NB: This is a guest article by Bill Lee, founder of Twist.
It's a timely issue. Americans alone take 1.1 billion trips a day, yet in one out of four of these trips on average, someone runs late. The result is an estimated $90 billion annual loss for corporate America.
So a real question travel apps ought to be tackling isn’t where you’re going - it’s when you’ll arrive.
Yet time-based apps are a missed opportunity for the market.
Since 2008, the market for location-based apps has exploded since 2008 when Apple introduced “assisted GPS” on the iPhone 3G, and third-party developers began creating applications for iOS (the AppStore).
To date, travelers worldwide have 6,400 location-based apps to choose from in the App Store alone, according to Skyhook Wireless.
Location-based apps like Yelp, Google Maps and Loopt can help travelers find the best restaurant in any neighborhood, obtain directions, and show where their friends hang out.
However, we need apps that allow hotel managers to know their customers’ arrival times, or help airlines know which passengers are stuck in security lines.
A fresh solution in mobile travel apps
Today some developers are creating apps with hyper-accurate and real-time arrival estimates that adjust for changing travel conditions and automatically update those left waiting.
- Uber, which takes the waiting out of calling a cab, is among a new breed of time-saving apps getting national attention.
- Food delivery apps like GrubHub enable consumers to have their favorite restaurant’s cuisine delivered directly to their door.
- My company, Twist, developed one of the first apps that help people automatically notify those they’re meeting about their arrival time, which eliminates the need for continual texting or calling.
For the travel industry at large, change is coming—and it’s right on time!
NB: This is a guest article by Bill Lee, founder of Twist.