SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LodgeNet Interactive
Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), the leading provider of interactive
media and connectivity services to hospitality and healthcare
businesses and the consumers they serve, has launched the hotel
industry's first mobile application that brings together guest
entertainment, hotel services, and local area guide information,
and puts it into the palm of travelers' hands. For hoteliers it
provides an innovative new channel to quickly, easily, and
cost-effectively reach and communicate with guests through their
mobile devices.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080115/AQTU120LOGO)
With smartphone penetration reaching 75% among travelers(1) and
tablet usage skyrocketing, the patent-pending LodgeNet Mobile App
presents the hotel industry with an opportunity to connect with
more guests and travelers as their intentions and needs continue to
evolve.
"The LodgeNet Mobile App is unique and has broad appeal to
travelers. For the first time, guests can now control their in-room
TV using their iPhone®, iPad® or Android™. The app is available in
over 500,000 rooms, spanning multiple hotel brands in all 50 states
and Canada," says Derek S. White, President of Interactive &
Media Networks for LodgeNet. "This in turn, grants hoteliers
unprecedented access to over 200 million traveling consumers and
the opportunity to provide guest communications that can be
customized according to a hotel's unique attributes and with
services and information that impact their bottom line."
By engaging travelers through devices they already have a
relationship with – their smartphones and tablets – hotels will
gain valuable insights into key drivers of their guests' travel
experience that is specific to that hotel property. Hotels are able
to use that information to tailor offerings to maximize their
revenue potential and customer retention.
Fully Customizable Platform Tailors the Mobile App for the
Hotel
Most travel apps only encompass a small part of the travel
experience like planning and booking trips, whereas LodgeNet's
Mobile App focuses on the complete trip experience to extend
traveler reach, adoption, and most importantly, engagement – before
and after check-in and anywhere on the property.
"We developed the LodgeNet Mobile App with three major areas in
mind: In-Room, In-Hotel, and In-Area services. Our primary focus is
on the in-room entertainment section. But by pairing this
functionality with hotel and local information, we've armed
hoteliers with a powerful tool that can complement an existing
mobile program or be implemented as a stand-alone mobile platform,"
says Todd Kelly, Vice President of
Mobile for LodgeNet.
LodgeNet is now offering hoteliers the ability to brand and
customize this app, centering on the "My Hotel" section of the
application. A suite of services is now available, allowing hotel
partners to "speak in their own voice" by selecting among the
following sample features/functionality:
Branding and Promotion: "My Hotel" section of the app can
be fully modified with brand logos and property-specific images and
promotional copy.
mCompendium: A real-time hotel and area overview can be
produced and maintained digitally; eventually replacing the costly
and unwieldy in-room compendium.
Folio Review and Mobile Check-Out: A simple and automated
feature providing guests the ability to check-out remotely through
the property management system.
In-Room Dining: From breakfast cards to full room service
menu options, research has shown that guests prefer to use
interactive systems to place orders(2).
Hotels manage the updating and publishing simply and easily
using the LodgeNet PowerPortal™, a cloud-based content management
tool. Furthermore, for hotels using LodgeNet's new Envision™
interactive television system, this provides for full 4-screen
control, publishing to both the iTV system and the mobile devices
all at the same time. A dedicated staff is in place to work
with hotels on development and maintenance. This combined with
sophisticated management and reporting tools will enable the hotels
to continually improve and customize the guest offerings and
communiques.
"Our Mobile App has the power to connect the traveler with the
hotel brand by establishing more touch points, and supporting more
promotions and payment options. At the same time, we are creating
new revenue and loyalty opportunities for hotels," said White.
To download the free LodgeNet Mobile App, go to the Apple® App
Store or the Android™ Market.
For more information about the LodgeNet Mobile Platform and
Application, please contact Ann
Parker, Director of Corporate Communications at LodgeNet
Interactive at (605) 988-1000, or for Trade Press inquiries,
Vanessa Horwell, Media Relations
Liaison at (305) 749-5342 x 232 or vanessa@thinkinkpr.com.
(1) Source: November 2011 research
by PhoCusWright Inc.
(2) Source: Cornell University
Study
About LodgeNet
LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of
interactive media and connectivity services to hospitality and
healthcare businesses and the consumers they serve. Recently named
by Advertising Age as one of the Leading 100 US Media Companies,
LodgeNet Interactive serves approximately 1.7 million hotel rooms
worldwide in addition to healthcare facilities throughout
the United States. The Company's
services include: Interactive Television, Broadband, Mobile and
Advertising Media Solutions along with nationwide technical and
professional support services. LodgeNet Interactive Corporation
owns and operates businesses under the industry leading brands:
LodgeNet, The Hotel Networks and LodgeNet Healthcare. LodgeNet
Interactive is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET.
For more information, please visit www.lodgenet.com .
LodgeNet and the LodgeNet logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation. Other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE LodgeNet Interactive Corporation