7 Ways Contact Center Software Elevates CSAT in Travel and Hospitality

Can you guess the average resolution time in travel-related customer service?

It’s around 10 minutes and 36 seconds!

While that time might be appreciated by the customer who is getting the attention for those 10 minutes, it is inevitably contributing to long wait times and frustration for everyone else.  Travelers expecting quick, seamless support will certainly be disappointed. Whether for booking confirmations, itinerary changes, or real-time travel updates, each interaction is crucial to creating an elevated customer experience and travel and hospitality contact centers could be exploring ways to optimize each of these for better, faster service.

Today’s contact center solutions are revolutionizing how brands meet these high customer expectations. New tools, many based on AI, are now available that can help improve essential performance metrics such as first call resolution (FCR) and customer satisfaction score (CSAT) along with average handle time (AHT).

By continuously monitoring and optimizing these metrics, travel and hospitality brands can deliver faster, more personalized support—boosting CSAT and demonstrating the quality of service that travelers count on.

7 Ways Contact Center Solutions Boost Customer Satisfaction in Travel and Hospitality Industry

Reducing FCR is a game-changer in the travel and hospitality industry. A mere 1% improvement in FCR creates a ripple effect of better efficiency and higher customer satisfaction.

Cloud-based contact center solutions leverage advanced features to drive these improvements and more. Here are seven ways they empower travel and hospitality companies to deliver seamless, personalized customer experiences:

1. Boost First Call Resolution (FCR) with better knowledge support
2. Lower Customer Effort Score (CES) through predictive outbound dialing and SMS
3. Improve Net Promoter Score (NPS) with self-service options and targeted agent coaching
4. Reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) with summarization and AI-powered virtual assistants
5. Expedite query resolution through unified communications and collaboration
6. Elevate customer experience with omnichannel support and AI-enabled translation
7. Reduce agent attrition with improved monitoring and coaching

Let’s explore.

1. Boost FCR with Better Knowledge Support

In the travel and hospitality industry, peak periods like holidays or weather disruptions drive a surge in customer inquiries—everything from booking confirmations to urgent cancellations. FCR is more critical in these moments than ever, minimizing repeat calls, delays, and frustration, and one of the most critical factors for delivering FCR is having the right information to respond accurately and consistently to inquiries.

Shep Hyken’s The State of Customer Service and CX report highlights the value of  well-informed agents, with 89% of customers surveyed rating knowledgeable employees as either important or very important

Enghouse Interactives Knowledge Management Service empowers agents with instant access to a centralized, up-to-date repository of information, including FAQs, booking policies, and operational updates such as next flights, hotel availability, and other critical travel details.

Administrators can update content in real-time, guided by analytics that identify frequently accessed or underperforming articles, ensuring continuous improvement and reliable knowledge delivery.

2. Lower CES through Predictive Outbound Dialing and SMS

Reducing the Customer Effort Score (CES) is key to creating a seamless experience in the travel and hospitality industry. Customers appreciate proactive communication for tasks like booking confirmations, deadline reminders, or discount expirations, which minimizes their need to reach out. Predictive outbound dialing facilitates this outreach and ensures that customers are contacted promptly, reducing wait times and ensuring they don’t miss out on any opportunities.

Enghouse enhances this process by integrating SMS capabilities to automate outbound messaging. This allows brands to send links, booking updates, or special deals directly to customers’ mobile devices, reducing friction by offering instant, actionable information. For example, a customer could quickly confirm a booking or explore upselling options with just a few clicks.

3. Improve NPS with Self-Service Options and Targeted Agent Coaching

When seeking assistance, customers often encounter challenges such as long wait times or inconsistent service. These issues can negatively affect their overall experience and reduce the likelihood of recommending the brand—a key factor measured by Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Enghouse offers robust self-service options, empowering customers to find answers quickly. Virtual agents —integrated across channels— provide real-time, accurate responses for tasks like retrieving booking details or confirming reservations. According to reports, nearly 30% of travelers are highly interested in hotels that provide automated messaging for customer service—showing the growing demand for seamless, self-service solutions.

Enghouse  optimizes targeted agent coaching. The EnghouseAI automated agent evaluation tool analyzes every interaction and identifies areas for improvement, giving supervisors more time to focus on agent skills that need further development.

4. Reduce AHT with Summarization and AI-enabled Virtual Assistants

Customer requests like modifying travel dates, upgrading accommodations, canceling bookings, or tracking lost baggage often require detailed assistance, increasing AHT. Additionally, After-Call Work (ACW)—time spent by agents documenting interactions—further adds to AHT. It reduces agent availability, increases customer wait times, and slows down operations.

Enghouse CCaaS tackles these challenges with Enghouse AI’s Summarization capabilities, automatically generating concise interaction summaries. This minimizes ACW, saving agents valuable time—equating to hours of increased productivity across the contact center. Also, during calls, agents can stay more focused on what the customer is saying vs. taking notes about the call.

As Dane Smith, Global Learning and Development Manager at Enghouse Interactive, puts it:

Adequate ACW helps agents stay focused and productive throughout the day. Additionally, adding AI tools like automated post-call summarization can also provide more accurate and less time-consuming call details.

Dane Smith Global L&D Manager
Enghouse Interactive

Additionally, AI-enabled agent assistance enhances live interactions by suggesting real-time responses and next steps. For example, agent assistance tools can recommend rebooking options and upgrade opportunities, empowering agents to resolve complex issues faster.

By automating routine tasks and supporting agents during calls, Enghouse tools enable contact centers to reduce AHT while maintaining high service standards. This boosts agent efficiency and ensures smoother, faster customer experiences.

5. Expedite Query Resolution through UC and Collaboration

Agents in travel and hospitality often handle complex issues, such as billing discrepancies, special bookings, or clarifications on refund policies. Resolving these often requires contacting colleagues or subject matter experts (SMEs) across departments or locations. Without seamless communication, delays can slow responses and frustrate customers.

Enghouse simplifies collaboration by integrating with Unified Communications (UC) solutions that enable agents to connect with colleagues in real-time via chat or voice. Enghouse solutions offer native integration with Microsoft Teams, allowing agents to directly leverage Teams’ collaboration features within the contact center environment.  This enables agents to share files, access information, and seek assistance from colleagues, SMEs, or non-agent staff while staying connected with customers – or even pulling them into the customer call when necessary.

6. Elevate Customer Experience with Omnichannel Support and AI-enabled Translation

Customers expect seamless communication and flexibility when reaching out for support. For instance, a traveler might start a conversation about itinerary changes via web chat and later call for further assistance, and then need to text because the noise level is too high to communicate properly with the agent. Without omnichannel support, they would need to repeat information, causing frustration and delays.

Enghouse contact center offers true omnichannel support, enabling customers to interact across multiple channels—including voice, chat, email, social media, SMS, video, and self-service portals. Conversations are unified, allowing customers to switch channels effortlessly without losing context. This consistency allows customers to use the channel that is most convenient for them at any particular point in time.

Omnichannel support also caters to personal challenges like shyness, speech disabilities, or language barriers by letting customers choose the channel they feel comfortable using. For further inclusivity, Enghouse features AI-enabled chat translation, which provides real-time multilingual chat support. Agents can assist customers in their preferred languages, ensuring smooth, confident interactions without needing language-specific routing and reducing the need for multilingual agents.

7. Reduce Agent Attrition with Improved Monitoring and Coaching

The high-pressure demands of travel and hospitality contact centers—especially during peak seasons—can overwhelm agents, leading to burnout and high attrition rates. Long hours, demanding customers, and the lack of timely support often exacerbate these challenges, making proactive solutions essential.

Enghouse supports agents with real-time coaching tools, including whisper mode, which allows supervisors to discreetly provide guidance during live interactions. On-screen reminders further enhance focus by helping agents stay compliant with company policies and procedures.

Additionally, advanced monitoring features like real-time script compliance and soft analytics track critical interaction metrics like pace, volume, and cross-talk. These tools ensure consistent, high-quality communication and enable supervisors to identify skill gaps. Tailored post-call feedback helps agents address these gaps, building confidence and reducing stress.

Enghouse Interactive: The Ultimate Contact Center Partner for Travel and Hospitality

With over 40 years of industry expertise, Enghouse Interactive is more than a technology provider—it’s a trusted partner in shaping exceptional travel and hospitality experiences.

Find out how Enghouse helped Cyprus Airways overcome rising call volumes and growing customer demands to meet its ambitions growth goals while maintaining exceptional service standards here.

Explore how leading organizations are transforming their customer service and driving growth with Enghouse CCaaS in our detailed case studies.

Ready to transform your travel and hospitality contact center? Contact us today to explore how Enghouse CX solutions can elevate customer satisfaction, streamline operations, and future-proof your business for lasting success.

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Further Reading

• Find out how Hitachi Energy leverages AI-enabled chat translation to support 14 languages globally, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction