RIU Hotels & Resorts presents its new chatbot, Claud·IA, an innovative tool based on artificial intelligence (AI) that marks a milestone in the hotel chain’s digital strategy.
This innovative tool, reflecting RIU’s commitment to adopting advanced technologies to improve customer experience, started operating on the RIU website in February of this year in three languages: Spanish, English and German. It has been rolled out for 17 countries, with the aim of automating the answering of user questions. In the coming months, and with the aim of offering this experience to all the companies where it operates, the chain hopes to be able to implement the tool in the following languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian and Chinese.
The Claud·IA chatbot, developed with Google Cloud and DialogFlow technology and with the support of RIU’s strategic partner Emergya, uses the advanced Gemini 1.5 Pro model which is one of the best in the world. This positions RIU at the forefront for its use in advanced chatbots.
Juan Campins, VP of Digital Channels, explains that at RIU “we are advancing towards a personalised digital experience in real time. We want this personalisation to be multi-channel, based on customer knowledge, the use of data and the application of AI. Our aim is to constantly improve customer experience, both digitally and physically, and continue developing tools that optimise our internal management.”
Since June, Claud·IA has included the function of being able to book directly via the chatbot and was given a personality, resulting in a significant uptake by RIU website users who have quickly taken it all on board. 75% of the over 1,500 questions that come in from users each day are instantaneously and satisfactorily managed, without delay. Users who are registered can also experience a customised service that feels more approachable and personalised. The chatbot understands when customers want to make a booking and asks them the relevant questions (hotel, number of rooms, dates, etc.) to generate a direct link to the hotel and the desired room. 73% of users who initiate this availability process go on to make a booking in this way. Another advantage of the chatbot is how it records and saves information from conversations, allowing data teams to monitor the main topics, trends, weak spots and potential occasional issues.
The hotel plans to continue expanding the functions of the chatbot over the coming months. Updates will include: adding more languages, activating the chatbot in the RIU app, potentially using voice communication and developing new transactional functions, such as managing bookings and learning about the RIU Class loyalty programme. RIU is also working on offering a 360º customer service experience, which accompanies customers throughout their stay at their destination.
This is all while RIU continues to explore new areas for applying artificial intelligence. These areas include: voice assistants, automatic content generation and Contact Centre support with processing and managing emails. The company also plans to use AI models to optimise revenue management, tackling inventories, rates and the likelihood of cancellations.