How are innovation and technology driving travel experiences? An Interview with GetYourGuide UX Director, Shannyn Timrott

In this blog, we’ll reveal how and why we jump on the latest travel trends, strive to maximize the authenticity of our experiences, and utilize innovative tech to stay ahead in the industry. Inspired by her panel talk at Barcelona’s FutureTravel Summit in November 2024, we asked our UX Director, Shannyn, to explain how GetYourGuide navigates the travel sector by acting customer-first.

Dive in to find out how we aim to improve the quality of travel for everyone—sustainably and ethically—through unique, passion-fuelled, and locals-driven experiences.

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Hi, Shannyn! What’s one piece of technology that has made your travels better recently? 

“I could go on and on about the new and improved security scanners that some airports now have. What I love about them is—besides eliminating the “remove liquids!”, “shoes off!” and “unpack laptops” commotion—that they allow us travelers to focus on the destination ahead, not the minutiae beforehand. I hope we continue to see more of them. Plus, they look super futuristic.”

With the current rise of AI and personalization, how does GetYourGuide ensure tech enhances rather than dictates the travel journey? 

“Our mission is to make travel meaningful through unforgettable experiences. For us, that starts with the booking process. One of our recent updates, which we feel has really enhanced the customer journey, is the ability to add videos to listings on our supplier side. We’ve recently rolled out 900 videos across our website – led by our industry-leading creator community – showcasing our partners’ attractions, destinations, and experiences. 

Video is the most authentic way for our travelers to see what an experience is like, so this feature helps to enrich and inform the decision-making process better than ever before. This encourages personalized messaging and a unique insight into our partners’ individual offerings for travelers, allowing their products to evolve while activating our users’ passion for adventure.”

So, GetYourGuide strives to redefine experience booking for travelers. In what ways are you utilizing AI to enhance offerings for users and the creators behind your experiences?

“So far at GetYourGuide, we’ve seen AI’s most significant impact on the experience creator/supplier side. But there’s still a lot further to go. According to a recent trade industry report by Arival, only 12% of the world’s 850K+ attractions operators use AI.

We’re already seeing one of our AI-powered updates having a massive impact on our partners, especially on the operational and administrative sides of building their business. Our ‘automatic content creator,’ a new product released this fall, means that our tour operators can craft new experiences in almost half the time it would take them to do it manually. One of our guiding principles is ‘we navigate with agility,’ and that’s precisely what we hope to achieve with this product. 

You can see all our latest tech updates in our Fall Unlocked release here.”

What’s the most exciting tech innovation changing how your customers travel today, and why? 

“Predictive analytics is the most exciting tech innovation in travel because of its tangible results. You can see this in practice in our new ‘Likely to Sell Out’ feature, which helps travelers make real-time-informed booking decisions while helping creators manage their business flow.”

How do you see emerging tech disrupting the travel industry? And how are you integrating it into your business? 

“We help local destinations and experience entrepreneurs leverage data and technology into their day-to-day, helping them make informed decisions. For example, the municipal government in Barcelona has partnered with a local group, ‘Amics de la Rambla’ and GetYourGuide, to rejuvenate La Rambla. 

A key initiative to better manage tourism in the La Rambla area is a dashboard that offers a more nuanced view of the area’s dynamics. The measurements range from the flow of footfall measured by seven street-level sensors to tourist spending. With this data, organizers can paint a much better-informed picture to make smarter decisions. Early data shows the influx of tourists, their origins, and the economic activity behind the neighborhood.

Sustainability is on everyone’s mind, especially regarding the future of travel. How are you innovating to promote responsible traveling methods without compromising experience diversity, quality, or convenience? 

“Our collective approach to over-tourism needs to be reworked. And no one understands their own tourism landscape better than locals.

With regard to our recent work in Barcelona, current proposals are stopgap solutions that fail to address underlying issues. Over the last year, our partnership with Amics de la Rambla and the government, has embraced the role of data and insights to help plan a better way forward than reactive entry caps.

And it’s not just Barcelona. We’re also working with the city of Florence in Italy, alongside the government, to block the sale of “alcohol tours,” like pub crawls, on our platform in the city. Informed by our data and AI, this helps to promote ‘livability’ for locals while boosting a memorable experience for visitors. Empowering locals is crucial to generate healthy, sustainable tourism. 

The future of our industry lies in authentic experiences that only locals can create. In our recent survey, 9 in 10 travelers told us they believe a local guide is the best way to explore a new place.”

What is the next big frontier in tech that travel startups and creators should focus on to make their mark? 

“Passion-fed travel and authenticity are huge factors in the travel experience market and should not be diminished. One of our best examples of this is our Taylor Swift campaign. 

Research showed that 44% of our customers travel for their individual passions. In London, an operator approached us about expanding their business around the Taylor Swift Eras tour. So, in London and NY, we launched a social media campaign, “The ultimate Swifty search,” which was a great success! It led to the creation of a genuinely passion-fueled product, with authentic fans providing a unique experience for fellow Swifties. 

For tour guides, having a hinge like a music concert with a global artist helps to keep their business relevant, and we only wanted genuine fans for the role. Because of its authenticity, story, and great collaboration, it became one of our most successful campaigns this year.”

What will be the most disruptive innovation in travel tech over the next decade? 

“Experiences. At GetYourGuide, we believed this from the start and still do: building human connections when you travel through shared experiences continues to drive the industry.

For the past 20 years, the travel industry has been defined by hotels (where to stay) and transport (how to get there). Experiences represent the third wave of economic growth here, and we’re not just saying that. Spending on experiences has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. 

According to our new research released this Fall, US consumer spending on experience is up 32% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Experience OTAs are up a whopping 188%, with flights/hotels showing a more conservative growth. For more industry insights and fascinating data, download a free copy of our Travel Experiences Trend Tracker here.”

If you could implement a futuristic technology (that currently might seem like science fiction) in your travel experience offering, what would it be?

“We’re in the business of supporting local providers; however, maybe we could even branch out to space in the future. As Europe and America build out their space engines, you never know… it could happen!”

Interested in working at the forefront of travel and tech? Check out our open roles.

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