Or so says the TNT Travel Show, which surveyed over 1,o00 Brits aged 18 to 35 ahead of its annual travel exhibition in London in March.

Supposedly modern methods of travel research, such as scouring social media-led efforts for ideas for travel recommendations, were favoured by just 14% of those in the survey.

This compared to almost three-quarters (73%) who claimed to prefer word-of-mouth as the best method of getting tips when researching a trip.

Of course, a survey commissioned by an exhibition which features over 100 stands from brands giving word-of-mouth advice would be expected to say as much.

But the results are still interesting.

Travel blogs, lest we forget about their impact on travel planning, appear to be almost nowhere on the radar as influential channels to find advice on places to go, scoring a lowly 13% in the poll.

So perhaps this new generation of supposedly tech-savvy travellers are just a bunch of luddites after all?

According to the survey, 85% of Blackberry users and 68% of iPhones owners would leave their mobiles at home when travelling, preferring (90%) to simply pack a camera (presumably a digital one!).

But surely the cool kids would still be logging into their social networks and updating their own travel blogs when on the road?

Nope.

Three out of ten would prefer to use email to keep in touch, compared to a quarter that use Facebook, 16% opting for SMS text messages, 15% with Skype, 12% preferring to call, 1% via Twitter.

NB: Backpacker image via Shutterstock.

With the ever-increasing proliferation of smartphones and tablets, mobile internet access and apps, consumers are becoming much more comfortable with browsing and shopping through the mobile.

As a result, many business sectors are having to really push forward their multi-channel strategy and approach to mobile, and travel is one of these.

There is one area of importance potentially above all others when it comes to successful mobile engagement – the experience.

Consumers have very personal relationships with their mobile devices, so it becomes even more crucial than on other digital channels, that the user experience is right and that the recipient is engaged with on their terms.

At Webcredible, we have been doing a lot of consultancy around the mobile user experience and have recently been working a lot within the travel sector.

A recent customer was Hotels.com, which wanted to optimise its mobile offering in line with customer requirements with the further aim of producing results that would improve brand experience, customer satisfaction and loyalty through the mobile channel.

This is a common problem, for many travel brands when looking to make moves in mobile.

The approach to mobile will differ according to the brand itself, but there are some best practice tips that travel brands can follow when looking to optimise the mobile experience for their customers.

1. Reduce the amount of content

Not everything shown on a PC site can fit reasonably onto a mobile web page, where space is short and every pixel counts.

It’s important to reduce the amount of content shown on the mobile-optimised version. Only include the most important content or features.

2. Use single column layouts

Website pages are difficult to view on small mobile phone screens. Even on smartphones like the iPhone with their relatively large screens, standard web pages load up zoomed out so that they can fit on the screen.

Instead, create single column pages that use up the whole width of the screen.

To add additional content the page should expand downwards rather than across, as scrolling down is easier than scrolling across and users generally prefer it.

3. Present the navigation differently

It’s difficult to fit the navigation across the top of the screen on a mobile web page, therefore you must look for alternative options to display the navigation.

A few options include:

• Place the navigation and site search at the top of the page and leave the content for later pages. This is suitable for users who want to navigate or search upon immediately finding the site – a common action with travel websites
• Place the navigation at the bottom – still accessible but doesn’t get in the way of the content
• Place the navigation in a dropdown link at the top of the page

4. Minimise text entry

Text entry on a mobile phone is much more difficult than when using a desktop or laptop keyboard, so mobile websites must take this into account.

Allowing users to store details in their “My Account” section is helpful, and if they already have an online account, then linking this to them as a mobile user will also avoid any unnecessary text entry.

5. Decide whether you need more than one mobile site

If your mobile website is only going to be seen by smartphone users with fast download speeds then one mobile version will be ok.

However, if you want a broader reach then you should consider creating a paired down version. Facebook goes as far as having three main mobile versions.

6. Take advantage of inbuilt functionality

Many mobile phones have an advantage over PCs – they come with lots of inbuilt functionality that most PCs don’t have.

You can make it easier for users to perform certain tasks by utilising a mobile’s inbuilt functionality and thereby remove the need for manual steps, for example; making calls, seeing an address on a map and finding the nearest.

However, although these kind of best practice guidelines can help with some ‘quick wins’ for your mobile proposition, travel brands must ensure that their mobile strategies are based on real insights into the behaviours and needs of their audiences and target markets through the customer lifecycle.

Live example

In the case of Hotels.com, Webcredible worked to gain more of an understanding of smartphone users’ use of mobile sites and applications (and any other activity) to guide the development of its mobile website and iPhone and Android apps.

The main objectives of the research was to learn:

How people use smartphones in relation to researching, planning and booking travel
How smartphones are used by travellers while they travel to their destination and how they’re used during holidays and business trips
What are the current barriers that prevent some users from travel-related smartphone use

We used diary study methods, interviews and expert analysis projects, along with its mobile industry knowledge and integrated research, to produce a set of guidelines and recommendations for Hotels.com to build its mobile strategy, which were detailed in a report which:

• Mapped smartphone use against the travel lifecycle
• Updated existing personas to include smartphone use
• Highlighted current attitudes and behaviours towards arranging hotels, flights, meals entertainment and other activities across digital channels
• Reported on how smartphones are being used to store travel-related information
• Discussed current barriers to using smartphones for bookings
• Offered ideas and suggestions for future smartphone opportunities

The importance of a mobile optimised website cannot be underestimated in the travel industry.

When online, if a user struggles to complete a task on your website, they are very likely to simply “drop-off” and go to a competitor’s site.

With the increase in speed of mobile devices and connections, this type of behaviour will become increasingly prevalent on mobile devices as well and travel brands need to ensure they’re providing a mobile user experience that seamlessly matches the online experience, making it easy for consumers to complete the tasks they want, when they want, through whichever platform they want.

NB: This is a guest article by Trenton Moss, director at UK-based Webcredible.

There was no such thing as an iPad in 2004.

Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams in two sets at Wimbledon that year.

And, in 2004, Kayak issued Blackberrys to all of its engineers so they could “communicate instantly 24/7,” according to a recent blog post.

Not that Kayak engineers getting Blackberrys as standard issue was as momentous an event as IBM exiting the PC business, but it was a sign of the times.

And, now the times have changed. Kayak announced that it is dropping support of its Blackberry app, meaning there will be no new features, updates or bug fixes.

“RIM [Research in Motion] was a smartphone pioneer and we thank them for what they’ve done, and wish them renewed success,” Kayak states. “BlackBerry was (and is) an amazing messaging platform. But it’s not working out to be a great channel for consumer mobile applications, which is what leads us to this sad post.”

It sounds like Kayak isn’t placing its bets on a RIM turnaround, although Robert Birge, Kayak’s chief marketing officer, says the company would reconsider support for its Blackberry app if RIM’s prospects change.

“We definitely want to support people who use BlackBerry but unfortunately RIM has been very unsuccessful in developing their platform for apps in anyway that makes it an attractive channel for a developer to invest,” Birge says. “It really was a simple cost/benefit decision — no/low growth, low usage per download, etc. Hopefully their updated mobile browser will make it easier for BlackBerry users to access services like Kayak via m.web.”

Kayak recently announced that its various apps have been downloaded more than 12 million times.

“We’ll invest resources against any successful platform,” Birge says. “Right now, we believe that iPhone and Android will be successful and hold out hope for Windows Phone.”

And, eight years from now … who knows.

Research entitled the ‘Beginning of the End of the PC Era?’ from web design and digital specialist Nucleus reveals the growth in traffic from mobile devices in January 2012 compared with August 2011 and shows luxury sites have the highest mobile penetration.

The studied carried out on 10 UK and international travel websites reveals some have witnessed a doubling in mobile web browsing over the six months with the top site generating 24.2% of its traffic from tablets and smartphones.

Apple devices dominate mobile browsing taking an average share of 85.6% of all mobile browsing devices and the figure increases for luxury brand websites.

Meanwhile, browsing using an Android device has dropped in the six months although there is evidence to show those devices are being used on mass market travel sites but iOS devices still do better.

Only the iPad has increased its share of the mobile web browsing market – up 12% in the past six months.

According to Nucleus the research demonstrates the need for brands to offer a good browsing experience for mobile phones and tablets and highlights the importance of optimising for touch, building in HTML 5 and using higher definition images.

Chief executive Peter Matthews says the research signals a clear move away from browsing on PCs almost exclusively just over a year ago.

He also points to forecast growth rates for the sale of tablet devices from 72 million now to 383m by 2017 according to an NPD study last month and the slowing rate of PC sales.

NB: Image via Shutterstock

David Chapple, event director at Travel Technology Europe 2012, which is including a dedicated zone for business travel technology in its coverage this year, reckons technology companies are unable to innovate or push developments in the sector forward “unless they have customers”.

This argument may not chime with some of the firms trying to bring new products to market to ride the technological revolution currently taking place in business travel.

But Chapple has a point.

He believes there are a number of companies that are doing creating interesting products to help save corporate travellers money in the long term.

But “they need companies that are willing to be their guinea pigs”, Chapple says, claiming that “at the end of the day, tech guys are just the facilitators – without a customer there wouldn’t be any technology”.

Chapple also believes there is another interesting evolution in travel technology, with tools which perhaps previously would’ve been seen as the preserve of leisure travellers, are now finding a role in corporate travel.

Travel managers use mobile travel tools for their own personal use, Chapple says, but increasingly their companies are realising that some of those services are useful for corporate clients as well.

There is therefore a need to pull leisure content into business travel services, especially in the mobile space, where travellers on-the-go can be serviced quickly but effectively, he adds.

This not only helps out the business travel world, but leisure travel technology and product suppliers as well.

“For leisure agents, it’s about diversification and tapping into new opportunities,” Chapple says.

NB: Tnooz is a media partner (and has a stand this year) for the show on February 7 and 8 2012, running four high-level debates over the course of the event.

NB2: Register for free here.

NB3: Play the TTE 2012 game.

NB4: Travel Technology Europe 2012 – Every exhibitor profiled

NB5: Globe image via Shutterstock.

ViewTrip is an existing desktop service for Travelport-connected customers, but the latest incarnation has been developed solely for Android and iPhone mobile devices.

ViewTrip Mobile is essentially a mobile travel concierge service which will be made available via travel agencies, primarily in the corporate travel sector.

Travelport CIO Mark Ryan first hinted that a mobile version of ViewTrip was in development in January this year.

Tools included on the service range from live flight alerts and updates and airport/city guides to GPS-enabled amenity and service finding tools (such as restaurants) and a currency converter.

But clearly the main element of the app is the management service, allowing users to add and edit travel arrangements from their handset.

Travelport’s ViewTrip Mobile joins the likes of the Mobile Travel Assistant from Amadeus and TripCase/GetThere mobile products through Sabre.

Travelport is introducing its effort in the UK first, with other countries expected to come on-board from the second quarter of 2012.

Corporate travel agency Chelsea Travel Management was involved in a testing programme for the tool, labelling it “one of the richest apps of its kind”.

Alongside my Tnooz Predictions 2012, where I pondered whether Apple might cosy up with Kayak, my response was that companies should focus on getting the basics right first (develop a coherent mobile strategy, create mobile optimized versions of their websites) before even worrying about what’s next.

I’m a big advocate for creating native or hybrid apps, depending on the type of engagement you desire with your customer (a topic for a whole other post), but creating a mobile optimized website is pretty much a must these days, considering how much search and browsing is done on mobile devices.

It seems a recent report from L2ThinkTank bears out my view.

The report focuses primarily on luxury brands, which they refer to as the Prestige100 (though I’m not quite sure how Macy’s makes the list – but I digress).

Though the report is limited to luxury brands, it’s my impression that the results are at least directionally applicable to the overall state of mobile maturity across various sectors.

Their research shows that many of these brands are not yet mastering the basics, as indicated by this chart recreated by eMarketer:

So what are the takeaways for the travel sector?

In many ways the results don’t differ much from what I had noted ten months ago in a previous article for Tnooz.

The only companies that fit into the Prestige100 were luxury hotels (one might have thought that carriers such as Singapore Airlines or Emirates, or luxury cruise lines like SilverSea, might have made the cut, but alas, no).

Intercontinental made the “Gifted” class and, as a whole, the “hospitality” segment averaged a score of 86, which falls into the “challenged” category.

The good news is that it puts the hospitality sector as the second highest rated industry, behind retail, but also shows there’s still a long way to go. And I would further speculate that the scores for the non-luxury hotels would come up even a bit lower still.

NB: The report from L2 is available is below:

Is NFC ready for prime time? 2011 saw just four articles on Tnooz tagged with NFC (Near Field Communication), one of which was a futuristic video.

2012 will undoubtedly see a lot more written about NFC (starting here), but the real question is, will passengers see widespread use of NFC-enabled smartphones?

In truth, it’s unlikely.

In this article, I’ll go into some detail about some of the lessons we’ve learned during a SITA Lab proof of concept project (developed with Orange Business Services), list some problems limiting adoption, and what the industry is doing to address these problems.

Why NFC has value for passengers

NFC offers many benefits to the travel industry but I’ll focus on the passenger self-service uses identified by the IATA Fast Travel Programme, and highlighted in the joint GSMA/IATA document on mobile NFC for Air Travel.

Of course passengers can already use mobile boarding passes at self-service touch points in the airport – automatic security gates, lounge access, self-boarding. But the experience is not as smooth as it could be, especially at the point of use in the airport.

For example, with self-boarding the passenger has to visually present the barcode by unlocking the phone and then accessing a web URL or navigating through a phone app. In the SITA Passenger Self- Service Survey (2011), SITA found that 21% of passengers did not use a phone to board because it was perceived as too complex, and 12% cited the risk of the phone not functioning properly.

NFC promises a simpler experience as passengers simply place their phone on the reader and the boarding pass is read automatically. Passengers don’t even need to switch their phone on, they just “tap and go”.

For NFC to justify the costs of rollout and deliver real benefits it must simplify the passenger experience, and not just be a technology swap. And this makes the “tap and go” experience important.

But NFC phones are already here – what’s the problem?

The major device manufacturers have either released devices with NFC capabilities, or have announced that they will do so in 2012. But not all NFC phones are made equal, and what is not made clear is what type of NFC communications they support.

By and large, they all support basic NFC tag reading. But, the most exciting thing you can do with an NFC phone ’off the shelf’ is to hold your phone to an advert and get even more adverts. So, what are the different NFC types, and why does it matter?

NFC comes in several flavours:

1. Reader/writer mode.

The use case here is to tap your phone against a smart tag (e.g. embedded in a poster) to get more info about that poster, maybe launch a web page. The phone reads data from the tag.

This is a good way for a passenger to get data but not a good way for the airport touch points to get data from the passenger.

2. Peer to Peer mode.

Hold two NFC phones together, or hold a NFC phone to a device and the devices will exchange information. This data can be anything from business card data to videos, to passenger data.

But Peer to Peer mode is user-initiated and features proprietary data exchange protocols. Again, not a great way for the airport touch points to get data from the passenger.

3. Card Emulation mode.

In this mode, the phone emulates a contactless smart card (such as the London Underground Oyster Card). A reader (e.g. boarding gate) can read a boarding pass from the phone.

And crucially, it does this without any user interaction.

When it comes to simplifying the user experience, card emulation is the crown jewel of NFC. It is the only NFC mode that will let a device read data from a phone without requiring the phone user to initiate the process or even take any active part in the process.

But to understand how it does this is to understand some of the problems holding NFC back. So, let’s consider what happens in card emulation mode.

Cardlets – not your ordinary app

But first, an introduction to the Secure Element and cardlets. The Secure Element is a special chip on the phone that can store data and run cardlets. There are multiple implementations of the Secure Element:

• In the GSMA model, the SIM acts as the Secure Element.
• Google Wallet uses an embedded Secure Element
• Visa is proposing using a secure memory card

In all cases, the cardlet is an application that executes on the Secure Element to manage data. It runs in this secure environment outside of the main phone OS. A Secure Element can contain multiple cardlets – each cardlet has a unique ID.

So, in the self-boarding scenario, the following sequence of events happen:

• The passenger holds the phone near a boarding gate NFC reader
• Boarding gate reader selects the cardlet from the Secure Element using the pre-assigned cardlet ID (there may be multiple cardlets on the Secure Element)
• The cardlet validates that the boarding gate is authentic by using a secret challenge/response
• The boarding gate reader then issues a query to get the appropriate boarding pass from the cardlet. (there may be more than one boarding pass on the phone)
• The cardlet responds with a boarding pass (data is encoded in format IATA Resolution 792 just like 2DBCs)

This brings up several problems, for which there are currently no standard solutions. Some problems must be solved by the air transport industry, and some must be solved by the mobile industry (mobile network operators, device manufacturers and mobile operating system vendors).

Mobile Industry Challenges:

1. How do you install a cardlet app on the Secure Element?

Not through the app store, that’s for sure! An update to the Secure Element can typically only take place over a contactless interface (e.g. charging your Oyster card) or Over The Air (OTA) via a Trusted Service Manager. But the developer community needs an API or a Service for this.

2. How do you send the boarding pass data to the Secure Element?

Again, the developer community needs an API or a service for this.

Air Transport Industry Challenges:

The challenges facing the air transport industry are ensuring the appropriate boarding pass is presented securely to authorized readers. A passenger can have more than one boarding pass stored on the phone but a security or gate reader should get the appropriate boarding pass automatically.

The appropriate boarding pass depends on the location (airport), the date or time, and the context (passenger boarding a flight, at security, duty free, lounge access, etc.).

• A reader must know the cardlet ID in order to query that cardlet. Should there be one cardlet for the ATI? Or a cardlet per airline, per alliance, airport or country/region? Given that each cardlet app must be uniquely identified, who will manage and allocate unique cardlet IDs?
• How to ensure security and a consistent way to retrieve a boarding pass between the reader and the various NFC- enabled phones.

For the mobile industry issues, we are seeing solutions emerge from GSMA (promoting the use of the SIM as the Secure Element).

They have established the Open Mobile API initiative which has already been incorporated into some Android NFC devices as a way for the application to access the Secure Element in an Android NFC phone.

Google has its Google Wallet which uses the embedded Secure Element, but it is a closed shop and there are no public APIs for Secure Element access. The picture is less clear when it comes to the other players such as RIM, Nokia and Microsoft. Apple, as is the norm, is silent on the issue.

IATA is taking the lead in the air transport industry and the Fast Travel Workgroup is working through the problems and opportunities to define the necessary standards to ensure NFC boarding passes can be use consistently across different airlines and airports. Interoperable standards are key to the success and adoption of NFC.

Next steps?

In 2012, SITA Lab will continue with NFC as a research project, both with Orange Business Services and others. Our aim is to release the current proof of concept “into the wild” (albeit on a limited basis), and to continue to work with industry organisations – such as IATA – airlines and airports to establish global standards to ensure the NFC ecosystem is as interoperable as current e-ticketing or 2DBC services.

As an industry, air transport must push the mobile industry players to solve problems that are blocking adoption. Watch this space.

Here is a clip:

NB: This is a guest article by Kevin O’Sullivan, lead engineer at SITA Lab.

NB2: Image via Shutterstock.

Who and what are you (including personnel and backgrounds)?

Near2there was formed in February 2010 by Peter Olfe and Bob Anderson, two entrepreneurs with extensive expertise in the mobile and location-based services industries. Bob and Peter are also both passionate world travellers.

• Peter, the CEO, has over 15 years experience in the mobile industry and has been an entrepreneur in location-based services for the past 6 years. He earned his BA from Middlebury College and his MBA from Columbia University.
• Bob, the CTO, has over 8 years experience in location-based services and was a pioneer in vehicle tracking systems. Bob earned his BS from Princeton University and his MS from Stanford University.

What financial support did you have to launch the business?

Near2there has been self-funded by the co-founders.

What problem are you trying to solve?

Near2there answers a fundamental need most people have: We hear and read about places all the time, but when we go out, we often forget them. Near2there makes sure that you never miss a place again.

Whether you want to remember a restaurant, a tourist site, or a shop, Near2there gives you easy ways to capture these locations on the web or on the go, gives you maps and directions, and, should you forget, alerts you when you are near to a location.

Describe the business, core products and services?

The Near2there service includes:

Smartphone app

• create placemarks for locations nearby or elsewhere
• automatically sync placemarks with web account
• view placemarks on map and get directions
• share placemarks via Twitter and Facebook
• receive audible and visual alerts when near to a placemarked location

Web interface

• create and manage placemarks
• share placemarks via Twitter and Facebook

Bookmarklet

• create placemarks for any address on any website
• automatically capture website URL for reference back to original content
• install easily on most browsers

Partner button API

• one-click button placed next to location-relevant content on partner sites
• capture website URL for reference back to original page, bringing partner content to users’ eyes when it is most relevant – when they are going out

Back end

• brings it all together

Who are your key customers and users at launch?

Smart phone users who like to try new places whether locally or abroad, and who get ideas from various sources.

Did you have customers validate your idea before investors?

We did a quiet launch on both the Android and iPhone platforms. Without any promotion, we had several thousand people download and try our service.

We received valuable feedback from these users, and this led to the development of our bookmarklet and version 2.0 of our iPhone app. We will launch a version 2.0 of our Android app later this Spring.

What is the business AND revenue model, strategy for profitability?

• Location-based advertising
• Location Intelligence – data and analysis linking online behavior with real-world activity for ad networks and media buyers
• White label solutions for major travel publishers

SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?

Strengths:

• team: experienced and skilled in both mobile and location-based services
• technology: proprietary solutions for background proximity monitoring and battery conservation
• product: focused, unique user experience

Weaknesses:

• Must teach consumers new habits.

Opportunities:

• Bridge the gap between online discovery and the real world around us.
• Enhance the value of online travel content by making it more timely and relevant.

Threats:

• Competition from companies in the same or neighboring spaces

Who advised you your idea isn’t going to be successful and why didn’t you listen to them?

One venture capitalist told us that he could already do the same thing (as our service does) using Google maps.

Our response: yes, you can use Google Maps in this way, but it requires three to four times as many steps to both capture and retrieve placemarks. You might as well stick to notebooks.

There are many companies creating easy to use “to do” lists. We are creating the ultimate “to go” list.

What is your success metric 12 months from now?

Within 2012 we aim to have over one million active users and have partnerships with five to ten major travel publishers.

Here is a clip:

NB: TLabs Showcase is part of the wider TLabs project from Tnooz.

Who and what are you (including personnel and backgrounds)?

Tripsy was created by two people – Ryan Kaminsky and Nav Kesher – who are passionate about using technology and their experiences to make travel more social, personal, and fun.

• Ryan has a BS and an MS in Computer Science, and an MBA in marketing from Duke University. He has worked at a number of top-notch tech and travel firms including TripAdvisor, Amazon and Microsoft and is currently a product manager at Yelp in San Francisco.
• Nav has a BS in engineering and an MBA in finance from USC. He has previously worked as a consultant and a financial analyst at US Airways and currently works in finance and business development.

Both founders are well versed in application development and although they aren’t developers at their “real” jobs, they passionately work on apps in their free time because they have ideas they want to share.

What financial support did you have to launch the business?

Currently the venture is completely self-funded by the two partners.

What problem are you trying to solve?

In 2011 smartphones accounted for 27% of photos up from 17% in 2010. While the number of smartphone pictures has grown dramatically, there haven’t been significant efforts in harnessing and using the metadata contained in these photos.

The information and media is essentially “trapped” on someone’s phone and won’t be freed to tell an interesting story without significant effort on the part of the user to tag, label, group and upload images.

Tripsy frees the travel experiences trapped in the pictures and videos on someone’s iPhone, enabling the user to:

Have their stories automatically created using these pictures and videos as well as the location and timeline data attached to this media
Share travel stories with family and friends

Describe the business, core products and services?

We believe that you shouldn’t have to do a lot of work to organize and share your travel stories.

Tripsy is an iPhone application that makes it easy for people to create a virtual passport of their travel experiences by unlocking the “information in their photos”, which can then be used to share travel stories in new and interesting ways.

In a nutshell, Tripsy reads all the photos and videos on your iPhone, organizes and displays them by city and plots the path you travelled on a map while in that city.

All this is done automatically without any effort required by the user other than kicking off the process.

After the initial organization, people are free to further curate their travels if they like or they can begin to share their stories through email or on Facebook by creating mosaic travel postcards in just a few taps.

We are currently working on new and exciting ways to organize, storyboard and share trips–with minimum effort on the part of users. Further out, we plan to build a community around the virtual passport, postcards and travel stories and launch on more platforms.

Who are your key customers and users at launch?

At official launch, our key users will be influential writers and bloggers in the world of travel and technology. This will aid in getting momentum building for the app.

However we are most excited that ANYONE who has taken photos with their iPhone will be able to use and benefit from our app.

And we truly believe they will be surprised and delighted at being able to relive their travels and the cities they’ve visited with one simple tap.

Did you have customers validate your idea before investors?

Our approach has been to quietly release the app on iTunes and gather feedback from customers, iterate and then launch a more significant marketing and partnership effort.

Thus far, the app has been very well received and there have been some common themes within the feedback that we plan to address in an update shortly.

We plan to iterate for a few more cycles before approaching investors.

What is the business AND revenue model, strategy for profitability?

We intend to offer the app for free on various platforms starting with iOS. Our revenue will come from:

• Selling physical postcards that customers create in the app
• Selling app add-ons that allow users more options to create visually stunning and unique postcards
• Enhanced/Advanced organizational options for trips

When we build out a community of users we will explore additional revenue and profitability opportunities.

SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?

Strengths:

• Ease of use
• Quick collection of content
• Unique organization of content
• Team – strong experience in technology and travel
• First mover advantage

Weaknesses:

• New/unknown product
• Lack of online presence

Opportunities:

• Content collection partnerships: online travel and related sites are looking for content (TripAdvisor’s Cities I’ve Visited and Where I’ve Been, Gogobot, Google maps images)
• Expansion into social
• Partnerships with photo/postcard products

Threats:

• Duplication of automatic processing model and functionality by one of a number of companies in related areas

Who advised you your idea isn’t going to be successful and why didn’t you listen to them?

When we first discussed the idea of Tripsy, we brainstormed its feasibility with a number of friends in the travel and tech industries.

Although most seemed excited about the idea, they ultimately chose not to work on the product, an indication of their skepticism.

Their two main arguments were that the model of creating a travel story while “in trip” is more desirable and that the app store already has a slew of apps, which, if used together, could produce the same result as Tripsy.

We strongly believed that these arguments miss out on unique insights. Our app fits in naturally with the way people most often enjoy travel.

They visit places, snap photos of enjoyable moments and don’t want to take time out to “document” what is happening in the moment. When they return to their hotel or back home, they can let Tripsy effortless build their travel stories.

We know people love an integrated experience in a single app that requires minimal effort, yet produces never-before-seen results.

Using several apps to (possibly) reproduce Tripsy requires much more effort than the average traveler will put forth.

What is your success metric 12 months from now?

Our short-term success metric is downloads. We would like to achieve 100,000 downloads in 2012.

Our longer term success metric is user engagement. We would like users to continually return to our app to view their trips, process new trip photos and send and share more postcards.

Measuring posts on Facebook and other social-sharing platforms will be an important metric for measuring engagement.

NB: TLabs Showcase is part of the wider TLabs project from Tnooz.

The free app offers travellers the latest tips from locals as well as the ability to save favourites without the need to go online.

A study released in October revealed two-thirds of consumers blame high roaming charges for not using their mobile phones while on holiday.

Here’s a clip of the Spotted by Locals app:

Any new and updated tips can be downloaded once travellers go online.

Spotted by Locals city guides can also be downloaded from within the app at a cost of £2.49.

Because travelers are inherently “mobile”, it’s natural that travel companies have been early adopters in mobile, often blazing the trail in the mobile industry.

They were the first to have a transactional mobile site, first to leverage mobile apps, first to reach a global audience, and so forth.

By understanding the mobile traveler’s behavior, companies can leverage different mobile technologies to create new experiences that ease a traveler’s journey.

A notification strategy, for instance, is a great way to capitalize on existing technologies that can benefit the mobile traveler.

This article outlines top tips on how travel brands can use push notifications, SMS, and email notifications to maximize their customer engagement in the travel space.

1. Pushing information to plugged-in users

Push notifications is a native functionality in an app, where data can be sent to a user’s smartphone based on their location. Even if the app is closed, these messages can pop up on the user’s home screen to alert users with targeted messages.

This provides an effective way for travel companies to notify consumers of the latest travel warnings, deals, offers, flight changes, and more.

Delta Airlines is a great example of a travel company that has not only been successful in its overall mobile presence but has also effectively used push notifications that add value to the traveler.

In the era of smartphones, Delta recognized the importance of providing their customers with up-to-the-minute travel alerts, incorporating push notifications into their native app that immediately updates travelers with relevant flight information, warnings, deals, and more.

2. Texting campaigns have a real impact

With the rapid expansion of mobile broadband and wireless technology, travel companies have found that SMS allows them to effectively communicate with consumers in both a personal and timely manner.

Consumers must opt in to receive SMS alerts, ensuring that travel brands only send messages to consumers who are receptive to receiving them. SMS is an extremely effective means for travel companies to interact with consumers on an ongoing basis to deepen brand loyalty.

The Hilton Hotel Group has successfully leveraged text messaging to increase guest numbers to its hotels and build customer loyalty. SMS enables Hilton to instantly send out important marketing messages such as on-site specials and promotions, at the most appropriate time of day.

As a result of their text messaging efforts, the hotel has seen a 10-25% increase in offer redemptions, an increase in conversion that is a direct result of putting relevant content in front of the right people.

Similarly, Delta Airlines uses text messages as a way to keep travelers up to speed on crucial flight information. Users can choose to subscribe and get updates on all flights, or receive a one-time alert on a specific flight.

Both options provide users with up-to-the minute alerts on flight cancellations, delays, and schedule changes.

3. Maximizing email notifications in mobile

With more than 20% of email marketing messages read on mobile devices, it’s essential for travel brands make sure that all links users visit from their smartphones direct them to a mobile optimized view of the site.

Additionally, deep links, which are links that bring users to a subsection of the website beyond the homepage, must also be optimized for mobile in order to maximize the traffic that is driven to the site from mobile devices.

For example, if a smartphone user follows a link from an email campaign that directs them to the standard desktop page view, they are likely to be discouraged by the slower load time and having to zoom in to properly engage with the promotion.

This reduces the change that the customer will convert and will decrease the likelihood of them engaging with the brand via mobile in the future.

US Airways is a great example of a travel company that has been leveraging the advantages of notifications. Through its flight notification system, BeNotified, travelers can sign up to receive emails with up-to-the minute departure, arrival, delay and cancellation information.

With email marketing messages increasingly read from mobile phones, all travel companies must ensure that their email notifications support links that direct readers to a version of the site properly formatted, regardless of the device they’re using at the time.

4. Use mobile to deliver timely content to travelers

Simply offering an optimized mobile site is no longer sufficient in fully engaging and retaining customers. In order to set themselves apart from competitors, travel companies must find new ways to actively engage and add value to their customers who are constantly on-the-go.

Offering an optimized mobile presence is a first step, but travel companies can build on this by actively delivering relevant information to the customer in a timely and effective manner.

Strategically incorporating tactics like push notifications, SMS, and email notifications allow travel companies to do just that.

NB: This is a guest article by Jason Taylor, head of platform strategy and innovation at Usablenet.

NB2: Image via Shutterstock.

The price tracking feature, a first for the flight search specialist across any of its platforms, takes advantage of the Windows Phone capability and enables users to put a Live Tile on the home screen of their device and track the price of selected flights.

Prices are automatically updated every hour.

Skyscanner adds the Windows Phone app to its existing iPhone and Android apps which have been downloaded almost 5 million times according to the company.

British Airways recently demonstrated developments it is considering for the Windows Phone.

The jury is still out on the Windows Phone  however with Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer admitting at a recent analyst event that the company had not sold as many as it had hoped in its first year since launch.

The life of the multi-device travel booker is changing, offering an incredible opportunity for travel companies of all shapes and sizes.

But for me, working in the customer experience space, I’m constantly astounded by how many companies seem to forget the part they have to play in the two-way relationship between brand and consumer that is a reality today in our online, socially-connected world.

Research we have been working on clearly shows how few opportunities travel companies have to get it right when it comes to providing a good customer experience, no matter what device consumers are using.

At a general level, we find that 42% say a positive online experience when booking a holiday is important. And, on mobile, the research is even clearer; 40% mobile bookers surveyed said they would expect their experience booking or researching a holiday on a mobile device to be the same or better than on a desktop computer.

If they did struggle when using a mobile device, 46% of those with a mobile device said it would negatively affect their feelings towards the brand and 38% would be likely to book their next holiday with a different provider based on the poor mobile experience.

These are the kind of results that make a CFO or CEO suddenly sit up and see the importance of not just ‘doing mobile’, but doing it right.

The truth is, British consumers, like many others around the world, are incredibly web savvy these days.

After 15 years of ecommerce, there is zero tolerance for sites that don’t deliver a near perfect experience and, with competitors a click away, travel ebusinesses have never had to work so hard to keep our custom. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that ebookers would continue to have similarly low expectations for the latest new digital trends like mobile.

It just isn’t the case. Online bookers see online as one channel, regardless of the device they are using. While travel companies are eager to increasingly have a specific mobile strategy, consumers aren’t compartmentalising in the same way.

The bad news for businesses is that meeting these high expectations will take a lot of hard work. Developing an effective ecommerce strategy that encompasses new trends like mobile and social commerce won’t happen overnight.

And while consumers don’t need to understand that everything works in different ways across different devices or platforms, businesses must because there is a massive opportunity. And, as seen above, a big brand reputation headache is the cost of getting it wrong.

The time to act is now.

These high consumer expectations mean companies have no time to waste. Travel companies have had a long time to get it right online, but with emerging technologies they are not getting any benefit of the doubt.

And the complications aren’t decreasing any time soon. In the last two years it’s been all about smartphones, for the next two it’s going to be smartphones and tablets. And who knows what will follow after that.

We all just might be transacting on Facebook in the near future. So putting in place a platform-proofed strategy for the short and long term will be vital.

Of course, the potential rewards are plentiful, you just have to make sure that the consumer experience – no matter what device they use – is as good as it can possibly be.

NB: This is a guest article by Geoff Galat, chief marketing officer at Tealeaf.

NB2: Full report and research available from Tealeaf.

NB3: Image via Shutterstock.

Welcome to Scotland, the website operated by a group of major visitor attractions in the region, aims to provide a richer experience via mobile devices, with augmented reality part of a general iPhone and Android app for visitors.

The app provides all of the usual information including maps, places to stay and destination information without users having to enable data roaming.

It also uses the GPS technology on the handset to provide suggestions of things to do and incorporates a ‘What’s That?’ augmented reality function to give further information on some of Scotland’s historic sites.

The Welcome to Scotland app costs £2.99 and is being hailed as the most technologically advanced tourism app in Europe.

The technology behind the augmented reality part of the application is powered by GeoVector.

Here is a clip:

The app gives users access to a full range of capabilities including booking options and flight status as well as allowing them to book baggage, sports equipment and speedy boarding.

It also enables passengers to log in and manage flights and store future bookings in line with the airline’s strategy to attract a greater chunk of the business travel market.

The app, which is available in five languages, has been developed in conjunction with Mobile Travel Technologies and uses its recently released Next Generation platform.

The technology enables travel companies to develop one app for all devices but adds a layer of code on top to take advantage of the capabilities within each device.

Release of the iPhone and Android app comes just two months after the airline unveiled a beta mobile site for Blackberry users.

An easyJet Deutschland app, developed by a separate company, is to be removed from the App Store with any users notified to download the new service.

The airline says further developments are in the pipeline for the app.

The free app for iPhone and iPod touch was available today from the App Store, and downloads would be limited to the first 100,000 people for the beta.

Lonely Planet’s recommendations don’t get priority placement in the app, a Lonely Planet spokeswoman says, although it is branded Wenzani by Lonely Planet.

Wenzani is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lonely Planet.

Wenzani is a Zulu greetings for “what are you doing,” and the app covers recommendations on restaurants entertainment, events, shopping, hotels, and cultural activities, including those geared for kids.

“Wenzani’s technology presents the content according to context and relevancy, taking into consideration the user’s location and their social network so that the information is constantly uploaded while on the go” the company says. “Soon, Wenzani will filter by other factors such as weather, time of day and whether the user is a local or visitor so it becomes more tailored and relevant to the user’s needs in real time.”

Of course, Wenzani has the requesite social travel elements. Users can view friends recommendations, compile them or ask their friends questions.

“Like any platform, Wenzani offers publishers a chance to get their brand and content in front of consumers,” the spokeswoman says.

Asked about the business model among competitors, the spokeswoman says “later iterations of the guide may include monetization opportunities, from which our our partners will share revenue, but we’re still working out if and how that would happen.”

The free nature of the app represents a departure for Lonely Planet, which primarily offers paid apps for its various city and country guides.

However, that doesn’t preclude Wenzani eventually becoming a paid app once the limited public beta is completed.

Here’s a video explaining the app:

Introducing Wenzani from Wenzani on Vimeo.

A result of this is that businesses across the industry, whether they are suppliers, intermediaries or travel technology companies still need to establish the best course of action for their overall strategy.

Here you can learn about the latest social and mobile trends, solutions and opportunities through this exclusive webinar hosted by Tnooz and Sabre.

The panelists for this 60-minute webinar were:

• Will Pinnell, Sabre Holdings director, mobile strategy and traveler solutions
• Sarah Kennedy Ellis, Sabre Travel Network manager for social solutions

• Kevin May, Tnooz editor and moderator

Here is the full video of the webinar:

And the slides:

Many people have and Play Technologies might have the solution with an application for iPhone and iPad aimed at anyone who travels and wants to avoid scams.

The Around the World in 80 Scams app offers details on 80 of the most common scams a traveller might comes across.

The app costs £6.99 and draws advice and examples from the author’s travel experiences as well as third party sources.

It is divided into 10 sections covering everything from cash/credit card scams, accommodation scams and internet scams to the potentially more serious extortion and fraud crime.

Watch out for the airline in-flight magazine reference. Worth two minutes and 39 seconds of your time.