A sales development representative turns raw enquiries into qualified conversations for the people who close. In travel that job is mostly phone work at speed — and it is exactly the work a voice AI does well. Here is what an AI SDR does, what it should not do, and how to know whether it is working.
What an AI SDR actually does
It responds to every enquiry within seconds, asks the discovery questions a good consultant would ask, records the answers as structured fields and books a consultation when the enquiry is worth one. It then writes the notes — properly — so the consultant starts the call already knowing the trip.
What it should not do
Close complex sales, negotiate price, or handle complaints. The value is in the top of the funnel. Draw the boundary explicitly in the assistant's brief and make the handoff to a human a first-class, well-rehearsed moment rather than a fallback.
Where the lift comes from
- Speed to lead: minutes become seconds, and the traveller is still looking at your site
- Complete follow-up: no enquiry is forgotten because the team was busy
- Consistent qualification: the same questions asked every time, in the same order
- Round-the-clock coverage without a night shift
Measuring an AI SDR
Track contact rate, qualification rate, consultations booked, show-up rate for those consultations and, ultimately, revenue per enquiry. Compare against a control group of enquiries handled the old way for at least a month before drawing conclusions.
Rolling it out
Start with one lead source — usually the website quote form — and one destination group. Review transcripts weekly, tighten the questions, then widen the scope once the numbers hold.
An AI SDR does not replace the closer. It makes sure the closer only ever speaks to someone worth closing.
