HITEC: Mobile applications
16 July 2010
Mobile networks and applications over the past few years have become a new mandate for hotels, and operators are taking advantage of the pocket-sized connectivity devices to operate more efficiently and stay in constant contact with the guest. A May 2010 survey from Deloitte shows 10% of respondents used a hotel application on a Web-enabled smartphone to book a room, access a loyalty program account, view a reservation, pay a bill or check-in or check-out.
At HITEC 2010, which took place June in Orlando, a number of new innovations were on show. One such application was TripCraft, an enterprise-level platform and consumer application that delivers rich hotel content, real-time reservations, on-property services, and local destination information via smartphones.
TripCraft’s management of in-app (non-browser) data with online content servers allows consumers to use the app even when no Internet connection is available. The in-app reservations process and customer account management allows direct access to brand’s back-office systems. A cross platform is in development for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.
