More Ways to Snag That Restaurant Table

The development of the information technology has led to the multiplication and the diversification of online businesses notably in tourism & event industry. Online bookings websites are now one of the most used tools and competition become fierce due to the appearance of new players into the market. Users are able to seek information, compare products or services they are interested in and make online reservations.

The present article aims to analyze the online restaurant booking platforms that are sharing the market and highlight services they offered. The 3 mains companies are “Opentable.com”, the largest one which reference over 13000 restaurants, “Urbanspoon.com” which has reservation available over 170 restaurants in Seattle and Los Angeles and finally, “ReservationGenie.com” which counts 31 partners. In order to gain market shares, these companies tend to differentiate and enhance their offers (multiplication of special offers, discounts…) as well as set up loyalty programs through customer relationship management. Opentable.com is the only one to charge restaurants for reservations made through their own websites (25 cents per head) and the total cost to be part of their listing is higher than its competitors. However the 3 online companies provide restaurants computerized systems to enter details about customers’ tastes and habits in order to gain their loyalty. Technology is in constant evolution, for instance the brand “RezBook” launched by Urbanspoon shows customers available tables and alert by phone call, iPhone or iPad the concerned restaurant, saying that someone is looking for a spot. Moreover restaurants which use this system are required to buy an iPad to operate electronically.

As a customer we really appreciate these convenient services which give us an overview of existing restaurants to facilitate our choice. In addition major companies operating in this market have developed their own mobile apps which allow consumers a better use of the service, at any time. Websites are easy understandable and well designed. Moreover booking at a restaurant is free of charge, instantaneous and directly confirmed to the customer. Nevertheless only few restaurants can afford to have their one online booking website due to the cost engendered. Moreover it seems to be difficult for these online booking platforms to constantly update information in real time about restaurants they reference (availability of seats, change in the menu, in the opening dates…). A limitation would be that restaurants cannot deal with several online booking websites at the same time due to the incompatibility of these systems regarding bookings. Another limit remain that customers who booked via these websites especially when there is special offers, are less pampered and served than others. Indeed, they are often considered as “low cost” clients who are not going to spend extra money for their dinner. In the same way it appears really hard to control the quality and the hygiene of restaurants although customers are incentivized to comment on their experiences.

Keywords: restaurant; booking; competition; computerized reservation tool; technology

Source: McLaughlin, K. (2010, May 20^th). More Ways to Snag That Restaurant Table. Retrieved January, 22^nd, 2012, from The Wall Street Journal website: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575254680739522068.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

E-Learning for Tour Operators: Ticino Switzerland’s Lessons

The DMO Ticino Switzerland has developed a highly interactive platform for tour operators and wholesalers to get acquainted with their destination. Ticino, Switzerland’s southernmost region, is known as a symbiosis of Italian lifestyle and Swiss quality. Scenic mountains, gleaming lakes, charming stone-house villages and palm trees: this and much more is what intermediaries have to know to sell the region.

The recently published eLearning tool on http://ticino.elearninglab.org/ is composed of 5 interactive and brief modules to learn about Ticino in an enjoyable way. While the first module aims at giving a detailed overview of the region, the 4 further topics support the planning and the selling process (“Discover Ticino”, “Selling Tips”, “Culture and Events”, “Excursions and Nature”, “Rivers and Lakes”). Each module lasts for approximately 10 minutes. After an intermediate test and the final exam, the Ticino Switzerland Travel Specialist certificate is issued. It can be downloaded, and it enables to become eligible for the annual study trip to Ticino.

Not only is this interactive and memorable way of learning effective by the variety of tools such as quizzes, testimonial videos by professionals, virtual tours and a user-friendly display of information. It further contains a trade corner, which gives additional support for the timesaving research of appropriate information and the right offer for each tourist segment. The access to a web library with a wide range of high quality pictures, presentations, videos and brochures facilitates the tour operators’ tour organization.

Besides being free of charge, it is an enjoyable and quick course to complete. After registration, the profile can be saved and used for further trade requests. From the client’s perspective, the issue of a certificate is a good means to transmit trust and reliability, and thus to gain the credit for it.

This eLearning platform is a model that fulfills the conditions required for a well performed knowledge transfer: to transfer knowledge which exceeds the user’s existing knowledge, the accessibility to a wide range of recipients (such as project managers, directors, tour operators, etc.), and the easy application to immediate action as well as for long-term purposes (Optimizing Knowledge Transfer and Use;

William Seidman, Ph.D. Michael McCauley). It thus illustrates a well elaborated model to build on when it comes to attracting new intermediaries for destination marketing and the attraction of new clients.

 Swissminatur - discovering Switzerland in one day

Sources:

 William Seidman & Ph.D. Michael McCauley, 2005. Optimizing Knowledge Transfer and Use, Cerebyte.

http://ticino.elearninglab.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W2k_LkHqHQc&noredirect=1

“Airport of the future to make flying fun again"

Flying is no longer a pleasant way to travel. It is stressful and time consuming.

To cater to travelers’ expectations, airports and airlines need to change their way of running according to a report from CAP Strategic Research, an aviation research and consultancy company. Below are some innovations that could be implemented by 2025. Key points from this report have been summed up in an article from CNNgo (a blog from the American TV Channel CNN), which aims at providing the latest trends in travel. The content of the article may be relevant in order to understand the impact of IT improvements on our travel habits and to get a better picture on the airport of the future.

© Istock Photo

Self-check-in will be generalized. Some airlines already propose their travelers to check-in at home or at the airport on specific machines (American Airlines, Easy Jet), Ryan Air even charges travelers who want to check in at the airport desk. By 2025, check-in desks are doomed to disappear.

Em/Immigration procedures will be made easier. In 2025, we can imagine no more queues at the immigration desk to check identity with travelers just swiping their ID or biometric passport. Some passes that already enable this (INSPASS in the USA or Iris Recognition Immigration System at Heathrow Airport) will be generalized to more locations.

Frequent travelers will be able to cut security queues. Travelers approved by police, security forces or government departments will be given a biometric pass allowing them to undergo security checking.

Only carry-on luggage may be authorized. A ban on check-in luggage may be inevitable to reduce the space, the weight and thus the costs (fuel and staff to handle luggage). Besides, it will speed up boarding. Passengers will be therefore encouraged to carry on their luggage on board and bigger luggage will be transported by cargo.

© Getty Images

Boarding will be quicker. Airlines experiment several ways to get travelers on board using science to time the most efficient one.

Showrooms will replace shops. The idea is to replace physical shopping by online shopping. Shops will be replaced by showrooms where travelers could test the products and then buy them online and be delivered at home.

Airports will run all night long. The increasing number of travelers and the new aircrafts such as A380 which are much less noisy may drive the governments to accept the airports to run 24 hours a day.

Some of these changes may be beneficial for both passengers and airlines companies. The new experiments made on boarding procedure, the disappearance of physical check-in desks and the quickening custom procedures will allow significant reduction in time spent in the airport. Moreover, the development of online shopping, home-delivery and other “do-it-at-home” procedures will avoid carrying on too many souvenirs in the plane and paying extra charges for passengers. Some innovations also represent consequent cost reduction for airlines that could be reflected in flight fares.

However, online procedures and automation of tasks may lead to a non-personalized service. Having the possibility to communicate with staff may be reassuring for some passengers when taking the plane; therefore, airlines should also focus on maintaining physical contact with their customers. Moreover, some of the above-mentioned changes may be inconvenient and also present dangerous threats: shipping luggage via cargo may create important delays between passengers’ arrival and luggage arrival. Thus, creating a special category of frequent flyers that over pass security control may represent an open door for the transport of weapons, terrorist attacks and/or bombing!

Please feel free to post any comment. We will be glad to share our ideas with you!

Key words: Airport, Innovations, Airlines, Check-in, Boarding, Security queues, Carry-on luggage, Showrooms, Immigration procedures.

CNNGo. (2011, December 14). 'Airport of the future' to make flying fun again. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from CNNGo: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/airport-future-make-flying-fun-again-164787

TV Connectivity in Hotel Room- Hotels Progressing Toward Integrated Technology

The technological evolvement in tourism is continuous and interconnected with electronic devices, which can be proven by the launch of new Media Suite launched by Phillips. The increased number of hotels and hotel chains offer free WiFi, however, the clients are obliged to use their own electronic devices, such as laptops, Smartphones and tablets. Media Suite makes the life of travelers easier, and their luggage less heavy (no computers necessary).

The new launch of the latest Philips product offers cost saving methods of online services for hotels and their clients without further connection setup boxes, modems and radical changes in replacement of Internet providers.

Hotels and their clients seek for an up to date improved devices. The Media Suite offers great advantages, which can be used by everyone, such as children, teenagers, businessman, elderly people and leisure travelers. The advantage to check news online, weather, download applications, and stay connected on social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. Leisure travelers can gain information about the destination and watch their home country TV online.

Arena, 2011

Additionally, the product can be enhanced and updated as new trends and improvement arrive on the market. Hoteliers demand Media Suite, and it can be seen as the new revolutionary product, which attracts hotels guests.

Simple device as Internet connected TV, operated by a simple remote controller can be successful not only in the hotel industry. The usage of the device is very broad. However, before launching the product, analysis of the importance of such a device was undertaken. The company launched a survey, which concluded that “more than half (55%) of respondents in a pan-European survey of 6,767 travelers, said that they would chose a hotel offering an internet enabled TV service over one which does not. 92% stated they would use NetTV every time they are in a hotel room. The most appealing services to access via the Internet were found to be catch-up TV (39%), news (17%) and weather (11%). In terms of hospitality specific services, city information (39%) is most in demand, followed concierge services (16%) and airport information (10%).” (Arena, 2011).

In our opinion, Media Suite will be attractive for frequent travelers, hotels located at the airports and business oriented hotels. All in one device provides sustainable ways how to relate to clients’ needs and wants during their stay. However, the most important questions we have to ask: is the service of providing such a device included in the hotel room price, or are hotels going to charge additional charges for NetTV? What is the appropriate rate for such a service? As discussed before, more and more hotels increasingly offer WiFi for free, due to the importance of being connected and possibility to compete with other hotels, however, Media Suite is an expensive electronic device located in multiple (all) hotel rooms, gathering numerous differentiated services.

Please feel free to post any comments, we will be glad to discuss any of your opinions about the device and new upcoming trends.

Maria Hunova & Sylvain Sevenier

Key Words: Media Suite, Phillips, Technology, Internet, Improvement, Hospitality, Hotels

Arena. (2011). Philips launches MediaSuitee TVs giving today’s hotel guests, tomorrow’s connectivity. Retrieved January 21, 2012, from http://www.arena-international.com/philips-launches-mediaSuitee-tvs-giving-todays-hotel-guests-tomorrows-connectivity/609.article

Guess Who? A new way to identify people

         The Astonishing Tribe, a Swedish mobile software firm has been developing a new augmented reality app called Recognizr. This mobile application allows you to get some information (name, address, phone number…) about a lambda person. By pointing your mobile device at a person’s face, you will have data on persons and their social networking life.

Recognizr works by matching the most distinctive features of the face such as the eyes, nose and chin. Then, the app turns the face into a 3D model, and checks it against a database. After recognizing the face, the person’s social networking profile icons will display. These icons (twitter, Skype, business card…) will allow you to access to personal information and, by tapping on the Twitter icon for example, you will see the person’s Twitter address and his/her last tweets. You will also be able to save the information right on the spot.

Since the first version called Augmented ID, the recognition process and the interface’s design have been improved such as the icons, now more visible and easily movable. To set up an account, take a picture of yourself and then set your associated sites by dragging icons onto your face. You can share as little or as much as you desire and users will only see what you choose to share. Of course, you will receive details about the person you’re looking at only if he or she also signed up for Recognizr. Watch the video demos of both Augmented ID and Recognizr. Judge for yourself! (Click on the following links: Augmented ID; Recognizr)

Recognizr, a revolution in the world business meeting? It’s very true that this app could become a daily-life tool for you, as event and tourism professionals, since it helps to identify people, developing social networks and sharing data. Among its features, the application could also help you to improve efficiency and time-saving (direct and speed downloading of personal information).

Moreover, you can get involved in the environmental protection, you wouldn’t to bring business cards or printed version of professional presentations anymore. All would be shared directly with your smartphones. Recognizr is also a new tool to transfer knowledge, as everything become very easy, fast and available everywhere and every time.

However, Recognizr could face ethical issues: privacy data and information control are two of them. Indeed, even if you can choose what personal and professional information you want to share, you cannot always control who exactly will access to it and their intentions. For instance, confidential reports could be downloaded by external people during presentations or very personal information could be wrongly used. Another disadvantage of this mobile app is the feeling of uncomfortably of people and particularly speakers being track by attendees with their smartphones.

This app also comforts the wish of the Generation Y to meet and share virtually, but is it the real way to make contact? Creating a network where people never interact physically to each other: is it the near future of the industry? Please give us your opinion!

 

Key Words: Recognizr, recognizing, application, information, social networking, share, identify

 

Source: Perez, S. (2010, February 24). Recognizr: Facial Recognition Coming to Android Phones. Retrieved January 11, 2012, from Read Write Web: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/Recognizr_facial_recognition_coming_to_android_phones.php

Indonesia adopts a new system to create « Intelligent Airports »

This year, in April, the Indonesia’s state-owned airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with SITA to provide IT solutions in its airports in order to create and develop new “Intelligent Airport’s”.

PT Angkasa Pura is an Indonesian state company, under the control of the ministry of Indonesian Transport, in charge of the exploitation of airports. It owns two entities:

- PT Angkasa Pura I (created in 1964), which operates 13 airports

- PT Angkasa Pura II (created in 1984), which operates 12 airports

SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques) is the world’s leading specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions. The company delivers and manage business solutions for airline airport, GDS, government all over the world. It has around 4.500 employees worldwide and provides services to over 550 members and 3.200 customers.

The first airport from the PT Angkasa Pura’s portfolio, which will be quipped with the new SITA services, will be the International Terminal at Ngurah Rai Airport, which is the most foreign tourist arrival in Indonesia. Those IT solutions will help the airport to provide new passengers services with the latest technology using real-time information.

The service provided by SITA will be focus on business intelligence, infrastructure and operational efficiency. To make this implementation more efficient, SITA will work with both the airlines present in the airport and the airport operator.

The new services provided by SITA will be, Aircom services (aircraft communications links for pilot, air-ground communications), new check-in kiosks, luggage tracking network, Wi-Fi networks or Applications Service Providers solutions.

The objective fixed by PT Angkasa Pura to SITA is to complete the all installation before Indonesia hosts the Asia Pacific Co-operation summit in Bali.

Those articles are based on the interview of Tommy Soetomo (President Director of PT Angkasa Pura) and Damian Hickey (Regional Vice-President South Asia and India of SITA). Those testify, show the synergy created by both company in order to provide new intelligent services to customers.

Wedding buzz

This time we decided to change the topic from serious meetings and conferences to less serious and more romantic event – wedding. And not just any wedding but exclusive and recently most discussed wedding of William and Kate. This girl is demn lucky to become a princess, and even both of us are a bit jealous, the topic of this post is different. We found a lovely article about the buzz in social media that this even has generated.

Special statistics agency Webtrend calculated the number of posts that were related to this wedding and the hard figures showed that this event is more discussed than earthquake in Japan and situation in Egypt. If you think that only English people are buzzing about royal family you should check this out, 65% of posts are coming from US and only 20% from UK. Well, probably these figures did not take into account the population of the countries and internet penetration, and it will be interesting to see them in proportional weight. Another very interesting statistics concerned what type of social media was used and we can see that Twitter is leading (911 000 tweets), followed by Facebook (217 000 status updates) and blogs (145 000 blog posts plus ours).

We can see that these types of events are very important in hospitality industry as thousands of people are coming to UK to see the wedding with their own eyes and become part of this historic event. This bring economic value to the city of London in terms of hotel nights, flights, restaurant bills, but also a lot of people are buying souvenirs to make this day memorable for them. Social media buzz just preheat interest towards such events. Even though event organizers and local tourism industry players are not the initiators of the internet buzz, they are the ones that highly profit from it. So this becomes another very illustrative example of social media importance in event and hospitality.