1. The Rise of
the Silent
Traveler:
Skift is proposing a new model to look at
the mobile-first travel consumer. The silent
traveler is the travel consumer who turns
to their mobile devices first, seeking a
solution to in-trip challenges that used to
be the primary domain of customer- service
staff. In this report, we examine the changes
that these customers are creating across
numerous verticals in the industry — and
we look at the important opportunities they
now present to travel brands that can adapt
to their dynamic and evolving expectations.
SKIFT REPORT #20
2014
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Single-use copy only.
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By James O’Brien + Skift Team
WWW.SKIFT.COM
Sponsored by
Reaching Out to
the Mobile-First
Travel Consumer

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3. The Rise of the Silent Traveler SKIFT REPORT #20 2014
3
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Bringing Consumer-inspired Innovation to Corporate Travel
Egencia develops and deploys its own global technology, infusing it with insights
into the user experience from its parent company, Expedia. Egencia seamlessly
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vice into a global corporate travel management system. This system makes the
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Mobile Solutions for Modern and Future Travelers
Egencia’s mobile application, Egencia® TripNavigator, dramatically improves
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Navigator offers business travelers smart, state-of-the-art features that are
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For more information, please visit www.egencia.com or email
hello@egencia.com.
About us

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5. The implications of an increasingly independent, mobile-equipped
consumer are far-reaching for every vertical in the travel industry.
Even as airlines, hotels, and in-destination attractions and offerings
continue to rely upon meaningful interactions with their customer,
a significant segment of travelers are turning first, in new and pow-
erful ways, to their devices to solve trip-related challenges that have
historically been resolved by in-person experiences.
From booking to getting there, to what the consumer does in-
destination, this silent traveler, as we have termed the model of
their behavior and choices, is typically both young and possessed
of significant spending power in the marketplace. And while their
move to mobile as a first choice in solving travel problems is driving
a range of changes for brands, these consumers are simultaneously
creating new emphases on more complex and highly personalized
experiences at the times when they do turn to on-site staff.
Emerging from this mix of pulling away and drawing close, for the
silent traveler and travel brands, are new models and approaches
for both customer relations and local discovery. As brands and
third-party developers seek to capture the attention of the self-
reliant, digitally savvy traveler on mobile screens — bringing about a
spectrum of opportunities in the realm of apps, ad tech, and hybrid
approaches — the conversation is turning to how the very devices
that stand to take some tasks away from the human-to-human ex-
perience can perhaps ultimately more intimately connect the travel
industry to its customers throughout every trip.
Executive summary
The Rise of the Silent Traveler SKIFT REPORT #20 2014
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6. Table of contents
About Skift
Skift is a travel intel-
ligence company that
offers news, data, and
services to professionals
in travel and professional
travelers, to help them
make smart decisions
about travel.
Skift is the business of
travel.
Executive Summary 5
Introduction 6
Defining the silent traveler 9
Reaching the silent traveler 11
Terminal matters: the silent traveler and airlines 11
Hotels and the silent traveler 13
Discovery: the silent traveler in-destination 14
Additional avenues to the silent traveler 16
Outreach: ad tech and the silent traveler 16
Hybrid service iterations 17
The Rise of the Silent Traveler: What
does it mean for Travel Buyers? 18
Insights and Strategies 20
About Skift 21
Endnotes 22
The Rise of the Silent Traveler SKIFT REPORT #20 2014
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