Hotel brand La Quinta introduces mobile innovations

We’ve seen more and more evidence that hotels are starting to pay attention to the mobile lifestyle of today’s travelers. And now one brand is taking new leaps into the digital world, with innovations aimed at making it easier to choose and book a hotel room. The first brand to ever do so, La Quinta now allows you to hold a hotel room reservation via your smartphone…using only your telephone number. No other identifying information is initially required. The room will hold for up to four hours, during which period – whenever you choose – you can enter credit card information to confirm your stay.

The new mobile site also integrates TripAdvisor reviews for its hotels, letting travelers browse comments and ratings before booking. This makes La Quinta the first hotel brand to ever add TripAdvisor reviews directly to its mobile site. According to USA Today, these features will also be added to La Quinta’s regular website in the next few months.

La Quinta introduces this “Instant Hold” technology and other new mobile features here:

We’ll be watching for what other on-the-go travel innovations emerge this year for savvy travelers.

 

TripAdvisor on the red carpet: Kudos from the UK

For the fourth year in a row, TripAdvisor is beaming with pride at having been named the “Best Travel Information/Review Website 2011” at the British Travel Awards. TripAdvisor was also honoured at the awards for “Best Travel and Tourism Smartphone App 2011.”

Thank you to all who voted and made this another winning year for us!

Our mobile app also got further praise recently at the 2011 Effective Mobile Marketing Awards in London, where it was named “Most Effective Mobile Travel and Tourism Solution.”

Finally, the UK’s Telegraph has named TripAdvisor “Favourite Travel Website 2011.”

We are humbled!

Travelers are taking off more in 2012…and they’re bringing their smartphones

TripAdvisor today released the results of its annual Travel Trends survey of U.S. travelers, and surfaced some good news in the process: travelers are on the move this year! Nearly a third of the more than 2,700 travelers surveyed said they plan to spend more money on travel this year than last.

According to the survey, travelers are also using their mobile devices more than ever as they hit the road. Forty-four percent of U.S. travelers plan to rely more heavily on their mobile phone or smartphone as a travel resource during their 2012 trips. Plus, nearly a third (31%) will be using travel apps (including TripAdvisor’s!) on their mobile device.

Attraction and tour booking feature coming to TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is partnering with GetYourGuide an innovative booking website for tours and activities, to help make the booking of tourism businesses easier for researching travellers on TripAdvisor.

Beginning in late March, tour and attraction providers can add a “Book Now” button to their TripAdvisor listing by signing up with GetYourGuide. This will allow TripAdvisor’s 40 million unique monthly visitors to book tours, attractions and excursions by clicking on the button.

The service will also be available through the TripAdvisor mobile website and app, giving attractions access to the growing number of people using mobile devices for travel planning on-the-go.

This is exciting news, particularly for those attraction and tour owners who don’t currently have an online booking facility, and signing up with GetYourGuide is free.

The feature will initially be available on tripadvisor.com, tripadvisor.co.uk, tripadvisor.ie and tripadvisor.de and through the mobile apps for these regions.

Watch this Space
This is just the first of several new features we’ll be introducing to help attraction and tour owners to market their businesses, so check this blog for announcements. We’ll also be sending updates to registered owners. If you haven’t yet registered as an owner on TripAdvisor (it’s free!), take a minute to do so now so you don’t miss any developments! – Register now.

Hospitality marketing – upwardly mobile

With the popularity of smart phones and tablets devices on the rise, more and more people are seeking out travel planning information on the move. With a tap or a swipe of the finger, a great nearby hotel, restaurant or attraction is more accessible to consumers than ever before. This represents a huge opportunity for businesses to reach researching travelers on the go with special offers, easy “click to call” functionality for booking, and even augmented reality features.

Mobile marketing is a huge area of growth for the hospitality industry, and many business owners are seizing the opportunity to reach travelers in exciting new ways. According to TripAdvisor’s recent U.S. Accommodation Owners survey, 27 percent of survey respondents plan to launch programs, for the first time in 2011, to engage with travelers using mobile devices. Another 27 percent indicated that they had offered such programs last year and will continue to do so this year. As part of TripAdvisor’s ongoing mission to bring innovation and ease to the holiday planning and booking experience, we have launched Virtual Tours on the TripAdvisor iPad app. This new feature uses augmented reality technology to give travelers a virtual walk-through of their travel destination.

The feature superimposes place names, along with TripAdvisor traveler ratings for hotels, restaurants, and attractions, over Street View from Google, allowing viewers to truly get the lay of the land in their travel destination before they even get there. Guests will be able to plan their trips and make decisions about where to stay, what to eat and what to do based on these virtual tours.

The new functionality is accessed by clicking on the Street View icon for hotels, restaurants or attractions. In addition, there is a wealth of other helpful travel planning features available with the app, including:

- TripAdvisor’s more than 40 million reviews and opinions for hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Travelers can even add their own reviews while their experiences are fresh.
- “Near Me Now” functionality, so travelers can determine what hotels, restaurants and attractions are nearby.
- Unique map-based browsing, giving travelers the lay of the land in their travel destination.
- Access to the TripAdvisor forums, where users can ask questions of their fellow travelers and receive helpful feedback.
- Traveler photos of hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations.

The TripAdvisor iPad app is available for free in the Apple App Store in 18 languages and 26 countries. For more information about TripAdvisor’s mobile offerings, including our apps for the iPhone, Android, Nokia and Palm smartphones, please visit our mobile page

These new features and functionality are changing the way travelers seek out and find travel planning information, and with each evolution in technology, comes new opportunities for businesses to reach consumers with relevant information and offers.