Mobility is
playing an increasingly important role in the hospitality industry both
for distribution and operation. By 2015, over two billion people should
have a Smart phone, according to a report from the firm Parks
Associates. Those days, mobile device strategies are growing and
diversified and tourists are already very active in research and hotel
bookings.
Mobility is used at all stages. Indeed,
according to a study by PhoCusWright, 68% of leisure travelers and 71%
of business travelers shopped or purchased travel products using a
mobile device in the last year. Among these visitors, half have conducts
research to a hotel. One quarter of leisure travelers and a third of
business travelers have booked with a mobile device.
Mobile
technologies, as well as other distribution channels, are used before
the departure, either for research or reservations. Indeed, large
proportions of travelers are using their mobile device before the trip
and while in transit. People often have a limit with their access to
Mobile Web because of high user fees when traveling internationally so
Wifi zones are very helpful for the used of mobile technologies.
For
distribution in the hospitality industry, most major hotel chains have a
mobile application which the principal use is the distribution, but
where there are also retention strategies. With the application, users
can also find information about services offered by the hotel. According
to us, it is a competitive aspect to create a mobile application for a
hotel. The application of the W chain is an example of application that
stands out. To get you in the mood for a W stay, the app streams music
created by famous DJs in Ibiza and gives you an option to listen to it
at the moment or to purchase it on iTunes. The IPhone app enables the
users to book a room, order room service, send a message through the app
to request what ever you want and view special offers. Indeed, like
demonstrated by Schaal, “if you select an Insider section of the app,
there are options to “Order In” room service 24/7 and charge it to your
room; an “I Need” tab to request towels, bedding and bath products; an
“Anything Else” section for sending special requests or questions to
hotel staff; and a “Treat Youself or Someone Else” button for
pre-ordering things like chocolate-covered strawberries and sparkling
wine1.” We love this application because it combines pleasure and
utility.
Source: http://www.tnooz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/W2.jpg
There
is many other example of application for distribution. HotelTonight,
the king of the principle of the last minute, proposes an application
that shows offers of the day, at prices up to 70% off. In the event
industry, QDelegate offers a solution for communication between
hoteliers, event organizers, convention and participants. The
application facilitates the planning of the event and the communication
logistics during the meeting.
Mobility also creates a
change in customer’s services. Due to mobile devices, some changes are
present in the hospitality industry like the arrival of payment by a
mobile device and automatic currency conversion, the emergence of
virtual concierge, the substation of key hotel rooms for smart phones,
room service from client’s smartphone which allows the client to be
served anywhere in the hotel, to name only a few. A change that we think
is interesting is the return of printed promotional materials, which
allow the customer to scan a QR code to discover the news of the
establishment and activities to do in the area. Mobile devices also
allow hotels to change their installation of systems to control
thermostats and lighting because the clients can control it with their
smartphone. It is a good sustainable strategy in our point of view.
There is also an application created by Lodgenet that turns your
smartphone into a remote control in the hotel room. This application is
very popular and is used in already 500,000 hotel chains like Hilton,
Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood, IHG and Fairmount. The application can also
be modified by the hotel and add a section on the facilities and
surroundings can be add. The customers can also get their bill, settle
the bill, order and have touristic information with the app.
Instead
of developing their own mobile application, managers can adhere to
customized solution like InHotelApp. It allows the hotelier to provide
practical information to its clients, without the need to have Internet
access, which is very useful in our point of view because we don’t
always have access to Internet or Wifi.
To
conclude, we think that most changes related to mobile device will be
easily integrated in the hospitality industry but some of them will
represent a challenge. The industry needs to adapt its offer to the
customer’s need and those days, it is all about new technologies.
Key words: mobile device, hospitality industry, mobile application, smartphone
Source: LEVASSEUR, Maite (2012). Levee du rideau sur la mobilite dans lindustrie hoteliere: Acte 1, April 5, 2012, from Reseau de veille: http://veilletourisme.ca/2012/04/05/levee-du-rideau-sur-la-mobilite-dans-lindustrie-hoteliere-acte-1/
