AI for travel businesses: answer every traveller at any hour, and keep bookings with your team
A travel business answers three kinds of messages. Before booking, people ask what a trip includes and whether there is space. Before they leave, they ask about pickups, luggage and documents. During the trip, they ask about delays, changes and things that went wrong, often at 3am your time. An AI agent can answer most of the first two from your itineraries and notes, on WhatsApp, Instagram and email. Changes, refunds and emergencies need a person. This guide covers the whole journey, every channel and the rules that matter when people are far from home.
What travellers ask
Here are typical messages at each stage of a trip.
| Stage | Typical questions |
|---|---|
| Before booking | "Is the Lisbon tour in May still available?" "What is included in the price?" "Is it suitable for children?" |
| Before departure | "What time is the airport pickup on Friday?" "Is breakfast included at the second hotel?" "Do I need a visa?" |
| During the trip | "Our flight is delayed. What happens to the transfer?" "Can I add an extra night in Lisbon?" "The hotel has lost our booking." |
| After the trip | "Can I have the photos from the tour?" "I want to complain about the second hotel." |
Before booking and before departure, most questions have an answer in your itinerary, terms or notes. During the trip, many messages are requests or problems that need someone with the booking in front of them. The agent's job then is to collect the facts quickly and get the right person involved.
Time zones make this hard for a small team. A traveller in Bangkok writes when your office in Manchester is asleep. An always-on agent can answer at any hour and send anything urgent to whoever is on call.
An example conversation
This illustration shows a pre-departure conversation on WhatsApp. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Grace | Hi, what time is our airport pickup on Friday? We land at 14:20. |
| AI agent | Hi Grace. Your driver meets you in arrivals at 14:50, holding a sign with your name, and takes you to Hotel Alfama. The driver's number is in your travel documents, page 2. |
| Grace | Great. Is breakfast included at the second hotel? |
| AI agent | Yes, breakfast is included at Quinta da Serra, served 7:30 to 10:00. |
| Grace | And could we add an extra night in Lisbon at the end? |
| AI agent | I'll ask the team to check availability and price for an extra night in Lisbon, and they'll reply here today. |
| → Passed to Rosa, bookings: extra night in Lisbon for the Clarke booking |
Outcome: two questions answered from the itinerary in seconds, and a change request passed to the bookings team with the facts. The agent did not quote a price for the extra night or promise it was available.
A second example: a delay during the trip
This illustration shows a problem at night. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Tom | Our flight to Faro is delayed 3 hours. Will the transfer still be there? |
| AI agent | Thanks for letting us know, Tom. Could you send your new arrival time and flight number? I'll pass them to our on-call team so they can update the driver. |
| Tom | TP1905, now landing 23:40. |
| AI agent | Thank you. I've passed TP1905, landing 23:40, to our on-call team, who will confirm the transfer here. Our 24-hour line is on page 1 of your documents if you need to speak to someone. |
| → Passed to on-call, marked urgent |
The agent collected the facts a person needs and handed over. It did not promise that the driver would wait, because only someone who has spoken to the transfer company can say that.
What the agent handles, and what goes to your team
The agent can handle:
- What a trip includes, dates, availability as listed in your notes and general prices
- Itinerary questions: pickups, hotels, meals, luggage and what to pack
- Sending documents such as itineraries and vouchers as attachments, to travellers who booked
- Collecting flight numbers, new arrival times and details of a problem
- Pre-trip reminders for travellers who booked and expect them
It should pass these to a person, and then stay out of the chat:
- New bookings, changes, cancellations and refunds
- Visa, passport and entry requirements for a specific traveller
- Emergencies, illness, accidents, lost passports and safety concerns
- Complaints and compensation
The rules that matter in travel
- Never confirm a booking or change on your own. Availability and price come from a person or your booking system.
- Visas and entry rules come from official sources. The agent points travellers to the government advice for their nationality and destination, and never says "you don't need a visa".
- Emergencies get your 24-hour number and a person, at once.
- Never take card details in the chat. Payments go through your normal booking process.
Package travel rules, your trade association and your own terms set what you owe travellers when things change. The agent should quote your terms from the note, and leave anything about compensation to a person.
Which channels to connect
| Channel | Who uses it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Travellers before and during the trip | Works worldwide and on hotel wifi; the busiest channel for most operators | |
| People dreaming about a trip after seeing your posts | Good for "is this still available?" enquiries | |
| Bookings, documents and group organisers | One email to one person; good for itineraries and vouchers | |
| Messenger | Travellers who found you on Facebook | Useful for enquiries and pre-trip questions |
Start with WhatsApp if travellers use it on the road, or with Instagram if most of your enquiries come from posts. Replies to people who wrote in are what Spaces is for.
The notes to give your agent
Here is an example note for a small tour operator. Names and details are examples.
You answer messages for Sol & Sea Tours on WhatsApp, Instagram and
email. We run small-group tours in Portugal.
For travellers who have booked, answer from their itinerary. Pickup
times, hotels, meals and driver numbers are in the itinerary.
Our 24-hour line is +44 0000 000000 and is on page 1 of every
traveller's documents.
For enquiries, share what each tour includes and the dates and prices
listed below. Say a person confirms availability.
Never confirm a booking, change, cancellation or refund. Collect what
the traveller wants and hand to Rosa in bookings.
Never say whether someone needs a visa. Reply: "Entry rules depend on
your passport. Please check your government's travel advice for
Portugal, and Rosa can help with anything else."
For delays, collect the flight number and new arrival time, hand to
on-call and mark it urgent. For illness, accidents, lost passports or
any safety worry, give the 24-hour line and hand to on-call at once.
Never take card details. Complaints go to Rosa.
Sign off as "Sol & Sea Tours".Wording that works
| Situation | Weaker reply | Better reply |
|---|---|---|
| "Do I need a visa?" | "No, you'll be fine." | "Entry rules depend on your passport. Please check your government's travel advice, and Rosa can help with anything else." |
| "Can I add a night?" | "Yes, done!" | "I'll ask the team to check availability and price, and they'll reply here today." |
| "Our flight is delayed" | "The driver will wait." | "Could you send your new arrival time and flight number? I'll pass them to our on-call team now." |
| Enquiry at 2am | Reply next afternoon | "Thanks for your message. Here is what the tour includes... The team will confirm availability in the morning." |
Set it up step by step
- Gather what each trip includes, dates, prices and your terms in one place.
- Decide how the agent sees each traveller's itinerary, for example a document per booking your agent can read.
- Write the rules for bookings, visas, emergencies and payments word for word.
- Add Spaces to the AI agent you already use. The agents page has the steps for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and others; you sign in through your browser and approve the connection. Chat apps such as Claude or ChatGPT act when you ask them in a chat, so for replies around the clock use an always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes.
- Connect WhatsApp, then Instagram and email.
- Test an enquiry, a pickup question, a delay, an illness and a refund request.
- Check the on-call hand-overs every morning for the first month.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Letting the agent answer visa questions from memory. Entry rules change and depend on the passport.
- Using a chat app that only acts when someone opens it. Travellers abroad need an always-on agent.
- Leaving the 24-hour number out of the note.
- Sending offers to past travellers who did not ask. Reminders are for travellers who booked.
What if...
| If this happens | What the agent should do |
|---|---|
| A traveller is ill or injured | Give the 24-hour line and local emergency advice from the note, and hand over at once. |
| The hotel has no record of the booking | Collect the hotel name and the traveller's location, and hand to on-call, marked urgent. |
| Someone wants to cancel | Explain where the cancellation terms are, and hand to bookings. |
| A group organiser asks for a quote | Collect dates, numbers and needs, and hand to bookings. |
| A traveller is angry about a hotel | Apologise once, take the details and hand over. |
Checklist before you go live
- Itineraries are available to the agent for travellers who booked.
- The visa reply and the 24-hour number are in the note.
- On-call cover is named for every night of the season.
- Bookings, changes and refunds always go to a person.
Where to start
Start with pre-departure questions from travellers who have booked. They are frequent, predictable and answered by the itinerary.
Then add enquiries and night-time hand-overs. While you build trust, ask your AI agent to hold replies as drafts, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
Who you message
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent change a booking?
Only if it can reach your booking system, and even then we suggest a person approves every change. Most operators let the agent collect the request and pass it to the bookings team.
Can we send pre-trip information?
Yes, to travellers who booked and expect it, such as pickup times and documents. Your agent can send itineraries and vouchers as attachments.
Can it answer in other languages?
AI agents generally reply in the language the traveller writes in. Keep your note in your own language, and check the first few replies in each language you serve.
What about emergencies abroad?
The agent gives your 24-hour number and any local emergency advice in your note, and hands over at once. It never tries to judge how serious something is.
Will the agent answer visa questions?
It should not give a yes or no. Entry rules depend on the passport and change, so it points travellers to official government advice and passes anything else to your team.
Does it work across time zones?
Yes, with an always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes. Chat apps such as Claude or ChatGPT only act when you ask them in a chat.
Can we message past travellers about new trips?
Only people who asked to hear from you. Spaces is for replies and messages people expect, not campaigns.