For years, hospitality executives have been talking about how their apps are a critical part of their loyalty and guest engagement strategies during all stages of booking, staying and departing. In an era when everyone lives on their phones, it\'s no surprise. And as mobile applications have become increasingly important, they\'ve evolved.
Hotels and restaurants can have their own branded app, which is powered by Blynk’s platform. These apps run on Apple, Android and Blackberry OSX devices including iPads, iPhones, Android tablets and smartphones.
Offered in more than 30 languages, the app allows users to search and book 140,000 hotels around the world. They can choose from 20,000 last minute deals, browse over 2.5 million user reviews and find last-minute bookings close to their location.
IN-DEPTH: Robert Dawson, VP, Internet Marketing & Web Development Services, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, says one of the next big innovations in the mobile space that will quickly impact the travel industry is the inclusion of the NFC (Near Field Communications) chipset in smartphones. This is also expected to change the way the industry sells travel in the future.
Free App Offers Real-Time Search, Intuitive Filtering, Gorgeous Graphics and Super-Simple Booking
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The Mobile Web has already become an important travel planning and transaction channel in the U.S. and worldwide. Hotel guests and travel consumers in general are already mobile-ready, and hoteliers and travel suppliers have to respond adequately to this growing demand for mobile travel services. Goggle reported back in October of 2010 that year-over-year mobile searches for hotels had increased by a staggering 7,000%. Industry experts project that the mobile Web will surpass the traditional web in size by 2013.
Almost 90 Percent Likely to Use Location-Based Apps for Holiday Shopping Season
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The surge that Hilton Worldwide has seen this year in its iPhone application downloads and mobile room bookings surprises even Chuck Sullivan, the company's senior vice president of global online services.