2011 Year-End Hotel Technology Review | By Jon Inge
23.05.12
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Well, it wasn’t the year we’d hoped for; initial optimism that we were at last coming out of the recession was replaced by reminders that there was still a long way to go. Nevertheless, many properties took advantage of slow business to upgrade their systems and lay the foundations for more efficient operations once traffic does return, and equally as many vendors enhanced their systems for greater integration and flexibility.
The importance of IT innovation in the hospitality world was recognized once again by InformationWeek’s listing of the U.S.’s 500 most innovative business technology users, which included seven hospitality companies in the top 250. The highest-ranking hospitality company honored this year was Vail Resorts at #10, whose EpicMix Web and smart-phone application appropriately highlighted the integration of guest service with mobile technology.
The year of mobile technology
It was definitely the year mobile devices of all types became mainstream, along with a growing integration of social media sites into more traditional hotel systems. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) released iPhone booking apps for each of its seven brands, launched 120 free iPad Concierge Insider Guides and reported a nearly 1,000 percent increase in room night bookings from mobile devices. MGM released Android versions of 12 hotel applications for booking rooms and activities, and Motel 6 released an app for Apple devices. Genares and InnLink released mobile booking engines, Expedia announced an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and RIM released a BlackBerry Travel app integrating itineraries, profiles and flight status updates into BlackBerry Calendar.
Source: Hospitality Net (press release)