18 | Winning In The Tech Era There are several points to consider when evaluating whether there is a downside to using travel technology, and what precautions both advisors and travelers should keep in mind when deploying it. First, there is the sometimes-painful process of adapting to major innovations For those long-time advisors who are ‘old school,’ it can be challenging to acclimate to the changing environment, and the tools needed to support it Part of the goal of travel technology initiators, like Cruise Planners, is to, whenever possible, not only provide training on new tools, but also to provide real- world business cases to help make the argument to move forward with a new technology Second, there are risks associated with something that is so new that it has not had the chance to be properly vetted CHATGPT, for example, has the power to change the travel world in many positive and meaningful ways However, without using it in a safe and responsible way, there exists a risk of potentially misrepresenting something or, even, offending a potential customer by simply having bad information This is, again, where organizations like Cruise Planners intercede on behalf of travel advisors Their expert teams take the time to review and assess the tools to make sure that they fit into the advisors’ processes, and that they do not hinder any business practices Once thoroughly reviewed, they package the tech to best assist the advisor community Third, technology is only as good as the data it relies on Therefore, biased or incomplete data will generate a poor user interface When ChatGPT was released, for instance, it only used historical data up to December 2021, and so it has little information about COVID Furthermore, any changes to travel offerings – such as hotel, attractions, or tour operator closures – would not be reflected in recommendations suggested by ChatGPT AI can even become corrupt if fed the wrong IS THERE A DOWNSIDE TO USING TRAVEL TECH? (continued on next page)