Editorial Board   Guest Author

Mr. Samuels

Gerry Samuels

Founder & Executive Director, Mobile Travel Technologies, Ltd.

Gerry Samuels has a number of involvements in software businesses in UK, Ireland and Australia. In 2000 Mr. Samuels was judged as amongst Ireland's Top 20 Entrepreneurs by Business Plus magazine, Ireland's largest circulation business magazine. Mr. Samuels is business advisor to an Irish government program for technology entrepreneurs. Mr. Samuels is an innovative and creative leader in the mobile and travel industry. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a regular contributor to trade publications. Mr. Samuels has been at the leading edge of mobile travel - recognizing in early 2003 that mobile phones had the capability to transform the traveller experience. A travel industry veteran, Mr. Samuels has more than 20 years experience in the travel industry, at Thomson Travel (TUI) and then at Worldspan, where he became Director - Northern Europe. In 1997 he co-founded Gradient Solutions, a Dublin-based internet booking engine specialist. With a record of rapid and profitable growth, and a client list including many of Europe's and North America's largest airlines and intermediaries, Gradient was acquired by Sabre in August 2000. Following the acquisition, he served two years as Vice President, Business Development, Sabre. Mr. Samuels started actively looking at the opportunities in mobile travel in 2003 and started development on a mobile travel platform in 2004. Mobile Travel Technologies (MTT), a Dublin based mobile software development specialist for the travel sector, was founded in 2005 by Mr. Samuels, and he is the full-time Executive Director. He leads the commercial development of the organization. MTT boasts a team of more than 45 mobile travel specialists. The MTT mobile travel platform, M2B, powers some of the busiest travel m-commerce sites in the world, and millions of euro pass through the platform each week. M2B delivers the efficiency and speed-to-market of a “Develop Once, Deploy Everywhere” mobile approach. With M2B a single implementation delivers both mobile web and apps, but where other platforms produce lowest common denominator apps, M2B Next Gen deploys 100% real, fully native apps for each mobile operating system. MTT applies a layer of custom handcode to each app to take advantage of the native user interface capabilities of each mobile operating system. Mr. Samuels has a number of involvements in software businesses in UK, Ireland and Australia. In 2000 Gerry was judged as amongst Ireland's Top 20 Entrepreneurs by Business Plus magazine, Ireland's largest circulation business magazine. He is business advisor to an Irish government program for technology entrepreneurs. MTT has quickly built up an impressive client roster of leading airlines and hotel chains including AirAsia, easyJet, S7, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Melia Hotels International, Jumeirah Group and Atlantis the Palm Resort. Education: BA (Hons) Economics, University of Leicester.

Mr. Samuels can be contacted at 353-1-485-342 or gerry@mttnow.com

Coming up in January 2020...

Mobile Technology: Meeting Tech Expectations

What once seemed futuristic is now the norm, owing to the escalating developments in mobile technology, and hotels must continue to innovate in order to meet guest expectations. In a recent study from Mower, 65 percent of guests said they would gladly pay more for a hotel that provides the mobile technology they deem essential. The same study shows that 44 percent of travelers are more likely to book a smart hotel, and nearly 7 in 10 want to use smart devices provided by the hotel. And how do guests wish to use all this technology? A majority expressed a desire for mobile check-in and check-out, and mobile payment options. They also want to be able to stream content from their phone to the TV; to make service requests of the hotel staff; to control in-room lighting, temperature and sound; to order food and beverages; and to request a wake-up call - all from their mobile device. Guests also expressed preferences for robust wi-fi and convenient device charging ports throughout the hotel. They also appreciate the use of hotel branded apps which allow a guest to book a room, access loyalty programs, receive discounts and rewards, and even use the app to choose the room, floor and view they prefer. Some hotel apps also allow a customer to track their charges throughout their stay, rather than waiting to receive a bill at the end. Finally, mobile tech lounges are popping up more frequently in some hotels. These lounges offer guests the opportunity to perform tasks like airline check-ins or access to local info guides, but they also provide a place where guests can comfortably get some work done outside their room. The January Hotel Business Review will report on what some hotels are doing to meet their customers' expectations in the mobile technology space.

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