HBX Group takes travel AI to the next level

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Independent B2B travel tech marketplace HBX Group is set to take the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the global travel sector to the next level.

With a strategic evolution focused on automation and personalisation, the company is optimising hotel distribution, improving customer service and facilitating real-time decision making.

Thanks to the integration of advanced AI models, HBX Group already handles 20 percent of customer service contacts exclusively through AI in those areas where it has been implemented, reducing response times to seconds for the most common requests. 

This progress reinforces HBX Group’s position as a leader in technological innovation, with plans to further expand automation and improve service quality.

Not the future but the present

According to chief operations officer Xabier Zabala, AI is not the future, but it is the present. 

Zabala said: “AI’s impact on distribution and personalisation of the journey is already generating tangible results for our customers and partners. With this evolution, we are improving operational efficiency and offering a more agile service adapted to the needs of the market.”

In order to achieve this, the company has implemented multiple AI-based solutions that are revolutionising the booking management, customer service and commercial management of its partners.

These solutions include:

• Automated omnichannel customer service;
• Implementation of virtual assistants through chat, email and web channels that not only resolve frequent queries, but also manage requests and bookings, with unbeatable response times;
• Training of new recruits;
• Transformation of the process of preparing and training new customer service agents with the use of a new AI tool that realistically simulates the interactions and assistance needs of customers, being able to simulate multiple scenarios, languages and levels of difficulty;
• Automated content improvement;
• Automatic identification and execution of improvement opportunities in hotel service descriptions and experiences, as well as immediate translation into 18 languages; Anomaly prediction and detection; and
• Machine learning models that identify unusual patterns in bookings and user behaviour, enabling faster and more accurate detections of phishing attempts and thwarting the targets of cybercriminals

How AI stands to change teamwork in the face of evolving automation

Beyond transforming the customer experience, AI is redefining the way support and distribution teams operate at HBX Group. 

The automation of repetitive tasks has enabled customer service agents and sales teams to focus on strategic and higher value-added aspects.

To support this change, the company has launched specific training programmes for its customer service teams to develop the skills needed to work in conjunction with AI systems. 

These include training using AI agents that behave like customers to train teams to handle more complex cases and deliver higher-value interactions, demand prediction to efficiently manage resources, advanced itinerary personalisation, expansion of virtual assistants in multiple languages and automation of financial processes. 

In addition, they seek to implement predictive AI that not only responds to customer needs, but anticipates them, thus improving user experience and operational management.

According to Zabala: “With these initiatives, we reaffirm our commitment to technological innovation and the digital transformation of the tourism sector, consolidating our position as a benchmark in the application of AI to optimise processes and improve the customer experience.”

How technology stands to change security, transparency, and compliance

The implementation of AI at HBX Group is accompanied by rigorous security and compliance protocols to ensure data protection and transparency in the use of these technologies. 

All solutions developed comply with international standards, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other industry-relevant regulations. 

To avoid bias and ensure responsible use and operation, the company has developed a system of continuous auditing and monitoring. 

This monitoring allows the performance of AI models to be evaluated, ensuring that recommendations and automations are interpretable, auditable and aligned with HBX Group values.

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