The days when parents discouraged their children from using their mobiles and tablets while on holiday have passed, and the tables have turned. It was recently reported that 61% of parents have admitted to giving their phone or tablet to their children to distract them on holiday, and with the growing reach of hotel Wi-Fi, this number is only expected to rise. The hotelier should be considering certain ways in which they can take advantage of this, because it is an opportunity to provide an easily adaptable, more efficient customer experience.

A personalised app can be very beneficial for the hotelier, as newcomer m-hospitality has highlighted. One advantage to it is that the hotelier can take advantage of in-app purchases, and have their products displayed wherever the guest is, through their smartphone app. At times on holiday, parents have to give in to what their kids want. If the hotelier can tap into the ‘what the kids say, goes’ attitude that so many parents have when on holiday, they can see a significant increase in the amount of in-store sales.

Location-specific apps, such as RedRover and m-hospitality are also useful for the hotelier in regards to the safety of their young guests. Parents are much more at-ease in a foreign country if they are confident their child is in a safe environment, so limiting their abroad communication to a resort-specific guests can take a lot of weight off the parents’ shoulders. Certain tracking apps like Sygic Family, Life360 and mamaBear are also convenient to modern-day family guests, because the parents are more at ease and less stressed out, leading to a better customer experience as a result.

Alerts of resort events and activities sent to guests can also help to drive sales within the hotel. If every person with a smartphone receives a reminder about a certain show or interactive exhibit that charges on the door, more people are likely to attend (especially if they are all-inclusive).

It’s related to the ‘what the kids say, goes’ attitude; the children will be notified, and the parents will pay for it. If a hotelier was to manipulate their app to offer this service, they would see a further increase in the amount of resort-specific purchases.

Can you provide some examples of hotels that create the best technological experience for kids while on holiday?