Making customized destination maps mobile

Filip Muyllaert — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:11:29 +0000

The web mapping service “Google Maps” can be used to embed maps on your own website. Nothing new, it exists already a couple of years. However, I am still surprised to learn that quite a lot of destinations do not really make use of this free service.

And those who do, let me give you this piece of advice: you should consider to design specific destination maps based on the interests of the various types of travellers. And then make these maps also mobile, of course.

By the way: Google has just recently launched the Google City Tours . Nice, but I am not totally impressed. I did a search on the Belgian city of Bruges, and the number of attractions that were highlighted, were quite limited. However, this Google City Tours clearly shows what convention & visitors bureaux should do: making maps with a lot of interactive man-made mobile content. Not generated by a machine, like with Google.

Mobile can be crucial for “in-destination” decision-making

Filip Muyllaert — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:41:52 +0000

According to the National Travel Monitor, the yearly survey conducted by the Ypartnership that tracks the travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans, technology is especially influential with 61% of active travelers saying they use the Internet exclusively for travel research. In the 2009 Monitor, 56% of travelers said they book their travel online as well.

The survey is not really mentioning anything about mobile application, which is a pity. However, from the results, it is clear that most of the Americans want the immediacy of the technology they have in front of them to plan their journey and their travel arrangements. So the smartphone can be a very interesting tool for this, especially when it comes to “in-destination” rapid decision-making: where am I going to eat, where can I go out, where are the most trendy bars, etc.

What this means for mobile Web designers and developers, is that first and foremost, we need to approach mobile Web sites as an information-architecture problem, and not as a technology problem. Mobile Web sites should be formatted in a way that allows users to easily navigate and make decisions. Users don’t want to dig through the clutter of a traditional Web site to find the tiny link they were looking for.

Why hotels should ask for mobile phone numbers during the online booking procedure

Filip Muyllaert — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:39:33 +0000

As part of the booking procedure, clients should be invited to enter not only their e-mail address online, but also their mobile phone number. Because this opens great opportunities for the hotel to leverage the hotel guest’s experience.

Let me give you some 5 examples:

1. Via SMS the hotel can send the booking reference, the dates of stay and a map of where the hotel is based. The client can then easily find the place. Or the parking (which is often difficult to find, believe me).
2. This SMS message can also contain a link to (part of) the hotel website that is mobile, where the client can view 30 second videos highlighting the different facilities of the hotel. On this mobile site, the client can also download mobile vouchers for F&B, for the Spa, VIP invitations to the bar, the casino, etc.
3. The day before the client is arriving, he receives a follow up video message from the hotel: “Hi, we hope that you are looking forward to staying with us. Please just click on the link that we will highlight at the end of this video. It will show you some great local places of interest that you can visit during your stay in the city”.
4. Upon checking out, the client receives a feedback form. However, he is asked to SMS this feedback to a Shortcode (e.g. 6626). And this feedback, after being moderated for inappropriate language, can appear on the hotel’s website or blog.
5. One day after the client has left the hotel, he receives a final SMS: “We really hope that you have enjoyed your stay. If you wish to visit us again, please use the code XFNFD to get a 20% discount on your bill or a free upgrade. We are looking forward to having you as our guest again.”