Mobiles best for selling holiday extras
Travel's best bet on cashing in on the mobile revolution is through selling ancillaries or improving customer service.
Speaking at the TravelMole Industry Question Time in London last night, the panel agreed that mobiles may never become a major booking tool for holidays.
They believe the ancillaries around such bookings are where the money lies while mobiles can also be used to drive business and improve customer service.
“Mobile's a way of servicing your existing clients," said Paul Middleton, sales and marketing director of travel application specialist, Cloudworks Solutions.
“If they've booked a flight and they're on the way to the airport and the flight's delayed, then contact them and offer them a lounge pass.”
Adam Winterford, managing director of mobile travel service company Travel Buddy, said the travel industry should also be looking to provide location-based service for customers.
He cited the example of someone on holiday in Palma deciding to hire a car and being
able to use an app from their tour operator to do so.
However, Guy Beresiner, head of partnerships for Yahoo, added there is still some
catching up needed by the banks to ensure mobile transactions are easy and secure,
so that consumers are confident to make them.
He added: “Banking has a role, although what the banks are telling us is there's
enough demand to looking at transactions with a mobile and developing that access.”
Winterford added destinations could also make money by charging businesses such as
car hire firms or restaurants to advertise through their own mobile site, meaning consumers can quickly find the closest business to them that they need.
Beresiner said using mobile to send information on anything from taxis from the airport to good local restaurants not only engenders greater client loyalty but is also a cost-efficient way of doing so.
However, all the panel agreed all information sent on mobile must be accurate, useful and timely if you are to avoid upsetting the customer.
“If you deliver what people want at the right time they don't have a problem with it. It is when you deliver it at the wrong time, that's when it is a problem as a mobile is very personal and the information needs to be too,” said Winterford.
By Ed Robertson
TIQT is sponsored by Getabed Uk, amadeus and Yahoo
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