Mobile adoption is accelerating in terms of the number of users researching or managing travel. Some industry reports are predicting a climb in the number of US consumers using mobile for travel research from 19.7 million in 2010 to 29.7 million in 2012. The number of guests expected to start booking travel via mobile is projected to double to 15.1 million in 2012. What will you do to net those customers? Develop a mobile site? Launch a mobile app? Target just iPhone users? And what of your still active desktop shopper? READ MORE

From hotels to coffee shops to department stores, the proliferation of mobile technology and payments has changed how businesses interact with customers. According to PayPal, more than 67 percent of consumers planned to make a purchase using a mobile device during the 2011 holiday shopping season, a telling indicator of the pervasive mobile trend in today's marketplace. Beyond payments, mobile has specifically created new opportunities for hoteliers and their guests. From using near-field communication (NFC) to eliminate the need for plastic door keys to mobile technology speeding up the check-in process, there are multitudes of ways hotels are jumping on the proverbial mobile bandwagon to take their customer service and operational efficiency to the next level. READ MORE

How would you feel if your hotel was accused of leaking guest data? Well it could happen if you don't hoist data security up the priority list. Not doing so could be very expensive. Carrier IQ in the US and the Leveson Enquiry in the UK are two examples of companies and their employees illegally gathering personal information for financial gain using the medium of the mobile phone. Both were revealed by individuals tirelessly following up clues and publishing their findings, despite pressure being exerted from without. At first sight they may seem far removed from the hotel industry but closer study shows they are not. READ MORE

Inspections and checking for compliance with standards is an ongoing job at every hotel, every day. Think about operations like guestroom status update, property maintenance and repairs, and housekeeping inspections, to name just a few. Now innovative mobile applications (mAPPs) are available to help owners and managers conduct many routine ongoing activities in a faster, smarter way so they can operate their properties more productively and more profitably. These mAPPs are new. They're now. They're WOW - and my column examines how these software programs can help you increase staff efficiency, heighten guest satisfaction, and improve the bottom line. READ MORE

New mobile devices meant to simplify life also create new challenges for the hospitality industry. For example, the latest must-have mobile device, the iPad, comes with bandwidth requirements that have significantly impacted hotels providing free Wi-Fi. Point of fact: iPad video traffic is more than 600,000 times more data intensive than equivalent text. If a hotel's bandwidth is “hogged” by a few iPad users, the remaining guests will have a poor Internet experience. READ MORE

For an industry that prides itself on customer service, and connecting with guests, ensuring repeat visits; one area that could use some “spit and polish” is in the booming channel of mobile communications. While travelers are increasingly going mobile, hotels have yet to fully embrace the platform's potential. What is the holdup? So sluggish has been the hospitality industry's mobile embrace, in fact, that a recent New York Times article, in addressing the challenges of converting websites to their mobile format, only discussed third-party sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline and Hotels.com. No mention of hotels following a similar path was reported. READ MORE

There is no question that mobile is the most game changing technology to affect business over the past decade and is the fastest growing technology ever. The tough question is, with all the clutter of "apps" out there, how do you approach your mobile strategy to improve your business and keep your customers happy and engaged. The common mistake businesses make is to take an app they see out in the marketplace and try to adapt it to their business, instead of taking their business and developing a mobile strategy around that. READ MORE

Guests are moving to mobile devices to help manage their day-to-day lives. With mobile migration come new demands and expectations for seamless integration between their Web and mobile experiences. Rather than having information with a separate life on the Web, your guests are looking for an immersive experience independent of the device utilized. The limited number of properties providing this seamless experience is meeting the guests' expectations. We will explore ways to make a successful collaboration between the Internet and mobile devices that will result in an immersive guest experience. READ MORE

To be successful on the mobile web, like anything else, you need a good strategy. You need a strategy that is built from knowledge and insight and guided by measurable goals. In this article, Lucas Cobb from MMGY Global, explores how hospitality marketers can leverage user context along with research and analysis to define the strategic direction of their property's mobile web presence. READ MORE

Once you have an app the next challenge is getting guests to use it. If you do not promote properly you will see that user adoption is lower than expected. Thankfully with a little effort hotel's can dramatically boost their user rates. There are several factors that will encourage guests to use an app. We'll explore the necessary components of an effective multifaceted application marketing plan. From introduction to follow-up the entire user experience must be considered. READ MORE

Hotel guests—past, present and future—are increasingly becoming mobile-ready, and hoteliers have to adequately respond to this growing demand for mobile services. This is the reason why all major hotel brands, travel suppliers and OTAs have mobile Internet initiatives in place, including mobile brand websites, mobile applications (apps), m-CRM and mobile marketing. READ MORE

Smartphone use is growing by leaps and bounds, presenting opportunities as well as challenges for the hotel industry. Many are embracing these new technologies and finding ways to monetize them, as well as leverage them to encourage repeat business. Thanks to increased focus on creating an exceptional user experience, mobile device use has grown significantly in 2011, and 2012 promises to continue this trend: more than 90 percent of mobile phones going out on the market today have mobile web capabilities. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets were the highest-selling consumer electronic device category in 2011. READ MORE

In such a short amount of time, mobile technology has changed the way that the world does just about everything. There's no doubt about it; smart mobile devices are dictating how we live our lives. With these mobile devices in our hands, and media and information up in The Cloud, there are limitless possibilities for access. This is a game-changing development for the hospitality industry. It is opening a variety of delivery mechanisms for personal guest services that are affordable, efficient and easy to use. Not only is it now easier to travel the world, it is also easier for hotels to operate and could change how guests interact with a hotel. READ MORE

Wi-Fi access has become as crucial as electricity for many people and providing a high-quality Wi-Fi connection in hotels is no longer a nice-to-have but an imperative. iPhones, iPads and media tablets are driving demand for connectivity. This article explores some of the questions hotels should ask of their Wi-Fi providers, so that their hotel Wi-Fi service is a customer satisfaction issue. The article also explores what's behind the issues behind the resurgence in Wi-Fi demand and how hotels can explore new revenue opportunities with Wi-Fi. READ MORE

Mobile, Local, Social - not only a trend but reality for hospitality commerce as consumers increasingly search, shop and buy via mobile devices, look for hotels close to wherever they are and share their travel experience with friends and the community. This poses a great opportunity for mobile marketing, reaching customers via an increasingly growing, powerful and widespread distribution channel. This article gives insights about how mobility impacts the hospitality industry, explains the mobile “touch points” throughout the supply chain, provides examples for best practices and talks about its impact on hotel operations. READ MORE

Smart phones are well on their way to ubiquity and, as a result, mobile commerce is on the rise. If you want to know who's leading the way, look no further than those who travel. A recent TripAdvisor survey found that over 40% of travelers use their smart phones to plan a trip and over 46% use their smart phones to enhance their trip while traveling. While I could go into lengthy analysis on “why?” the question travel-industry marketing executives should be asking themselves is “how?” How can I ensure that my company is not only keeping up with the shift toward mobile, but actually leading the way? READ MORE

Mobile is revolutionizing how - and where - consumers interact with travel destinations, but sites and apps optimized for mobile devices present a very different set of challenges to the PC web experience. Today's constantly-connected customer has high expectations of the mobile channel. Understanding context is essential to making the interaction a success, because demands vary according to circumstance: many business travelers want simple, fast transactions to solve an immediate problem, like booking a room for the night via smartphone. Leisure travelers enjoy the thrill of the chase and are seeking inspiration on their iPads READ MORE

As we always strive to offer cutting-edge technology for our guests at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, we recently partnered with a hi-tech company to install their Interactive Customer Experience (ICE) technology on iPad 2 devices in all 285 guest rooms and suites. From the privacy of an individual guest room or suites, guests can order in-room dining, make restaurant reservations, check in to a flight, request airport transportation, ask valet parking to retrieve their car, research Los Angeles' most well-known cultural and shopping destinations, place housekeeping requests, amenity requests, engineering, and so much more - all at the touch of a button. READ MORE

When considering mobile technologies, many hospitality managers are not convinced of the potential benefits resulting in enhanced guest engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and increased consumer spending. The common goals of mobile technology implementation are acceleration of guest traffic, heightened interactivity, promotion and sales of goods and services, and gathering of feedback relative to the guest's experience. Mobile technologies can be a critical component to a hospitality firm's strategy for obtaining a competitive advantage... READ MORE

If 2011 for hotel owners was all about learning from and joining the mobile masses simply because it was the “in” thing to do for our tech-savvy patrons, 2012 is rapidly shaping up to be the year where mobile becomes a must. In other words, the mobile marketing landscape has rapidly matured and the training wheels are coming off. This coming of age can mean only one thing: The time for hotels to launch their mobile presence is now. Not after the post-holidays' travel slow down, and not in the run-up to Valentines Day or the season's first spring breakers. READ MORE