Online booking site, Hotels.com has expanded its business outside of accommodation and into a completely unexpected area… fast food. Uhhhh, what?
The website unveiled a new app this week called ‘Hotels.com Concierge’, which acts like a digital concierge and even lets users order pizza while on holidays.
Question. Maybe two. Why is anyone ordering a pizza (outside a restaurant) on holidays? And where’s room service?
Pizza ordering is really just one of many features on the new app. It’s designed to assist those with terrible navigation skills, issues communicating with locals or those with a lackadaisical attitude to discovering new cities and also allows travellers to find local activities, reserve tables at top restaurants and book rides.
For Hotels.com customers, the app will also automatically update activities and restaurants on the day their hotel stay begins. For others, it will use location settings to provide nearby options.
Hotels.com Senior Director of Mobile, Daniel Craig, said the company is the first to develop a full concierge service that acts like a “one-stop-shop for travellers’ ‘local needs'”.
“Mobile is changing the way people travel, and at the forefront of that we’re constantly innovating and investing in mobile, to offer more than just hotel bookings.”
Daniel Craig, Hotels.com Senior Director of Mobile
“We want to make our customers lives easier before, during and after their trip.”
He hopes that one day it will be sophisticated enough for travellers to have their clothing washed and ironed.
The Hotels.com Concierge app is powered by Button, a contextual commerce platform that connects consumers to the products or services they need at the touch of a button, leveraging the extensive range of partners in the Button Marketplace.
It is available to download on iOS, Android and Amazon Kindle.