This is the regular Tnooz roundup of product news from around the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, all with a technology, online and digital twist - Thursday 8 September 2011.
- Generator Hostels has unveiled an application enabling backpackers to book beds on the go. The app, which is available free from iTunes, also gives consumers access to images and information on Generator's locations in Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Hamburg and London. Links to social media including Facebook and Twitter and things to do and see around the hostels are also included via Qype.
- A Gogo study conducted with Murphy Research found that 20% of Gogo in-flight Internet users flew on an airline other than their preferred carrier so they could be on Wi-Fi-enabled flights. Meanwhile, 40% of these leisure travelers and half of the business travelers who switched from their preferred carrier to secure a Wi-Fi-equipped flight indicated they would not fly on a flight without wireless for their next trip.
- US Airways can now handle mobile boarding passes at 14 U.S. airports and hopes to get additional facilitiies mobile-boarding-pass ready by the end of 2011, the airline says. The technology used in the mobile boarding pass comes from NCR Corp. Passengers get emailed an encrypted 2D barcode and can scan them at security checkpoints or in airport kiosks, if necessary.