According to a survey conducted by KRC Research and commissioned by Omni Hotels & Resorts, business travelers use mobile and social apps for a variety of purposes. They also order important services via their mobile devices and computers.
While business travelers look to apps for their business needs, they also use them to manage their personal lives remotely, according to Omni.
Fifty-six percent of 200 respondents said they used these apps to adjust their travel plans, while 49 percent said they made dinner reservations and 43 percent checked the latest sports scores.
Meanwhile, 41 percent used mobile and social apps to check into a hotel, 39 percent looked for the nearest coffee spot, 34 percent updated Facebook, 34 percent looked for the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and 21 percent tweeted about travel.
“Nearly one third of younger business travelers, ages 25 to 34, were more likely to order perks that make their hotel stay more comfortable; over 40% tweet about their travels and 65% enjoy updating Facebook to let everyone know where they are,” according to Omni's press release about the survey.
Car service to the airport was the most commonly ordered service via mobile devices or computers for business travelers, with 59 percent of the response. This was followed by anything that would allow for multitasking with 48 percent, special arrangements with 46 percent, room service with 44 percent, more pillows/blankets with 25 percent and a cocktail with 24 percent.
The survey also found that 61 percent of business travelers use complimentary Wi-Fi in the evening to randomly surf the Web, 49 percent use it to pay bills online, 40 percent check Facebook or another social network, 34 percent Skype/chat with family, 24 percent download a TV show or movie, 24 percent play video games and 14 percent said “All I do is work.” (Yeah, right.)
Fifty-five percent said they never tweet while on a business trip, and 11 percent said they tweet often. Of those who tweet during their stay at a hotel, positive experiences such as free room upgrades (70 percent) and free Wi-Fi (62 percent) were more popular topics of discussion than negative experiences.
According to Experian Hitwise, Google Maps was the top website for the travel industry, ranked by visits for the week ending June 26, with 15.22 percent of the visits. MapQuest was second with 8.95 percent, followed by Expedia with 3.20 percent, Southwest Airlines with 2.35 percent and priceline.com with 2.02 percent.
Meanwhile, 12.7 million smart-phone users accessed maps via an application during April, up 177 percent from the same month in 2009, according to comScore. On the other hand, 8.9 million accessed maps via a browser during the month, up 93 percent year-over-year.
Mobile maps were most likely accessed while driving or riding in a car or other vehicle (87.2 percent), while graphical maps with turn-by-turn directions (60.3 percent) were the most popular type of map or directions accessed.
Sources:
http://www.omnihotels.com/AboutOmniHotels/Press/PressReleases/100628PressRelease.aspx
http://www.hitwise.com/us/datacenter/main/dashboard-10133.html
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/6/Apps_for_Maps_Smartphones_Drive_Gains_in_U.S._Mobile_Navigation
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