“Where do you want to go?” — that’s the first question that greets users of the DBS Travel Marketplace platform. At an average of 4.6 overseas trips taken per resident in 2018[1], Singaporeans are always thinking of their next destination to escape from the hustle and bustle of their everyday lives.

How has one-stop platforms like the DBS Travel Marketplace made it easier for travellers to plan their travels? We catch up with Jonathan Yap, Executive Director & Head of the DBS Intelligent Banking Group Singapore to find out more.

DBS Travel Marketplace is a one-stop integrated travel platform providing competitive rates to more than 25,000 holiday destinations worldwide

As a bank, why did DBS decide to launch the DBS’ Travel Marketplace?

We conducted an immersion survey of 2,000 Singaporeans in 2019 and discovered that 82% of Singaporeans travel at least once a year. Of which, 90% booked their travel online. Hence, we saw an opportunity to intelligently deploy the Invisible Banking strategy and embed our services in the customers’ travel journey.

We created an ecosystem where DBS customers can enjoy special prices, some of which exclusive to the DBS Travel Marketplace (TMP) with no convenience fees and mark-ups, as they check-out via DBS payment modes automatically pre-populated for them. They also get access to over 400,000 hotel properties at special rates when they log in with digibank. Once logged in, their personal and payment details will be pre-populated and they simply review and click through for check-out.

We also tailor content, offers and other useful information for the customer’s upcoming trip. Powered by model-driven artificial intelligence, this ensures that customers only receive messages that are truly relevant to them.

TMP also enriches our datasets and thus our understanding of the customers. With this, we are able run analytics to refine our offerings to better cater to their needs.

Travellers today are increasingly more discerning and extremely resourceful when it comes to finding the best holiday deals. How was TMP designed and developed to value-add to customers?

Travellers visit up to 38 websites before booking[2]. Hence, we wanted to create a one-stop ecosystem with a DBS-only experience where they can enjoy offerings from some of the world’s best brands, whilst consuming DBS services intuitively in the process. TMP has forged a formidable ecosystem partnership with Singapore Airlines, Sabre, Expedia and Chubb, as well as multiple partnerships with airlines, travel agents, hotels and activity providers to provide exclusive deals and travel content to help customers make the best of their resources for travel.

As an open platform, TMP will add more ecosystem partners over time, to enrich our inventory, capabilities and content for the customer.

Beyond booking, TMP offers customers a full suite of post-booking content, services, products and alerts that differentiates TMP from the other booking sites. This end-to-end view of customers’ travel journey will see DBS engaging the customer in pre-during-post trip conversations that help them accentuate ‘wow’ moments and relief in-journey pain points.

What makes the Travel Marketplace different from other travel booking platforms available?

TMP offers various exclusive perks for customers, including:

· Choice of over 40 major global airlines and 400,000 hotel inventories, with special offers that cannot be found elsewhere

· No convenience fees or mark-ups

· Complimentary Travel Insurance with every flight/hotel booking

· Earn 4 miles per dollar spent when the DBS Altitude Card is used

· Better burn rates for rewards points as compared to the rest of DBS Rewards Catalogue

· Convert payments to instalments at no interest and no fees

· Seamless booking experience with personal and payment details pre-populated

· Useful content, services, products and alerts in the pre-during-post trip journey

What were some of the challenges in the process of developing the platform?

DBS TMP is the first of its kind in the market. We had no precedence or guides to follow. Instead of the conventional execution of a microsite where bookings are routed to respective partners, TMP deployed the use of APIs to make available partner inventory in the DBS environment. This allows us to fully understand the customers’ booking journey, preferences and booking content, allowing us to design a comprehensive suite of conversations to help them accentuate ‘wow’ moments and relief in-journey pain points.

We have also had to change our mindset with this project. Instead of thinking of financial institutions as our competitors, we pit ourselves against global giants such as Google (flights), Skyscanner and Trivago. Whilst TMP is in its infancy stage, we have a multi-department squad from tech, delivery, marketing, business analytics, product managers and intelligent banking, fully committed to drive TMP in an agile manner to get there.

What are some feedback you have received about the DBS Travel Marketplace since its beta launch? Are there any trends that the team observed?

Our post-beta customers survey saw that although only 10% of customers knew about TMP, 47% of them indicated that they would likely book on TMP for their next trip. With the addition of 40 major global airlines and more partners since then, we are confident that more customers will start using the platform for their next holiday.

We also found that one in 10 bookings attract rewards redemption. This indicates an interest in using Rewards points as a method of payment. DBS Rewards points can now be used to redeem over 40 major airlines and more than 400,000 hotel properties, making Rewards points more valuable than before.

What do you think is the next big trend that may influence the online travel booking industry?

The market trend is to consolidate inventories so that customers don’t have to visit multiple sites for their travel bookings. TMP brings together online travel agents onto one convenient platform and even helps brick-and-mortar travel providers digitise their operations. Offering Singapore’s largest base of customers, a win-win-win outcome for the bank, customers and partners can be achieved through the platform.

Moving forward, the booking journey and the experience will be what differentiates one booking platform from another.

What are some enhancements to the DBS Travel Marketplace we can look forward to?

We recognise that to become a one-stop shop, TMP must offer more than flights and hotels. Customers can look forward to new pillars offering more travel-related services on TMP.

We are also working to use artificial intelligence throughout the entire booking process to ensure that the most useful information are being shown to the right people at the most effective place and time.

Jonathan Yap, Executive Director & Head of the DBS Intelligent Banking Group Singapore

What type of traveller are you? How do you usually plan for your own holidays?

I am an active sportsman. I travel to different countries to take part in their Iron Man competitions. Hence, my itinerary needs to be well-planned out as I bring along my bicycle on the trip. I mainly plan my trips online and want a place where I can pick and choose my flights and hotels a-la-carte to give me flexibility in my travel. I also appreciate prompts to alert me on situations arising from the host country so that I am fully prepared when I get there.

[1] https://travelblog.expedia.com.sg/press/expedia-singapores-2018-year-in-review-trends-report/

[2] https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Consumers-Visit-38-Sites-Before-Booking-Expedia-Says