Tui to make transfers more efficient and sustainable with Mobi machine learning

Travel giant agrees deal to work in collaboration with the Boston-based start-up

Tui Group and Mobi Systems have announced a partnership to use machine learning technology for its global shared-transfer operations platform.

Mobi Systems, a start-up based in Boston, has developed new technology to optimise scheduling.

The machine learning technology was tested during 2021 and is being launched in Palma de Mallorca this month ahead of key Mediterranean destinations.

The collaboration is part of a major investment in Tui’s digital platform capabilities and upgrade to its operations system to increase efficiency, enhance service and support sustainable development.

In 2019, Tui sold over 31 million transfers, transporting customers between airports, hotels and points of interest in destinations around the world.

Shared transfer scheduling is automated through the firm’s global transfer operations platform that now be enhanced through additional machine learning capabilities.

The transfer platform will source real-time data for flights, traffic, weather, vehicle inventory and customer bookings as key variables for transfer schedules.

Through Mobi, machine learning technology will calculate the most efficient transfer plans in real time, updating schedules instantly and automatically as circumstances change.

Tui expects to see “substantial time savings” due to the increased speed of the transfer platform.

Machine learning is also expected to significantly reduce operation costs and help cut CO2 emissions through greater vehicle optimisation and more efficient transfer routing.

Peter Ulwahn, chief digital officer of tours and sctivities division Tui Musement, said:

“Integrating new technologies, such as machine learning, helps ensure we deliver the best customer experience through having a faster, more stable and more accurate platform.

“Our transfer scheduling is already automated, but with Mobi it will be faster – what previously took hours can be done in seconds – and it will continue to become even more efficient.

“The huge advantage of this system is that it can scale to schedule the millions of transfers we manage, while also enabling us to deliver a personalised customer experience.”

Anne Jaffe, Mobi Systems’ chief executive, added: “Every vertical leader in travel and hospitality wants to provide cutting edge technology and service to their operations teams and customers, but very few are able to go from RFP to integrated and deployed solution in a matter of months.

“The TUI team is tremendously technically adept and collaborative, which has produced an online planning solution that will start strong and continue to improve every day it is online.”

Through working with Mobi, the Tui app will also be upgraded to include live vehicle tracking, expected arrival/departure times, and instant notifications of changes to a transfer plan.