Le Club AccorHotels, the loyalty scheme of the French hotel company, is looking to get deeper insight into what guests want from a travel experience through its Seeker initiative.

The initiative seeks to measure biometric reactions and analyze behavior to get to the heart of what guests really want and tailor experiences accordingly.

Consumers can find out what they want through a simple test on the Seeker Project website, which helps them hone their preferences. Visitors to the website are presented with a series of images and are required to click yes or no. There is also the option to use a webcam as part of the project.

AccorHotels also plans to introduce kiosks later in July at a number of properties across North America.

Prior to kicking off the project, AccorHotels brought “thought leaders” together to pilot Seeker. Using techniques including motion-tracking and assessing elements such as linger time, the company aimed to discover what sort of experience people were looking for - tranquility or adventure, rustic or modern, family or couple, etc.

Project participants were fitted with a Muse EEG headset and Empatica E4 wristband. Data such as brain wave activity, heart rate and skin response were measured via a specially developed application.

An algorithm was used to match responses with six key psychological, personality, destination and style metrics: urban vs. rural, adventure vs. relaxation, romance vs. family, rustic vs. modern, hot vs. cold and extroversion vs. introversion. 

Participants then received a visual psychograph and travel profile completely unique to them which could then be used to recommend destinations.

The digital platform has now been made available to all via the Seeker website. Online participants also receive a unique psychograph along with their travel profile and destination recommendations. 

The Seeker project was developed in partnership with Toronto-based marketing agency Cossette and the Mill.

In late 2017, Ebookers unveiled SenseSational, a project using facial recognition to see how travelers reacted to various images and sound.

Similarly, Destination U, a prototype devised by TUI UK and Realeyes, was launched to inspire potential travelers using a reclining chair in its retail shops, with built-in screen and headphones. The project also aimed to track emotional reactions.

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