Mobile & Innovation in online travel: let the 2016 action begin

Whether you are a big name or small start up, innovation is the name of the game. So where else to show your mobile metal, but in San Francisco?

If there were just two words to apply to the evolving world of online travel today, they would have to be ‘mobile’ and ‘innovation’.

According e-Marketer, in 2016, 51.8% of all digital bookings will take place on a mobile device, up from 43.8% in 2015. e-Marketer also finds that this year half of online travel transactions in the US will be made on a mobile device.

However, as Gina Baillie, EyeforTravel GM stresses, in order to secure those mobile bookings, now more than ever travel brands need to take a uniquely innovative approach. “Inventiveness and innovation in mobile will be what our judges will be looking for at our upcoming Mobile Innovation in Travel Awards in San Francisco,” she says.

So, now into its fifth consecutive year, the stakes for these travel awards could not be higher andbig name innovators and exciting new entrants are already in the running.

As always, there are three categories to win in: Best Mobile App, Best Mobile User Experience and Best Mobile Solution. 

For the best app crown, a number of firms have already made the second round. Among those household names like Hilton Worldwide, TripAdvisor, easyJet and Expedia’s recent acquisition, HomeAway. 

But you certainly don’t have to be big to be innovative and, as always, there are some less well-known names in the running too. Otocast, for example, provides a platform for narrated audio guides that can be “used for exploring, navigating and discovering more about your surroundings, wherever you are in the world”. Another is crowdsourced video platform Vidpal, a “real-time video marketplace connecting users across the globe”.

In a world where you only have 30 seconds to grab your customer’s attention, a poor user experience impacts directly on the bottom line.  So category two is arguably the most competitive. Here the judges will be looking for insights into how the hopefuls (which include Alaska and American Airlines, metasearch engine Dohop and airport Lounge Buddy) tackled any problems in getting it right. Of course usability, functionality and technology choices will also be scrutinised; competitors will need quantitative and qualitative data to back up their claims.

In the third and final category – Best Mobile Solution – strategic technology decisions will be, with a particular focus on the importance of solutions that deliver relevant local content! This category has attracted the biggest number of lesser-known names (global airport app, Flio, hotel software firm Monscierge, and the global airport app and Roaming Around, which claims to be ‘the only platform uniting all location based services’).

Just for the record, previous winners and finalists of these awards include: KLM, TripAdvisor, Marriott, Hotels.com, Best Western, IHG, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Worldmate, Silvercar, Hotwire, Checkmate, BookAssist and more!

Start up boost

Speaking of newer players, EyeforTravel recognises the need to nurture fledgling firms that could help define the future travel landscape. Another feature of the San Francisco conference is the Start Up Village, which gives aspiring travel brands the chance to pitch their idea against others, while also hearing tips and tricks of the travel trade from those that have made it.

Charles Ralston, a previous attendee of the Start Up Village has this to say:  "The Startup Village is a really great value for money, especially for startups that typically can't afford to spend thousands on conferences.”

The finalists in this year’s Start Up competition – firms that have had less than a $3.5m investment and began trading after June 2011 - will be announced in February. Previous finalists include winner spacebase, and runners up africabookings.com and bellhop.

Get voting for the mobile innovation movers of the future, or sign up for the Start up Village to be held at Mobile & Innovation Strategies for Travel 2016 (March 14-15)

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