Editorial Board   Guest Author

Mr. Arner

Michael Arner

Chief Technology Officer, RoamingAround.com

Michael Arner is the CTO and a principal at RoamingAround.com, an industry and thought leader for location-based services with particular expertise in Hospitality. His team is comprised of veteran superstars from Mobile Payments and Mobile Carrier Applications. The RoamingAround platform is the most sophisticated, most flexible, most comprehensive solution currently on the market for hyper-personalized, location-contexted, dynamic mobile engagement and machine learning. It is also one of the very few to focus on the particular opportunities offered in Hospitality. Prior to RoamingAround, Mr. Arner was the co-founder and CTO of ROAM Data, a leading mCommerce platform provider. ROAM Data grew from zero to a $26M annualized run rate before being majority-sold for $120M to Ingenico. ROAM turns merchants' mobile devices into secure point of sale (POS) terminals and turns the mobile marketing channel into a mobile sales channel by enabling secure commerce in mobile applications with convenient mobile checkout. The company won the 2010 Technology Innovations Award at ETA. Mr. Arner was also the CTO and co-founder of Marbles, the world's first thin-client mobile software company focused on enterprise mobile workforce applications. Marbles was also the winner of multiple innovation awards. A longtime interdisciplinarian, Mr. Arner received his B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and his Ph.D. in English Literature from Boston University. He has published essays on art and technology in both academic and popular presses.

Please visit http://www.roamingaround.com for more information.

Mr. Arner can be contacted at 978-777-8787 or marner@roamingaround.com

Coming up in January 2019...

Mobile Technology: The Future is Now

Mobile Technology continues to advance at a relentless pace and the hotel industry continues to adapt. Hotel guests have shown a strong preference for mobile self-service - from checking-in/out at a hotel kiosk, to ordering room service, making dinner reservations, booking spa treatments, and managing laundry/dry cleaning services. And they also enjoy the convenience of paying for these services with smart phone mobile payments. In addition, some hotels have adopted a “concierge in your pocket” concept. Through a proprietary hotel app, guests can access useful information such as local entertainment venues, tourist attractions, event calendars, and medical facilities and services. In-room entertainment continues to be a key factor, as guests insist on the capacity to plug in their own mobile devices to customize their entertainment choices. Mobile technology also allows for greater marketing opportunities. For example, many hotels have adopted the use of “push notifications” - sending promotions, discounts and special event messages to guests based on their property location, purchase history, profiles, etc. Near field communication (NFC) technology is also being utilized to support applications such as opening room doors, earning loyalty points, renting a bike, accessing a rental car, and more. Finally, some hotels have adopted more futuristic technology. Robots are in use that have the ability to move between floors to deliver room service requests for all kinds of items - food, beverages, towels, toothbrushes, chargers and snacks. And infrared scanners are being used by housekeeping staff that can detect body heat within a room, alerting staff that the room is occupied and they should come back at a later time. The January Hotel Business Review will report on what some hotels are doing to maximize their opportunities in this exciting mobile technology space.

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