Looking wistfully back at 2014, I’d say a pivotal moment in travel technology came when Hilton Worldwide became the first major hotel chain to fully embrace mobile apps.
By the end of summer 2014, Hilton had enabled guests at a half-dozen of its hotel brands, such as Hilton and Waldorf Astoria, to pick their rooms after they check in via the branded apps.
Starting in 2015, the apps will also enable keyless entry for rooms, allowing guests to bypass the front desk.
Because check in, room assignment, and keyless entry are all compelling reasons for guests to download and use hotel branded apps, the apps are suddenly serious contenders for travelers’ attention.
That's significant, because up until now, hotel branded apps have struggled to compete with the one-size-fits all, heavily marketed apps from third-parties such as Priceline and Expedia.
Even more significant is that mobile apps could help hotels accelerate the sales of ancillary services, such as valet parking or room upgrades. Once travelers get in the habit of repeatedly using branded hotel apps throughout a trip, they will be more likely to use the apps to buy ancillaries.
The hotel industry is way behind the airline industry when it comes to exploiting the revenue potential of ancillary sales. Hotel mobile apps are a better tool for up-selling customers on ancillary services than the current ad hoc effort via e-mail and traditional marketing.
Hilton’s technology is partly powered by white-label provider Nor1, which, in related news this past November, debuted a dedicated hotel merchandising platform. (Earlier this year, Nor1's CEO explained its strategy to Tnooz readers.)
Others are listening. In November, Starwood enabled keyless room entry for guests at ten of its properties in its US, declaring its intention to make that a standard feature across its branded apps.
In December, global conglomerate Accor Hotels said it would use Nor1’s eStandby up-selling system across its upscale and luxury properties.
In related news, there was the debut of white-label hotel mobile app services from CheckMate. (See the Tnooz Q&A with CheckMate for details.)
In November, Expedia’s CEO told Tnooz that the OTA giant was trialing Checkmate’s technology.
2015: Wearables
Peering ahead to 2015, my guess is that one of the pivotal moments of 2015 will when a major travel brand embraces wearables for its day-to-day operations.
In the new year, I expect at least one major brand may to outfit its employees -- be they gate agents, front desk clerks, or cruise ship representatives -- with smart headsets or smart watches to help tackle service problems more effectively.
Certainly the debut of the Apple Watch will make the wearables a much discussed product among consumers. But it’s the use of wearables by company employees rather than consumers that may be pivotal in 2015.
In 2014, we’ve already seen Virgin Atlantic experiment with outfitting some of its gate agents at Heathrow Airport with Google Glass, the computerised headset. (Tnooz went over to Heathrow to see the experiment in person.)