Headquartered in Toronto, this mid-sized travel agency has been helping Canadians plan custom vacations for over 13 years. Known for its deep industry knowledge and thoughtful, hands-on service, the agency supports a wide range of travelers with flexible trip options and curated recommendations. Behind it all is a close-knit team that’s genuinely passionate about travel and takes the time to get to know each client, often forming relationships that last well beyond the first trip.

As interest in travel surged post-pandemic, our client saw a sharp rise in inbound calls and booking requests. While the growth was welcome, the sudden spike in volume began to test the limits of a team built around personalized, one-on-one support.

To maintain service quality while scaling efficiently, the team began exploring Voice AI as a way to support, not replace, their people.

As interest in travel picked up again, the agency began receiving more calls than ever — many of them outside their working hours. A large share of these were routine questions about destinations, pricing, or travel requirements. Others came from early-stage travelers who needed time and guidance before deciding to book.

With a small team focused on offering thoughtful, personalized service, keeping up with the growing volume became increasingly difficult. Hiring more staff wasn’t a quick or affordable solution — and beyond the cost, the team was mindful of maintaining the service quality their clients had come to expect.

Here’s what challenges they faced:

• Client expectations were rising – travelers expected quick answers, flexible options, and support outside regular hours
  
  
• Agents were overwhelmed – the team spent hours each day responding to repetitive questions or chasing down low-intent leads
  
  
• Inquiries weren’t always qualified – without a clear way to prioritize, urgent or high-value prospects risked getting lost in the mix
  
  
• Scaling was limited by staffing – hiring was expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to justify for handling basic interactions
  
  
• Service quality felt harder to protect – leadership was hesitant to automate anything that might dilute their advisor-led experience.
  
  

To stay competitive without compromising their values, the agency needed a solution that could bring structure, speed, and consistency to their front-line conversations — while still preserving what mattered most: the human connection.

That’s where we came in.

From the start, it was clear that any AI integration had to complement — not replace — the agency’s human-first approach. Their travel advisors were a core part of the brand experience, and the leadership team was committed to keeping that personal touch intact.

With that in mind, we designed the Voice AI Agent to act as a front-line assistant: handling routine questions, collecting key trip details, and managing early-stage inquiries. The idea was to give the team more breathing room — letting the AI handle volume at scale, while real agents focused on qualified leads and complex itineraries.

The Voice AI Agent was trained on real call patterns and adapted to the agency’s tone of voice. It could recognize traveler intent, gather the right context, and decide whether a call should be handled automatically or escalated to a human.

What the Voice AI Agent handled:

• Instantly answered inbound calls, 24/7
  
  
• Provided quick responses to common travel questions (e.g. pricing, policies, requirements)
  
  
• Collected and logged key lead info: destination interest, travel dates, group size, and budget
  
  
• Detected early-stage or low-intent inquiries and handled them without tying up the team
  
  
• Flagged high-intent leads for agent follow-up, with full context
  
  
• Scheduled callbacks and consultations into the agency’s existing calendar system
  
  
• Synced conversations with the client’s CRM to support consistent, personalized follow-up

By handling the first layer of interaction, the Voice AI Agent helped the agency stay responsive — even during peak hours — while preserving the high-touch service clients expected.

Bringing Voice AI into a travel agency environment meant finding the right balance between automation and personal touch. Our approach focused on making the AI feel like a helpful first point of contact — not a barrier. Here’s how we made that happen:

1. Designed for Early-Stage Lead Handling
We trained the AI to recognize and manage colder inquiries — travelers still in the research phase or asking routine questions. This helped reduce time spent on low-conversion calls and freed up agents to focus on higher-value opportunities.

2. Aligned with the Agency’s Service Style
Using real call recordings and tone mapping, we shaped the AI’s responses to reflect the agency’s warm, professional voice. The goal was to make every interaction — even automated ones — feel consistent with the brand.

3. Seamless CRM Integration
All captured information — from travel dates to destination preferences — was synced directly to the agency’s CRM. Agents had the full context before following up, leading to smoother conversations and faster conversions.

4. Built-In Escalation Triggers for Sensitive Scenarios

Not all travel conversations are transactional — some involve cancellations, emergencies, or frustration. We added logic to detect tone, urgency, or key phrases that signaled emotional or time-sensitive topics, prompting a seamless handoff to a human agent to ensure empathy and care were never lost.