Challenge
For more than 100 years athletes, celebrities, world travelers and locals alike have all flocked to Pebble Beach Resorts. This stunning slice of California’s Monterey Peninsula is home to world-famous golf, world-class accommodations and out-of-this-world scenery. As tech savvy travelers make the journey to this bucket-list destination, Pebble Beach wanted to meet expectations for a relevant and engaging digital experience to help visitors explore the resort while tapping into new revenue streams.
Insight
Not your parent's road trip
Traveling is a vastly different experience than it was just 20 years ago. Gone are the days of paper maps and surly gas station attendants with suspect recommendations. Today’s travelers want to explore, seek new experiences, and taste local culture with the digital convenience they have come to expect from their mobile phones. The new normal is reading reviews, consuming information and weighing options about everything from hamburgers to hangouts, all in the palm of your hand.
Idea
Let a Watson virtual concierge be their guide
To modernize the way visitors explore the iconic resort, Pebble Beach launched the Pebble Beach Resorts mobile app. Powered by the artificial intelligence of IBM Watson, the app lets visitors experience the area as if they’re traveling with a local guide. With its natural language capabilities, the app provides relatable answers to questions such as, "Where can I get a burger?", enabling visitors to discover hidden gems and dining, drinking and shopping options they may have missed otherwise. They can also use the app to explore the resort and experience the California coast via two curated driving tours, among other capabilities.
Impact
New revenue streams and a personalized Pebble Beach experience
With the Watson virtual concierge, Pebble Beach is making customer interactions more personal, relevant and valuable. The app's ability to learn from locals helps visitors satisfy their desire to explore the resort and discover hidden local treasures along 17-Mile Drive. And with push alerts that send promotional notifications to visitors about special food and retail offerings throughout the resort, Pebble Beach Resorts generates new revenue streams.
How Pebble Beach Resorts is putting Smart to Work
IBM Watson Assistant
IBM Watson Assistant uses natural language and insights from locals to create a virtual concierge that helps visitors discover the many dining, drinking and shopping options throughout the Pebble Beach Resorts.
IBM iX
IBM iX works at the intersection of strategy, creativity and technology to help clients like Pebble Beach digitally reinvent their businesses.
IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics on the IBM Cloud collects and analyzes data, designed so that the resort can manage retail operations, ensuring positive customer experiences.