A new mobile technology start-up, TripCraft, has emerged. It has been formed by hotel technology industry veterans Bill Nicholson and Mike Murray.

Published: 18 Jun 2010

A new mobile technology start-up, TripCraft, has emerged. It has been formed by hotel technology industry veterans Bill Nicholson and Mike Murray.

The new company says it has developed the hotel industry’s first enterprise-level platform and consumer application for the delivery of rich hotel content, real-time reservations, on-property services and local destination information via smart phones.

Luxury hotelier Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has been signed on as its first customer.

The company expects to launch Mandarin Oriental’s private-labeled iPhone/iPad app later this summer, with full access to reservations and content at Mandarin Oriental’s 25 operating properties in 15 countries.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will launch its TripCraft application to its customers as another alternative to its mobile website which can be accessed from any mobile device at mandarinoriental.com.

Gap

“We noticed that there were a plethora of technology and hotel companies trying to use standalone apps on mobile devices as a new reservations and content delivery channel, but none had yet created a full enterprise-level technology architecture that could effectively manage rich mobile content, real-time integrated inventory access and mobile device customer marketing capabilities, ” said TripCraft Co-Founder Mike Murray.

“We’ve developed a native application that accesses our proprietary content servers, which in turn integrates directly with a hotel’s central reservations system (CRS), property management system (PMS) or other internal systems, enabling real-time access to dynamic content and reservations capabilities. We have yet to see any other technology on the market that can provide this type of functionality while giving hoteliers complete control over their mobile presence and guest experience,” Murray said.

According to Nicholson, TripCraft’s private-labeled hosted service is the ideal mobile technology solution for brand- and image-conscious hoteliers that recognise the revenue potential of this new sales channel and want to capture the consumer’s attention and extend their brand’s reach.

Features

Initially available for iPhone/iPad, TripCraft expects to roll-out its application to Android and Blackberry handheld devices early next year.

TripCraft’s key features include:

• Easily downloadable free hotel-branded mobile app.
• Hoteliers can publish new and updated content and have it immediately available to consumers.
• Seamless integration with existing hotel systems to leverage rich media content and room inventory for mobile commerce.
• Provides consumers with full-featured reservations capabilities, media gallery, destination guides, location-based services and more.
• TripCraft’s dashboard enables hoteliers to communicate to consumers in real-time for marketing promotions, concierge and customer service.
• Guests can store their profile information and preferences for easy access to make reservations, concierge and service requests, and receive promotions directly from the TripCraft mobile app.
• Integrated analytics and reporting to show who’s using the app and how.

Expertise

Nicholson has been associated with Pegasus Solutions, where he played a major role in developing many hotel industry technology “firsts,” such as the first GDS and Internet distribution platform for hotels, Travelweb.com, and the first travel agency commission payment processing system.

Murray is a 20-year technology veteran and known for creating one of the hotel industry’s most innovative SaaS-based Internet platforms while CEO at HubX. He also led the development of the RedX central reservation system while CIO at SynXis, and was vice president of airline reservation systems at ITA Software.