than ever to tempt reluctant flyers back on board.
In 2014, British Airways trialled a ‘Happiness Blanket’ using portable neuro-sensor technology to measure passengers’ moods during the flight. It allowed the airline to monitor passengers’ sleep and relaxation patterns during the flight, with the results then being used to identify which aspects of the onboard experience can be improved.
Advances in wearable technology in recent years means that everything from a passenger’s temperature to hydration levels, anxiety and their body clock could be measured and used by cabin crew to pre-empt specific needs and make the flight as comfortable as possible – from handing out extra blankets to cold passengers, to making sure water is given to passengers showing signs of dehydration. Not to mention, the ability to monitor temperatures post-pandemic will also make passengers feel safer, as they know crew members can act accordingly if needed, to minimize health risks on-board.
Aggregated in-flight data could also be used by airlines to make real-time strategic decisions – from what entertainment to offer on flight, to overall cabin temperature and lights-out timing on certain routes, to re-shuffling passengers if needed.
This could signal the start of a new era in flying experience and force airlines to up the ante in their quest for customer loyalty.
In-trip add-ons
Hotels, resorts and cruise ships can apply the same principle as airports and airlines, in using wearables as a single passenger ID to facilitate movement through the terminal. This can have enormous benefits for traveller experience, as long as they are offered on a transparent, ‘opt-in’ basis and customers are comfortable with how their data will be used.
Disney’s MagicBands are a good example of this in action – waterproof wristbands that serve as the holiday-maker’s room key, ticket and wallet for buying food and merchandise.
Early adopters like Disney have used this technology to enhance customer experience, and also to take a more sophisticated approach to cross- and up-selling – one that is sensitive to each customer’s needs, likes and price points. Not only does the data collected by the wearable help with this, wearables also present the ability to geo-target.
As humans we don’t want a search engine – we want recommendations. And this is exactly what wearable technology enables, to a highly-personalised degree. Imagine, for example, being able to send a push notification to a coffee lover in close proximity to a popular local café while exploring a lesser-known neighbourhood. Or partnering with a visitor attraction to offer bespoke discounts to passing tourists that match their needs or circumstances, such as offering discounted family tickets to travellers with children when they pass by a museum that they might be interested in – this is likely to be much more useful than recommendations given during a guest’s initial check-in.
Likewise, notifications can be sent through satellite navigation systems to offer travellers the option to extend their car rental for another day at a preferable rate if the wearable shows them to be stuck in traffic, miles from the collection point, on the day of return.
Beyond these benefits, wearable IDs could also become a boon for the hospitality sector in the post-Covid world; satisfying customer demand for ‘cashless’ and ‘contactless’, and potentially also playing an important role in tracking and contact tracing as well.
Overall, it is clear that although the use of wearables in the travel industry is still in its infancy today, the potential is huge and immediate, and Covid-19 has only accelerated the need for pan-industry integration. Asia has led the world in the development and adoption of mobile technology over the past decade – from WeChat’s super app to Bytedance’s now-ubiquitous TikTok platform and Alipay’s game-changing mobile payments offer – so it’s likely that this region will continue to set the agenda and pace for the rest of the world in what comes next, too.
In all of this, safety and security must be kept front of mind as wearable applications are scaled, and long-term it is also important that the industry finds a way to start integrating the traveller’s own wearables, via opt-in apps, rather than loaning them devices like British Airways’ Happy Blankets and Disney’s MagicBands, to ensure the most seamless experience. This will require collaboration across the entire travel eco-system.
Ultimately, the wearable question is one of when not if, so the airlines, airports and hotels who invest now will be in the best position to capitalise and benefit in their post-Covid recovery.
• Featured image credit: anyaberkut/Getty Images
