Interactive Kiosks Provide Travelers with a Little Less Stress

Customer kiosk stands can help boost productivity and point lost customers in the right direction when traveling.

Ever been lost in an airport? How about a train station in a different country? We know. It's our biggest nightmare too. Traveling is stressful enough without having to take fifty wrong turns to get to the right terminal.

Thankfully, technology has finally evolved to make the process of finding your way around much simpler. While printed maps are always an option, they can often be confusing. Stopping to ask a stranger can add more stress onto your day. This is where customer kiosks come in. From airports to train stations and everything in between, spotting a kiosk stand or a map plastered across some digital signage can be a huge breath of fresh air.

The uses of these travel kiosks don't end with navigation. Airports and train stations alike can deploy interactive kiosks for check-in points, local attractions, and even shopping purposes. Let's take a closer look at the uses of these digital kiosk systems.

Make traveling a more relaxed experience with the help of customer kiosks.

Airport kiosk stands
Airports are catching on to the utility of digital signage. According to Conde Nast Traveler, there have been around 900 kiosk stands installed at 34 airports in the U.S. alone as of April this year.

The advantages are clear. Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol asserted that customer kiosks can reduce wait times anywhere from 25 to 40 percent, explained Conde Nast Traveler. The kiosks they are referring to allow travelers with U.S. passports to speed through the customs process.

Instead of waiting in long lines for individual inspections, people can swipe their passports, have their photo taken and answer some routine questions via the kiosk. There are clusters of stands located at any given airport allowing multiple travelers to go through the process at once.

After filling out the relevant info, customers are given a receipt and redirected to an airport official for verification. While there is a line for this process, its moves fast as it only involves facial recognition from a staff member as opposed to extensive questioning.

This new process has managed to shave wait times off of the busiest international terminal in the U.S.: Terminal Four at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Conde Nast Traveler pointed out a study by the Global Gateway Alliance that found wait times had dropped 22 percent since 2013 due to the installation of customer kiosk systems. With data like this proving time reduction, mass-adoption seems to be inevitable.

"The government needs to step up and bring the technology and manpower to every international terminal," said Chairman of Global Gateway Alliance Joe Sitt, according to the source.

"Interactive kiosks can provide detailed maps for customer convenience."

Wait times and beyond
Reduced wait times are only one of the advantages gained by installing kiosks in modern airports throughout the country. Travelers and airport staffers can benefit greatly from these systems.

Employees within the airport can redirect customers with directional questions to the nearest kiosk or avoid questions being asked in the first place. This can free up the time to perform more urgent airport duties and overall increase productivity within major airports. As we mentioned before, customers can be saved the hassle of having to ask directions at all. Interactive kiosks will provide visually-appealing and detailed maps for customer convenience.

Airports can also choose to convert these devices into marketing kiosks. Merchants within the airport can have the option to advertise store products on these digital screens. Airlines can have their share of the marketing spotlight as well by utilizing these high-tech kiosk systems to advertise flight specials or member benefits. The possibilities are far-reaching when airports choose to install digital kiosks.

Train stations
Planes aren't the only form of transportation. Train stations are often just as bustling as airport terminals. Customer kiosks in train stations offer many of the same benefits as airport kiosks. In fact, the New Rochelle Train Station provides a great example of the many benefits of deploying kiosks throughout a train station.

The NRTS proudly boasts the fact that they are the first station to take advantage of a computer information kiosk in the New York Metro-North area. The major selling point? Customers can conduct business matters as they wait for the arrival of their train.

"Kiosk stands are the perfect addition to any travel spot."

These touchscreen devices allow commuters to purchase new train tickets, access information regarding train schedules and explore train ticket availability. However, the uses aren't limited to train-related information. Customers can explore the offerings of the New Rochelle area; detailed maps of local businesses are displayed prominently on the kiosk screen. People can search for upcoming events in the area, check out the latest news or even apply for city parking permits on these kiosk stands.

Whether you need some details to send you off in the right direction or you just want to pass the time with some interesting information, kiosk stands are the perfect addition to any travel spot.