DENVER—RLH Corporation deployed an Artificial Intelligence Virtual Agent for Central Reservations to support all 1,400 system hotels, a move the brand is touting as an industry-first. This announcement follows the completion of a three-month program pilot on April 24.
“The results of our pilot have been very positive,” said April Weatherly, director of telephony optimization & analytics, RLH Corporation. “We’re seeing travelers engage with the technology at a rate higher than we anticipated and are very pleased with the Virtual Agent’s ability to resolve traveler questions autonomously, reducing the cost of non-revenue related calls.”
In concert with the systemwide rollout of the Virtual Agent, new features and capabilities have been deployed to further support travelers. The second-generation Virtual Agent added broader Central Reservations Systems integration to support additional hotel information searches and the ability to confirm, modify or cancel reservations. It also enhances the Central Reservations Office ticketing system integration to ensure a seamless transfer for the caller to a live agent when necessary.
Over the next several months, RLH Corporation will continue to build out it’s AI capabilities with further enhancements to support reservations, Hello Rewards and telephony solutions.
“As technology continues to change, so does the expectation of the guest and how they connect to our hotels. By providing AI through Central Reservations, we are opening up alternative channels and more options for our guests without sacrificing the positive experience they’ve come to expect from RLH Corporation,” said Weatherly.