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Priceline has launched their online same day booking application for iPhone users.  The app will soon be available for Android users as well. Travelers are able to search for last minute inventory from 165 countries and 200,000 properties, the app shows a list of available hotels in the area of the device the user is using to search for hotels.  The quick 2 step process to booking a hotel is easy to use and user friendly, guests also get a map with directions on their display to help them find their hotel.  This technology was introduced last year and had secured $1 billion in transactions 40% of the mobile bookings were for the same day reservations. Today's travelers and consumers are looking for instant deals, bookings, and conformation, with the technology of this app and the continued improvements consumers continue to be in their favor. 

This article introduces a profitable e-commerce for hotel. A mobile app which can help customer makes reservation of same-day hotel room on their mobile rather than on the internet. This app helps customer book same-day hotel with the deep discounts, and it also helps hotels sell their unsold room at the end of the day. Compare with book hotel room on the internet customer can book wherever and whenever through this app. This mobile app also bring more new customers to hotel, about 91% of the customers who use the mobile book hotel rooms had never stay in the hotel before. Customer should first conforms his location when he uses the Hotel Tonight app. After select the city the mobile will show a list of hotels can be chosen with the price and one-word description. Customer can choose the hotel he wants and uses his Facebook account to complete the reservation. Those hotels list on the mobile app are three-star rating or higher rating hotels with good reviews on popular travel web site. The hotel discount will not appear in the app until noon in order to make sure the hotel manager can sell their rooms at higher rate.

As iPhone 6s begin shipping to pre-order purchasers tonight, this article is very timely for retailers everywhere. Apple already has the support of the big three credit card companies (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) covering 83% of all credit cards out there. They also have buy in from a variety of companies including: Disney, Subway, McDonalds, Walgreens and many more. 220,000 stores are already ready to accept contactless payments . The system uses a combination of hardware, software and biometrics to keep the transactions secure. No actual card data ever leaves the phone. All transactions have unique codes and store personnel never get their hands on a card. Apple may have finally broken the code to making shopping easier and more secure.

Apple Pay is going to solve so many issues when it comes to security and fraud. By using biometrics it will be nearly impossible for people to use credit cards that are not theirs. Disney is already set up to start using Apple Pay and it will be so interesting to see how guests react to using this method of payment. Although we already use biometrics when guests enter the main entrance of our theme parks at Disney the idea of giving biometric information has not appealed to all of our guests. Biometrics are something many companies will be using in the future as an extra step in security and it will be essential that people adjust to this change.

As mobile devices become more advanced, particularly cell phones and tablet devices, more pressure to keep up with mobile and social trends is placed on the hospitality industry. People are using their mobile devices more now than they have in the past. So much so, that "two thirds of Americans sleep with their mobile device in range, something we cannot say about desktops". A world of information is at your fingertips because of the capability of mobile devices. Information that can help us make decisions about anything. Even last-minute decisions about hotels and food. More people are using their mobile devices to book rooms and many of the people that do this, are booking a hotel for the same night. The fact most of the people who do this are under 30 means that it is very likely that this trend will increase. People are expecting the technology to be there so that they can pick a hotel and a restaurant to go to if they are unfamiliar with a city. They are expecting a hotel chain to have a mobile site or better yet an "app" that will not only allow them to book a room, but, one that will give them directions from where they are to the hotel. The same can be said for restaurants. Potential customers want to be able to look over the menu and determine if they want to come to the restaurant, all from their mobile device. Mobile guests are also using customer review sites to determine where they will lodge or dine. They are using sites like TripAdvisor which allows you to post comments about your stay. The sight even allows the guests to post pictures. "Customer reviews are also important to the hotel industry, but the jury is still out on exactly how hotels should react with people who post reviews." It is always great when a guest posts a positive review of the hotel, but imagine how one bad stay could tarnish a hotels reputation. And what if there are cleanliness issues that the guest can photograph and upload to the site? Exactly what to do in this type of e

With both individual sites like American Airlines or bundle sites like Travelocity; everyone is jumping on the eCommerce train. And what better way to grow customer loyalty than with your very own app. Want to buy a plane ticket or rent a hotel room do it from your smart phone. Problem is how do you get people to down load your app. Well Facebook has figured that out for you. Advertise on their site and customers can install your app with a click of a button. No jumping to other websites and hassling with tricky downloads; just click and your off.

Great ideas on when to use PPC marketing campaigns for hoteliers. The thoughts are valuable even though it's written by a marketing company who are trying to sell the service.

Geo-targeting is a step above geo-fencing and like that of Proximity marketing is a digital marketing technique meant to geographically target consumers within a set of parameters. The purpose of this is that while digital marketing has been around, is being used and the future of it is quite relevant it requires companies to adapt using various methods of marketing to reach the consumer. And geography is an area that is highly required. And unlike geo-fencing, geo-targeting is more generalized in the locale. It is asserted that companies need to have a better understanding of their guests at a basic level than before. "Hotels can no longer take a blanketed approach---understanding where a guest is coming from and the impact of a hotel's digital footprint" is just as important. A reason hotels might want to use geo-targeting is that direct business captures "95% more revenue than that of indirect channels". Interested enough many guests book last minute and that accounts for 72% off mobile bookings. Geo-targeting relies on revenue to determine its success. One issue noted is the use of VPNs can create miss-targeting when users are receiving messages from a location they are not in. Several things to note are prioritizing a focus on existing and prior guests because they cost less than advertising to new guests. Secondly, using CRM can create personalization through guest profiles and add an extra special factor to their experience. One example shown was Denny's and it showed an increase in visits. Geo-targeting is a marketing strategy that can help companies stay relevant.

This take on proximity marketing is interesting in that it requires a little more thought in implementation because you aren't just narrowing it down to a specific locale, you are creating a wider net to catch people in. That means you have to have a broader understanding of who you are catching which would be multiple targets that may not be alike, but have similar needs. They used the pandemic as an example of how it benefited them to use geo-location, While not marketing to a whole section of the US they targeted a more localized net ( a state away) but not too narrow as to leave out a specific target. It showed some success in that they were able to save money and help bring brand awareness to a different type of consumer. They not only target those locally but "neighbors" and I know that I as a new guest appreciate seeing local people utilizing a product or service and come back for more because it gives me an idea that the product or service or both is appealing to guests. This also helps hinge on the word of mouth of the customer. That is an additional positive aspect of this type of marketing. Seeking local rather than national or global customer-created brand devotion.