Viator introduced versions 1.0 of its iPhone and iPad apps, and also did a lot of work behind-the-scenes making changes that users of the iPhone app, in particular, can take advantage of.
The Viator Tours & Activities app for iPhone, developed in-house, and the Viator Ultimate Experience Guide app for iPad, developed for Viator by Hot Studio in San Francisco, take different tacks.
The iPhone app features in-app booking of tours and activities and Viator did a lot of back-end work with suppliers, ensuring that some 80% of the product can be booked within 48 hours of the activity.
Coupled with a relaunched mobile website a few weeks ago, the close-in bookings that are available as part of the iPhone app are especially useful for smartphone-wielding travelers.
Barrie Seidenberg, Viator's president and CEO, explains that most of the company's suppliers can release last-minute inventory via what is essentially an extranet and block out these activities and tours when they are sold out.
The Viator iPhone and iPad apps are different from one another and neither are carbon copies of Viator.com, says Scott McNeely, vice president of product.
"Neither are bringing Viator.com to mobile apps," McNeely emphasizes.
Among its features, several of which emphasize close-in bookings, the iPhone app has a What Can I Do Today section, where results can be filtered by activities today, tomorrow or a future date. And, a What's Near Me feature outlines and maps available activities based on your GPS-detected location.
The app also conveniently offers tours that you can hitch onto right from your hotel.
Meanwhile, users can submit photos and reviews, including verified reviews from people who booked tours via Viator, through the apps and website.
The iPad app is more inspirational and less about booking. Unlike the in-app booking featured in the iPhone app, to book through the iPad app you have to launch a Safari browser and book on Viator.com.
McNeely says the iPad app, which features customized city guides for Viator's top 100 cities around the world, is geared for people musing about travel before a trip and they may not even have a destination in mind.
You can navigate to the top 100 cities by rotating a 3-D globe and each city guide features content from experts as well as images, some 95% of which have been contributed by users, McNeely says.
Future plans call for in-app booking on the iPad app, as well.
Viator's tours and activities can be booked in U.S., Australian and Canadian dollars, as well as in euros and Great Britain pounds.