How Can Travel Data Analytics Guide Key Business Decisions?
Explore the benefits of travel data analytics and how it helps airports, and car park operators turn complex data into actionable insights that drive success.
Business growth and sustainability are top priorities for key stakeholders.
Yet, while many search far and wide for answers, oftentimes, the answers lay in plain sight, in the form of cold, hard facts, supported by travel data analytics.
Data-led strategies are widely acknowledged as the sensible option for eliminating assumptions, so much so, that research indicates as many as 90% of businesses are using a statistical approach to introduce a strategy that hits the mark, including household names such as Coca-Cola and Google.
And the travel industry doesn’t buck the trend.
Travel data analytics play a key role in improving decision-making, understanding customers, predicting trends, optimising operations, and, most importantly, generating revenue.
In this blog, we explore the benefits of travel data analytics and how it helps airports and car park operators turn complex data into actionable insights that drive success.
What is Travel Data Analytics?
Benefits of Travel Data Analytics
Maximising efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences are both key in the travel industry, and travel data analytics help businesses make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Insights into Consumer Behaviour
Approximately one-third of global consumers are spending more time contemplating decisions before deciding to part ways with their hard-earned money, with the influx of options on the market a key contributor.
Travel data analytics provides businesses with valuable insights into traveller behaviour, preferences, and emerging trends. By examining booking data, social media interactions, past purchases, and customer feedback, companies can refine their marketing, sales, and service strategies to appeal to their target market. These insights also help predict demand shifts before they become obvious market trends, as noted by Paris Bielby, Data Director at CAVU:
“The data availability from tools like Google Demand and other web monitoring metrics allow for us, at CAVU, to combine these metrics with search behaviours and spikes in booking curves to identify trends in their infancy.
“Whether this is a new holiday destination or an emerging entertainment event with multiple venues – we know ahead of the curve due to our proprietary behavioural modelling.”
Airlines
Airlines can use travel data analytics to improve their understanding of customer preferences and predict demand for specific routes, helping them adjust seat availability, optimise pricing, and launch targeted promotions.
By tracking booking trends and customer interactions, airlines can adopt a proactive approach, compete with market rivals, and provide the right services at the right time to meet traveller needs.
Airports
Airports, too, benefit from these insights. By analysing traveller behaviour, airports can allocate appropriate resources and prepare for shifts in demand during peak periods.
For instance, travel data analytics can reveal when passengers are most likely to arrive, paving the way for improved check-in, security lines, and baggage handling.
Car Park Operators
Car park operators can also use travel data analytics to improve their services. By analysing booking patterns and customer interactions, operators can gain insights into preferences for parking locations, the duration of stays, and types of vehicles.
Segmenting customers based on factors such as frequency of parking, booking lead time, or travel purpose (business vs. leisure) allows operators to tailor pricing strategies and develop personalised parking packages and promotions.
Given as many as 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions, this undoubtedly plays a key role in improving booking rates, and customer loyalty.
In our piece on data, AI, and ethical innovation, Paris Bielby, Data Director at CAVU, highlighted the exciting opportunities personalisation can bring companies in addressing passenger needs:
“When people think of personalisation, they often focus on offering tailored purchase opportunities to users, and while that’s part of it, it goes far beyond just sales. One aspect that’s often overlooked is how we can adjust experiences for specific groups, especially those who may be vulnerable or have unique neurodiversity needs.
“For instance, if autistic travellers are open to sharing information about their sensitivity to noise, travel brands could provide recommendations for quieter flight times or suggest terminal areas with peaceful, quiet zones. This level of personalisation not only improves their travel experience but also shows a real understanding of their needs.”
Anticipating and Adapting to Travel Trends
The travel industry is notoriously unpredictable, with new developments and travel patterns emerging as quickly as another one ends.
However, travel data analytics support businesses in anticipating these developments before they occur, meaning they can proactively position their products, services, and marketing strategies to capitalise on future opportunities rather than react to changes as they happen.
Airlines
Airlines can analyse flight booking trends, customer demand data, and seasonal fluctuations to forecast future route demand.
For European airlines, demand and operating margins peak during the summer months.
By spotting early signs of shifting patterns, airlines can adjust seat availability, launch targeted promotions, and refine pricing strategies—ensuring they stay competitive in a fast-evolving market.
Airports
Airports can also benefit from anticipating seasonal trends, using this information to optimise their capacity and resource allocation.
By aligning with airlines’ forecasts, airports can better prepare for peak travel periods, such as busy holiday seasons or major events. This allows for more effective management of check-in counters, security lanes, baggage handling, and concessions.
Additionally, airports can coordinate with airlines on flight schedules, improving operations and reducing congestion. By anticipating demand, airports can also tailor their marketing and services to meet passenger expectations during high-traffic times, ensuring a more enjoyable experience for travellers.
Car Park Operators
For car park operators, anticipating seasonal trends is equally as important.
By understanding when demand for parking is likely to peak, due to holidays, special events, or seasonal shifts, they can adjust their pricing strategies, offer promotions, and optimise parking capacity.
For example, operators can use dynamic pricing during high-demand periods, offering special rates for long-term parking or early bird discounts to encourage reservations. This proactive approach maximises occupancy while providing customers with competitive pricing options.
Moreover, this foresight allows car park operators to manage their facilities more effectively. They can allocate additional space, introduce temporary valet services, or partner with nearby off-site parking facilities to accommodate increased demand.
By anticipating congestion, operators can ensure that passengers always find a space, reducing the risk of overcrowding and improving the customer experience.
Deploying extra staff during busy times further ensures smooth operations and shorter wait times. Integrating technology like contactless payments and real-time availability updates also helps streamline the process, making parking more convenient for customers.
Encouraging pre-booking is another way car park operators can benefit from forecasting. By offering customers the option to reserve parking in advance, operators gain a clearer understanding of expected occupancy, which makes it easier to manage demand. This also provides peace of mind to customers, knowing their parking spot is secured, while operators can plan more effectively.
Aligning services with anticipated seasonal trends allows car park operators to improve the overall passenger experience. Operators can offer added-value services, such as expedited shuttle buses, VIP parking options, or loyalty programmes, all designed to ensure a smoother journey from the car park to the terminal.
Strategic partnerships with airlines and airports can also create bundled offerings, such as parking combined with lounge access or discounts on local services, making the travel experience even more connected and attractive during busy periods.
By anticipating seasonal trends, car park operators can improve efficiency, increase revenue, and the level of services they provide, whilst creating memorable experiences for passengers.
Improved Pricing Strategies
While pricing is a critical component for any business, there needs to be a fine balance struck between maximising revenue and staying competitive.
For car park operators, dynamic pricing strategies powered by travel data analytics allow real-time price adjustments based on demand, booking patterns, and competitor activity.
By analysing factors such as booking lead times, seasonal demand, and major events, operators can anticipate peak periods and adjust prices accordingly. CAVU’s Lead Data Scientist, Sam Capewell, explains:
“We use historical booking data to build forecasting models that accurately predict demand for a car park on any given day. This helps operators manage peaks and troughs, lowering prices during quieter periods to attract customers and increasing them when demand is high to optimise profit and margins.
“Competitive pricing and price elasticity of demand can provide us with valuable insights into how customers shop products based on the price. This can entice customers into our products ensuring we fill capacity and drive revenue.”
Enhancing Operational Efficiency
Travel data analytics plays a vital role in optimising operational processes. By using data-driven insights, businesses can streamline operations, reduce waste, and improve resource allocation.
Airports can use travel data analytics to improve their operations by analysing passenger flow, flight schedules, and staffing needs.
By forecasting peak travel periods based on historical data and upcoming events, they can ensure the right number of staff are available for check-in, security, and baggage handling. This minimises delays, reduces congestion, and improves the overall passenger experience.
Travel data analytics also helps airports optimise gate allocations and manage passenger waiting times, ensuring every aspect of operations runs as efficiently as possible. Real-time data plays a crucial role in identifying and addressing operational bottlenecks. For example, if security queues are longer than usual at certain times of day, airports can deploy additional staff to ease congestion.
Beyond operational efficiencies, data-driven insights shape the entire airport experience, from passenger movement to retail dynamics. Paris Bielby, Data Director at CAVU, highlights how behavioural and sentiment data influence airports:
“The airport experience is shaped by data and operational management, which is no exception for real-time data flow. When the departure lounges at larger airports have spaces with premium shopping options, there’s often a demand from passengers for more space.
“Behavioural and sentiment data is used to nudge passengers to their gate to stimulate a more cohesive environment for shoppers and diners in certain spaces, while also allowing the passengers who want to get to their gate and sit quietly to do so.”
Improving Marketing ROI
Airports
Travel data analytics improve marketing for airports by providing insights into passenger demographics, preferences, and behaviours. Analysing traveller data, such as flight routes, dwell times, and spending habits can create highly targeted campaigns for retail, lounges, and other services.
Real-time insights allow airports to adjust promotions dynamically, ensuring marketing spend is focused on high-impact areas, such as last-minute offers for departing passengers or targeted campaigns for frequent travellers.
Airlines
Airlines can use travel data analytics to refine customer segmentation, allowing for personalised promotions based on booking history, loyalty status, and travel patterns.
By analysing engagement with past campaigns, airlines can optimise email marketing, social media ads, and loyalty programmes to maximise conversions. Real-time data also enables airlines to respond to demand shifts, adjusting pricing and promotions accordingly to increase ticket sales and ancillary revenue.
Car Park Operators
For car park operators, travel data analytics helps identify peak demand periods, preferred booking channels, and customer behaviour trends.
By tracking online searches, reservation patterns, and occupancy rates, operators can optimise digital advertising and promotional offers to attract more bookings.
Dynamic pricing strategies, informed by real-time data, ensure marketing efforts are aligned with demand, maximising both revenue and customer retention.
By using travel data analytics, airports, airlines, and car park operators can fine-tune their marketing strategies, improve audience targeting, and ultimately maximise return on investment.
Transform Travel Data Analytics into Strategic Actions with propel™
Travel data analytics is a game-changer in the way travel businesses make decisions. However, to fully harness the potential of travel data, businesses need a solution that consolidates data from multiple sources and provides real-time, actionable insights.
propel™ has been designed to support travel businesses in making confident data-driven decisions.
propel™ provides detailed insights into consumer behaviour, industry trends, pricing strategies, and operational performance, providing companies with access to a holistic view of their data. This allows them to make informed decisions across marketing, pricing, customer service, and more.
Get in touch to discuss how propel™ can equip your business with the data you need to make smarter decisions that drive success.
