Passengers have experienced a plague of airline delays and cancellations, trouble with hotel bookings, and plenty of customer service issues as the busy summer travel season approaches.
Travelers and travel sector employees alike are frustrated by staffing shortages, overbookings, and exorbitant pricing.
Customers calling traditional phone support lines often expect to wait for hours before speaking with a live person, and even then, they may not get the answers they seek.
It's not uncommon for people who have unsolved issues with travel providers to vent their concerns on social media.
However, what was once an outlet for wrath has developed into a forum for beneficial connection, with travellers and customer service employees using Twitter and Facebook to make rebookings, cancellations, and other requests.
Will social media be able to withstand the burden as passenger complaints rise and customer service staffing issues persist?
Or, to put it another way, will your Twitter shout-out be answered?
Why are travel brands so concerned with social media?
Companies have been well aware of the potential impact of social media on their brand reputation for more than a decade.
Based on a musician's terrible customer service experience, the 2009 viral YouTube video "United Breaks Guitars" became a case study on the power of a single customer's post.
United's stock price plunged more than 10% in a week after the musician's video drew tens of millions of views.
United not only had to pay to repair the guitar after the media frenzy, but it also had to do a lot more to rebuild its reputation.
Since then, travel businesses have improved their response times in dealing with public concerns made via social media.
In fact, a research published by Emplifi, a social media consultancy and service company, found that the aviation industry is "one of the strongest" in terms of response time to Facebook and Twitter enquiries, ranking second among 23 industries.
These answers, however, have inherent limitations.
According to the same Emplifi survey, the sheer number of brand mentions on Twitter implies that over 75% of questions get unanswered.
Many airlines, hotels, and travel industry social media accounts respond quickly, but just with a brief message pointing passengers or customers to a more traditional customer service line.
The service line redirects indicate that the airlines and hotels didn't intend to use Twitter as a key form of consumer connection, but rather as a way to diffuse public discontent.
It has now become a common means of (some) communication.
All human-centered venues, however, have their limitations.
A tweet interaction at Delta recently went viral — not because of the customer complaint, but because of the airline agent's answer, requesting an irate customer to "cool down and leave me some time to work please??"
The issue was remedied, Delta apologised, and the guest was happy.
The exchange, on the other hand, emphasises both that humans with the potential to correct things can still be reached via airline Twitter accounts – and that the world is monitoring the responses.
You may contact airlines and hotels through social media.
Most airlines and hotels prefer that you contact them via their official web, phone, or app channels.
However, many of the same customer service representatives also monitor Twitter inquiries.
"The messaging tool on delta.com or the Fly Delta app is often the quickest way to get in touch with an agent," said Catherine Morrow of Delta's corporate communications group.
"The Delta team members that serve clients via social media and digital messaging are the same fully qualified and prepared agents Delta consumers reach when calling us," she added.
So, in the case of Delta, your Twitter query will lead you to the same customer support centres as previous ways.
A list of airlines and hotels with a high response rate to Twitter enquiries, as well as relevant links, is provided below.
"Our Social Care staff is here 24/7," writes Alaska Airlines on Twitter (@alaskaair), with a Contact Us link.
@americanair, which includes a link to a general airline information page, as well as a link to Contact Us.
Delta's Twitter handle is @delta, with a link to delta.com/help.
JetBlue's Twitter handle is @jetblue, with a link to the airline's webpage.
Responds to Twitter messages.
Southwest's Twitter handle is @southwestair, and it includes a contact link.
The identity of the person who sent the tweet is frequently included in the reply, along with a request to DM for more information.
United's Twitter handle is @united, with a link to united.com.
Its Twitter responses occasionally include more links as well as suggestions to DM them.
Hilton: @hilton (also @hiltonhonors) just has a homepage URL.
9-10 hours after the initial post, public Twitter reactions appear.
Holiday Inn: @HolidayInn reacts to tweets with a recommendation to DM.
Also used to refer to the IHG website.
@hyatt (also @hyattconcierge) for "guest service" and a link to the hotel's home page.
The HyattConceirge account appears to respond quickly to tweets.
IHG: @ihgcorporate and @ihgonerewards are your best bets for responses, along with a link to @IHGService (usually with a request to DM details).
Wyndham: @wyndhamhotels, with Twitter replies requesting specifics in a direct message.
Customer service strategies for the social media environment
Once you know which brands have a better social media response system in place than others, the next natural issue is how to improve your chances of getting help through these channels.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to obtaining assistance via social media.
Rather than tweeting a complaint for everyone to see, some travellers have reported greater results when using direct message capabilities on Twitter and Facebook to contact airlines and hotels.
"For airlines, Twitter is my primary point of communication."
In the past, I would ask my query on Twitter in a public forum.
"I don't even tweet them on the main thread anymore," she explained, "it's straight to my DM discussion."
Despite the large volume of summer vacation planning, Twitter-based customer service appears to be working for a variety of airlines.
According to tourist Matthew Hill, "there have been no problems with Twitter recently."
"Through Twitter, I was able to book multiple American Airlines trips in the last several months.
It was easier (than phone assistance) in some aspects since I could write the specific flight numbers I wanted to change to and the agent could see exactly what I needed rather than attempting to communicate that information over the phone."
The direct Twitter message method can also be used by hotels.
"The person was quite helpful, and it took some time to figure things out, so they were also persistent."
It was more effective than interacting with a representative on the Hyatt website."
"I've had almost every customer service encounter connected to travel on Twitter, and the results are always significantly superior to phone support."
When social media fails, what should you do?
In an era of overbooked aircraft and hotels, as well as a travel sector still grappling with personnel shortages, this packed summer of travel leaves little room for recovery.
As a result, even the most recently trustworthy contact techniques may be under stress.
Even the most efficient customer contact centres can get overloaded by questions and complaints on any given day, especially when weather-related disruptions occur.
airline staff urge that you keep the flexibility to attempt some different communication ways if your go-to tactic isn't working in certain situations, as well as for general efficiency.
"Our Help Center has several various methods to reach us – via our Contact Centers, Facebook private message, Twitter direct message, or at the airport with a customer support agent either in-person or via 'Agent on Demand,'" Kathleen Giblin, global response expert at United Airlines, stated.
Customers can reduce their wait time by opting for one of our Contact Center professionals to text them and assist them via SMS."
"United's text message support option is great," Pugh of TravelJoy said of the SMS service.
Delta Air Lines also suggests taking advantage of the airline's numerous communication options.
"While calling is always an option, contacting us through digital messaging is a secure and effective way to reach a Delta representative for assistance," said Catherine Morrow, Delta's Media Relations and Brand Reputation coordinator.
"The quickest way to contact an agent is to use the message feature on delta.com or the Fly Delta app, however Twitter direct messaging is also an option."
She claims Delta has "several hundred Delta team members" focusing on digital communications and social media customer service.
If applicable, take advantage of your status when making queries with airlines and hotels.
Even better than social media is using your hotel or frequent flyer elite number, or any unique elite customer status customer phone lines or email addresses.
"Premier members may call the Premier Priority Desk to interact with our most qualified agents who will be entirely dedicated to providing our Premier members with the best level of service," according to United's Giblin.
Delta's Morrow emphasised the airline's special phone line for Medallion Members, advising them to "check the Contact Us feature in the Fly Delta app to reach it."
Final thoughts
Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking platforms are now widespread and efficient ways to contact customer service and receive answers for difficulties with airlines, hotels, and other travel-related businesses.
Rather than publicly posting a service complaint or broad rant on social media, sending a direct message to a company's Twitter or Facebook link with your specific problem and facts is frequently the most effective approach to achieve results.
Prepare to wait longer for results as consumer concerns rise amid a busy summer of travel and industry staffing issues linger.
You may also need to be adaptable with your communication strategies.
Consider contacting a corporation via its website, app, and text messaging services, as well as any elite status specialist desks (if applicable).
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