AI and Human Power Combined: Transforming the Guest Experience with Real-Time Support

With AI-driven automation streamlining guest communications, many vacation rental hosts wonder whether they should also provide human support to ensure 24/7 guest care. So, where do humans still play a critical role? We discuss this question in the latest episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast. Our guest is Nicholas Falldine, Head of Product at Extenteam, a company specializing in helping short-term rental hosts fill staffing gaps with the right talent.

Press play now to discover how technology and human support can work together to provide the seamless, personalized guest experience that today's guests expect.

Do you prefer to read the highlights? We've got a summary of the key takeaways below.

What Led Nicolas to Join Extenteam

Before Nicolas joined Extenteam in 2024, he had worked for over seven years in early-stage tech companies, primarily in messaging automation and real estate. "We were focusing on natural language processing. So, it's been fascinating to watch everything change over the past few years. But that's where I've gotten my start, focusing on the user experience of messaging products."

He says that Extenteam was "a fantastic opportunity of a company" trying to solve the problem of "blending a very human and personal-dominated industry with this influx of artificial intelligence and still maintain that true like one-to-one connection."

Using AI to Automate and Streamline Host-to-Guest Interactions

Nicolas points out that one huge benefit of using automation and AI in host-to-guest communication is that guests get responses to their messages very quickly. He also thinks we're beginning to see more in-depth use cases in the vacation rental industry.

"Trying to go from just a simple FAQ like "Does your property have a hot tub?" to handling "Hey, I just checked in, and the hot tub is not working. Could you please remind me how to use it?" So, trying to take that next leap. We know what the guest wants and what a knowledge base says, but what do we do about a real problem? So I think that'll be the next big thing to cross."

Balancing AI-Driven Efficiency and Human Touch

Nicolas thinks this question is relevant not only to the tech world but also to society in general. "If, in general, as a society, we're more comfortable with a 50-50 split of automation to human touch," he says. Regarding short-term rentals and the hospitality industry, it's important to ensure "that we're giving that white glove approach."

"So, I recommend hosts understand their risk tolerance. While automation and artificial intelligence have come a long way, and it's quite impressive, it still is not without issues. So, each host has to ask themselves, "How comfortable am I?"

Nicolas underlines that hosts should always think of their guests first and prioritize their needs. It's vital to ensure that guests can get immediate responses to their messages with questions and concerns, "but not at the risk of it being generic or incorrect."

How Human Teams Complement AI Tools

Nicolas says that at the end of last year, Extenteam launched a new solution in guest services coverage called Tailwind. Since Extenteam integrates with Hospitable, Hospitable users can subscribe to Tailwind and access virtual 24/7 guest communications support provided by trained hospitality professionals.

"They're our employees, and they're responding on behalf of all of our customers to the guest communication," Nicolas explains. These support agents use tools that Extenteam crafted for them, and they also use AI when they need to provide the right answer based on customer data. "So our agents are using AI to ensure they're providing the right responses to the guests. That's really where our role with AI stops today."

Nicolas points out that Extenteam's human element blends nicely with the Hospitable flow and AI features. "I think it goes into if you have communication coming in, and it is more like an FAQ style. Then, an agent can use AI to get the right information to respond to the guests incredibly quickly, or if it's the AI from Hospitable's inbox. That's where our team can begin to take over once it goes outside the lines of those simple FAQ-type queries."

Nicolas also underlines that the lines are becoming increasingly blurred regarding where AI starts and stops and where humans can begin to step in. "I always try to think about it like empowering people to do their best work. So if we can have tools that allow for human agents to provide the best type of guest communication without having to waste time on answering things that honestly should be able to be received from the Airbnb listing or a guidebook, then let's let them deal with when things go wrong or when a guest has a random question."

Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to discover how blending AI-driven guest communication and human support can help enhance the guest experience.