MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR HOTEL CHAINS

Suggestions for Hotel Chains to Develop Mobile Applications

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Suggestions for Hotel Chains to Develop Mobile Applications

Introduction

Success in the hospitality industry depends primarily on the reputation thanks to satisfied guests who become accustomed to a hotel or a rest station (Ramdeen, Santos & Chatfield, 2009; Phelan, Kavanaugh, Mills & SooCheong, 2009). To maintain or increase the level of customer loyalty, hoteliers are forced to constantly exceed the expectations of guests and offer them each a unique experience. Since the mobile and wireless solutions have become an integral part of everyday life, mobile websites and mobile applications have become indispensable tools for companies to streamline their processes and increase productivity. The hotel applications for Smart Phones like BlackBerry, iPhone or Android, as well as for tablets, are able to build relationships with guests (Wang & Wang, 2010; Lugosi, 2008). In addition, having an application that demonstrates the broad public the hotel follows the latest trends and provides high quality services.

Experts from the hospitality industry believe that the hotel owners should invest in technology, given the growth in bookings and search online will only increase, which would lead to a large increase in profits for hotels (Youngjung, Choonsung, Woontack, Dow & MacIntyre, 2011; Martin Yongho, Seoki & Clark, 2009). According to the survey of 2012 TripAdvisor Industry Index, 47% of respondents (owners and managers of accommodations) plan to offer a program that includes the use of mobile devices (ie, mobile applications, special offers and reservations via mobile devices, etc.) to establish contact with travelers in 2012 (Hopken, Fuchs, Zanker & Beer, 2010; Katsura & Sheldon, 2008). In the region of Latin America the figure is 50%, and Asia-Pacific - 53%. The purpose of this discussion is to present on and elaborate on feasible suggestions for hotel chains to develop mobile applications.

Discussion & Analyses

The mobile Internet is experiencing unique growth rates. More and more devices, so-called Smart Phones, have the ability to move access to digital information (Clarke, Raffay, Beritelli & Wittmer, 2009; Mozeik, Beldona, Cobanoglu & Poorani, 2009). The iPhone, the phone model of the U.S. company Apple is already a leader in the position of such services. Apps, small programs for the iPhone, there are now for many purposes. Now restaurant review published with apps such as the RK-Finder own free iPhone application (Katsura & Sheldon, 2008; Clarke, Raffay, Beritelli & Wittmer, 2009). Apps such as Restaurant-Kritik.de or short RK, as it is known in the community, is the largest dedicated catering review portal in the German web (Larsen, Urry & Axhausen, 2007; Kim, Park & Morrison, 2008). Any user can reference to a detailed evaluation form to pass on his experiences while visiting a certain restaurants to the community.

For instance, the iPhone app restaurant Kritik.de offers what guests ask for a location-based service for finding the best restaurants in the immediate vicinity (Kenteris, Gavalas & Economou, 2009; Rocha & Victor, 2010). For important information for the practicality of such a service is the quality of information ...