In what is claimed to be a travel industry first, last minute hotel booking service Hot Hotels has integrated SeatID to offer users social-led bookings.
Users will be able to log in to Hot Hotels mobile app with their social network profile (Facebook or LinkedIn) to see which of their friends have been at the hotel or in the vicinity.
After signing in, users can see a list of their social network friends, friends of friends and people with shared interests who have stayed at the hotel in the past or have been in the area.
Also, users can define who will be able to see them by altering the SeatID settings in the app. Hot Hotels says the social proofing processes helps users to make smarter decisions.
Founder and CEO of Hot Hotels, Conor O’Connor, says:
"Our users usually make their purchase decisions based on location and price and now they will be able to also decide based on social issues and see which of their friends have been at that particular hotel or near it."
Hot Hotels makes it clear that this SeatID integration feature is optional to use. Users who doesn't want to use this feature can continue to use the app as they have been doing earlier.
CEO and co-founder of SeatID, Eran Savir, says:
"The last minute hotel booking space is heating up and we are happy to partner with a European leader and offer our services to their users."
SeatID was initially launched as software-as-a-service platform for airlines to enable users to see their social network friends in a plane. Recently, SeatID extended its service to hotels, rails and events.
In September 2013, Hot Hotels [TLabs here] acquired Europe-based last minute hotel booking service ReallyLateBooking.
NB:Social hotel image via Shutterstock.