Hilton and Social Media, its NOW this is happening not tomorrow

The importance of clever use of social media in the hospitality industry was recently highlighted when Hilton Worldwide revealed that its mobile app was downloaded 340,000 times and had received a massive 100,000 room bookings.

Speaking at the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit in the US, the hotel chain’s senior vice-president of corporate strategy Kevin Jacobs said it had fully embraced mobile applications, reports Big Hospitality.

“Since over 80 per cent of Hilton’s guests travel with a mobile device and 40 per cent use it to search travel, mobile apps make sense,” he was quoted as saying.

A recent study by TravelPort also highlighted the importance of good mobile applications, stating that half of business travellers today use mobile technology to search and book hotels.

And it is not just hotels which can benefit from embracing mobile applications, as 80 per cent of people questioned by TravelPort would like an app which offers suggestions of restaurants and bars near hotels.

Another way of capitalising on the smartphone boom could be to optimise websites and create mobile websites. Recent research by Livebookings found that just 2.6 per cent of restaurants’ websites are optimised to take advantage of mobile technology, prompting the company to create its Pocket Diner mobile platform, which will help eateries maximise booking channels.

Source: mysterydining.com

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