I Tested AI Against Real Client Trips. Here’s where it Falls Short

Well Placed Travel: Claude, be honest.  Why shouldn’t people use you for travel planning?

Claude: I hallucinate specifics.

There you go.  Claude knows it can’t be trusted with travel planning.

I’ve fielded questions about AI taking over travel planning. Taking the question seriously, I tested it against client work. Then I asked what Claude and Chat GPT thought and I’m happy to report, they agree. 

Accuracy counts

AI posts a disclaimer admitting it makes mistakes and advising users to check results. Even it knows its limitation.  I tested AI on a recent client trip requesting the best flight paths from East Africa to the Maldives. At first, the results looked impressive- a map with color coded flight paths, an explanation, and some guidance on best time of year.  I compared it to the work completed by my Air Team and me, and the results misaligned.  What AI suggested added an extra layover to an already lengthy journey, 7 hours of travel and a couple thousand more dollars. 

Knowing you matters

Getting to know clients well in a short amount of time represents one of the most important steps in the planning process.  And, if you’re a return client, we share historical knowledge of past trips. 

Local teams receive all that information so the itinerary revolves around you, not what a data center thinks it should tell you.  The history and trust shared with clients makes the experience more meaningful because travel advisors work with the team wherever you’re traveling to personalize your stay.  Even ChatGPT admitted, “A skilled advisor picks up on subtle cues. I can ask questions, but I won’t catch everything.”

Experience you can’t simulate

AI pulls from vast amounts of information, but it doesn’t interpret it for you.  It doesn’t have sensory data which travel advisors develop through years of travel and learning product.  A huge part of our job is creating relationships around the world with the people and organizations who serve our clients.  We travel to destinations, meet the teams, inspect hotel rooms, do the tours, meet the guides, and most importantly, get a feeling for what we recommend.   AI isn’t pulling favors with a hotel team. It’s not reaching out to the guide who will be perfect for your trip in Cartagena or Morocco.

Someone to Call When You Need Help

I have two mottos as a travel advisor. First, travel is trust.  Second, stuff happens.  An array of things can go wrong during even the most perfectly planned trip.  An AI recommendation goes sideways- then what? A call to a travel advisor  - or our team on the ground- and it’s handled.  We solve the problem keeping the trip on track. Maybe your tour guide isn’t the right vibe for you and your family.  You need to switch rooms. A flight delay causes a chain reaction of tours, transfers and activities that need to be rebuilt in real time. We fix what goes wrong so you can focus on being present.

Protecting your investment

If you are making an investment in the tens or hundreds of thousands, do you really want to hand that over to AI to get it done?  Presently, you can’t. Yes, you can book a hotel, train tickets, airline tickets on your own with online booking tools.  But, a major trip with a significant investment is best directed by humans.   Clients investing at this level need someone to own the outcome. Working with a travel advisor means teams of people coordinating myriad details across countries and continents to deliver exactly what the itinerary says it will, protecting clients and their investments.

When AI Helps

I didn’t ask either platform directly, but both offered their best skills for travel planning: simple trips, confident planners, early-stage ideas and destination comparisons.  These are basic research tasks that don’t replace expertise.

ChatGPT noted, “For complex, expensive, or ‘this needs to be exceptional’ travel, a great human advisor will outperform me—because of judgment, relationships, and accountability.”

 Straight from the source- em dash and all. 

Every great trip starts with a real conversation. 

If you have a complex trip and limited bandwidth, hand over the planning to a reliable resource.  Well Placed Travel specializes in multiple destinations with lots of moving parts. Send a message to get started.

Interested in other great reads and destinations? Check them out here.