Tag Archives: Smartphone Apps

by | July 8, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Perch App Helps Hotels Track Competitors”

“…While Perch is geared toward small businesses in general, Evans says it has proven to be particularly beneficial to hotel owners and managers.perch Users can stay connected with the community by watching local hotels, restaurants, and venues to discover events and activities happening nearby…”

Social media offers hotel owners and managers a wealth of information at their fingertips, but being able to access it all can be a challenge. With so many outlets that allow guests to share pictures and thoughts about a hotel—Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Instagram, just to name a few—it’s virtually impossible for one individual to keep track of everything that’s posted online.

For more: http://bit.ly/VVryt4

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by | December 14, 2013 · 7:10 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Restaurant Smartphone App Integrates “Ordering & Reservation System”; Customized Menus Along With Table Availability And Wait Times

“…the portable electronic device can be used to review a menu, place an order, and be billed for an order…In other examples, the Hände mit Handys im Restaurantportable electronic device can also transmit personal information or a personal profile of the operator of the portable electronic device to the restaurant so that the restaurant can personalize the menu or provide recommendations for items to order. In one example, the personalized menu can be configured to remove items from the menu that contain substances that the customer is allergic to…”

“…(the app is) capable of providing recommendations for restaurants in response to a search query for a particular restaurant type, cuisine, ethnicity, price point, rating, or a combination of a few of these factors. The recommendations provided to the customer can be based on the wait time for the next available table at the restaurant…”

“…the recommendations can contain only restaurants with a table available within a predetermined period of time. As another example, the recommendations can contain only restaurants capable of providing the customer with a table within a period of time after the customer arrives at the restaurant…”

On December 12, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new ordering and reservation system that could work with various Apple iDevices. Although the system can be modified to be apply to movie theaters, repair services, museums and the like, Apple’s main focus is on a restaurant market application Our cover graphic was taken from Apple’s “Life on iPad” promotional video where they illustrated a chef or short order cook using the iPad as part of an ordering system.

For more: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/12/apple-invents-restaurant-ordering-reservation-system.html

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2013/12/13/opentable-slips-apple-patent-describes-eating-at-a-restaurant/

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by | December 6, 2013 · 1:23 pm

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Restaurants Will Soon Benefit From New “Location-Based Mobile Payment” Technology & Apps; Customers “Automatically Check-In”, Complete Purchases With Smartphones

“…Telegraphe Cafe in New York will start testing Beacon soon. Anne Abikhzir, one of the owners of the coffee shop, expects the new gadget will Restaurant Mobile Payment Solutionsincrease check-ins and make the experience of buying coffee and pastries more personal for her customers…shoppers (can) complete their purchases using their phones and that data is collected and analyzed by retailers..”

EBay has spent many hours and lots of money pinpointing the locations of thousands of retail stores so the e-commerce company can capture sales from smartphone wielding shoppers. Now the company’s PayPal division is using a new technology know as Bluetooth Low Energy to get even more accurate location information inside stores through a gadget called Beacon.

The first PayPal employee tests of Beacon are happening at Spice Hut, a restaurant and food truck business in Silicon Valley, Telegraphe Cafe in New York and Get York Coffee in Sydney, Australia. Accurate location information is becoming more important as the rise of smartphones boosts mobile commerce brings the benefits of online shopping to physical stores.

That’s the retail holy grail that eBay and other technology and retail companies are fighting for. Apple released iBeacon location-based technology earlier this year, start-up Shopkick has installed location-based systems in major stores already and a group of the largest retailers, led by Wal-Mart, launched a mobile payments group last year called MCX.

For more: http://www.wltx.com/news/tech/article/257658/378/EBay-PayPal-Pinpoint-Stores-for-Mobile-Shopping

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by | October 24, 2013 · 8:19 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: New “Smartphone App” Searches Twitter To Identify “Possible Cases Of Restaurant Food Poisoning”; Results Correlated With “Scores From Health Department”

“…The app tags related users and follows that user around for 72 hours and analyzes their tweets for signs of food poisoning symptoms like Restaurant Food Poisoning Appsvomiting, abdominal pain, fever and chills. The system watches out for tweets that contain keywords like “threw up” and “tummy ache.”…In just four months, the nEmesis team was able to identify around 23,000 restaurant customers and detect around 480 possible cases of food poisoning. They then gave the restaurants a “health score” based on the number of incidents of people who became sick after eating there. The nEmesis team correlated their results with scores from the health department…”

Researchers at the University of Rochester developed an app called nEmesis that searches through Twitter and identifies possible cases of food poisoning. The app takes GPS data that is accessible via Twitter’s API and cross references that with the coordinates of restaurants.

One of the creators, Adam Sadilek, who now works at Google, sees the app as something that can help warn customers and as a potential tool for health officials to identify restaurants that may need to be looked into.

For more:  http://www.psfk.com/2013/10/food-poisoning-detection-app.html

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Hospitality Industry Technology Trends: More Restaurants Are Installing “Electronic Payment Systems” As Many Consumers Prefer Self-Service Terminals, Use Smartphone Apps, And Visit Websites For Information

Restaurant Technology Infographic

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by | October 14, 2013 · 9:46 am
by | September 16, 2013 · 8:03 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotel “Housekeeper” App For Smartphones And Tablets Improves Staff Efficiency; “Room Status And Problems” Reported Directly To Property Management System

“…the new ‘Housekeeper’ application is proven to deliver an average 50% reduction in the time required to carry out housekeeping and hotel Hotel Technology Solutionssupport tasks, enhanced staff communication, as well as powerful reporting capabilities…with quicker response and improved communication with the housekeeping staff we are able to better serve our guests and get a real-time picture of the room status…”

Building on its growing range of mobile applications and cloud-based services, Housekeeper provides an alternative to Quadriga’s established, fixed TV-based housekeeping solution, integrated into its Sensiq guest communications and entertainment platform. The Hibox Housekeeper application is a web-based service which can be hosted in the cloud and provides hotel staff with easy and immediate reporting capabilities via most web-enabled mobile devices. Services include the reporting of room status to the hotel PMS, minibar usage and rooms fault reporting and management, as well as a staff messaging tool.

Housekeeper is already deployed in hotels across the Nordic region and is now available worldwide. Juha Peltonen, Hotel Manager at Hotel Haikko Manor, Porvoo, Finland, says, “The Housekeeper application gives us an easy-to-use tool to manage the housekeeping tasks. Also we are able to reduce the housekeeping costs with improved monitoring and reporting.”

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4062156.html

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by | July 21, 2013 · 6:37 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: “Smarphone Payment Apps” Allow Customers To Pay For Food And Services With Phones Or Mobile Wallets

The Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group forecasts that within five years half of smartphone owners will prefer to pay for their gas, food, Hospitality Industry Smartphone Paymentsgadgets and other consumer goods with phones and mobile wallets…By one count, perhaps 280 digital wallets or more have sprung up or are in development around those various technologies. Some retailers, notably Starbucks, have built their own apps for mobile payments.

Mark Logan ordered lunch at Mildred’s Coffeehouse & Bistro in the Crossroads Arts District and stepped to the register to pay. No cash. No check. No plastic. Logan paid with his smartphone. He had previously loaded it with his debit card information, using an app called Square Wallet, and snapped his own picture. To make the payment, Square Wallet sent Logan’s picture to the iPad that Mildred’s uses for a register. The iPad tied his tab to his photo.

The barista, seeing Logan, tapped his photo from among several customers on the screen and told Logan the payment was going through. A second tap — technology took care of the rest.

A recent survey of smartphone users found that half had never heard of the idea of a digital wallet, let alone downloaded and used one.

And few stores or restaurants take them.

All the same, you may be using one soon. Money is making a dash from pockets to smartphones thanks to digital wallets like Lemon, Isis, LevelUp and others.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/20/4357393/digital-wallet-apps-unfold-in.html#storylink=cpy

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by | July 8, 2013 · 6:12 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotels Are Providing “Customized Apps For Guests’ Tablets And SmartPhones” That Facilitate Constant Interaction During Stay

“…hotels are starting to adopt (new apps) for guests’ SmartPhones and tablets. A number of companies—including Handheld Hospitality, iRiS Hotel Technology SolutionsSoftware Systems and Cardola– have developed apps (such as mobile phone acting as TV remote and pre-ordering dinner at hotel restaurant) that facilitate constant interaction between hotels and their guests before, during and after their stay…”

The apps can be customized for each hotel. But they typically work like this: When guests book their rooms, hotels send them emails letting them know about the app. They can then download the app and start planning their trips. The apps act as virtual concierges with information about local restaurants and attractions.

For those guests who want to spend time inside the hotel, they can use the apps to order room service, book spa appointments and golf tee times, and learn about in-house events or happy hour specials. In other words, the apps eliminate the need for an in-room directory or a concierge.

“Apps, like 16 different types of pillow, are seen as a must-have for hotels, particularly at the top end of the market,” says Katherine Doggrell, editor of Hotel Analyst Distribution & Technology.

But, she says, hotels run the risk of overloading the apps with too much information and too many functions. “What the customer often wants is the chance to cut down the time spent in queues trying to check in and out and pay, and that’s what apps can help do,” she says. “Apps should be functional, first and foremost.”

For more: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130708/BUSINESS10/307080046/Mobile-apps-let-guests-order-room-service-more

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by | March 3, 2013 · 7:40 am

Hospitality Industry Payment Risks: Restaurants Can Utilize New “Smartphone Apps” To Reduce Credit Card Fraud, Increase Guest Satisfaction

“Tabbedout” is a new free app for smartphones. The credit card number is encrypted in the phone and tied to a tab…(the guest) can walk in, open (their) tab and show the phone to TabbedOut Merchant Payment Smartphone Applicationthe bartender (or waiter) and literally start ordering food and beer right away…when they feel like leaving the venue, press one button on (the) smartphone and leave…”

Crooks are constantly stealing credit card numbers. Often times it’s skimmers attached to credit card machines or some other crafty way to lift information. Now a new app may help reduce the chances of that and simplify the dining out experience.

Denver is a test market for a new service that makes paying a tab in a restaurant or a bar as simple as just one quick click. It’s a legal way of “dining and dashing.”

Who hasn’t been frustrated while waiting to pay a tab? And how safe is sending a credit card off with a waitperson? Now there are options. “Credit card fraud is the handing the cards back and forth. Someone will snap a picture of it and then steal your identity or take your credit card,” bartender Josh Finocchiaro said. “With this, it’s set up through your phone, so the card isn’t passed back and forth.”

Restaurants like the Ice House in LoDo like it because it means the wait staff can focus on serving good food and drinks without worrying about serving up a check at the end of a meal. Diners gain more control over their experience and there’s no waiting around to pay.

Tabbedout is now in 25 restaurants around Denver and some in the mountains as well.

For more:  http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/03/02/tabbedout-app-helps-pay-restaurant-bill-avoid-credit-theft/

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