Would you love to switch to Google Apps and move your computing to the cloud – but don’t know how the process works?

Today I talk with Susan Cline and Jim McNelis of Dito, a firm that specializes in helping companies transition to Google Apps:

[Download the MP3 file]

I wanted to do this interview – and introduce you to Dito – because I know so many hoteliers that would gladly switch over to Google Apps, but don’t know anyone who could help them do this. So I hope this conversation helps explain the process.

On the call, we talked about:

• Advantages for switching over to Google Apps
• Common questions people have about switching
• What people need to know before they switch
• Data migration issues
• The deployment process
• A story of a company that switched over successfully
• Where Google falls short, and how to supplement their tools

Thanks to Jim and Susan for explaining the process!

Location-based social networking services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Yelp have exploded in popularity recently, and many hotels are still trying to figure out what role they should take in participating. What if it could be combined with a traditional hotel concept: the loyalty rewards program?

Topguest was created around this idea. Users of any of the major location-based services can earn real rewards program points by checking in on their mobile device.

I asked Founder/CEO Geoff Lewis about it….

What is the big problem you saw that inspired you to create this?

The popularity of geolocation “check-in” services has exploded globally over the past few months. Geolocation information has major potential for the hotel industry to drive conversion, increase transactions, and brand affinity. Topguest enables hotels to unlock the power of geolocation by linking your CRM and points/rewards system with the entire universe of geolocation applications.

I write this blog to encourage hotels to create better experiences for their guests. How does your product help with this?

Topguest enables hotels to leverage their existing points and rewards programs to reward their guests and prospective guests active on geolocation check-in apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Google Latitude. Your guests get rewards regardless of which application they use, driving engagement and affinity with your brand. If you don’t have a points program already, Topguest can power one for you!

Can you give us an example of a hotel that has used this successfully?

Andre Balazs’s Standard hotels are Topguest’s “preview launch” exclusive partner. Topguest has powered an out of the box points program for Standard based on geolocation check-ins. When a user earns 10 points, they have a choice of rewards including 25% off room reservations, complimentary Spa access, and gratis rounds of drinks. Thus fair in just 7 days the Topguest-Standard program has enrolled over 3000 people.

If a hotel is interested in this, how can they begin working with you?

Contact Topguest’s Partnership Team at partner@topguest.com . We’ll get back to you within 24 hours

Josiah’s note: I finally bought myself an iPad this morning, after mixed feelings on how it would benefit me. It may be the first step in a new direction for how we consume media, and have a few posts planned for us to explore this concept. But because I think this trend could be bigger than just one device – the iPad – I’d like to give you another perspective. Here, Mihir Nayak discusses a new device he’s looking at, and how he may use it at his Mitaroy Goa Hotel.

It was after a gap of 5 long years that I met Sharat, my old friend from London. When I first came to London, it was Sharat who showed me London’s nightclub scene and took me to see the shimmering blue waters of Brighton.

So it was with great anticipation that I walked up the stairs to see my old friend at his new place of work.

Over some delicious and a bhurjee (egg fry) and tandoori rotis at the nearby Punjabi Rasoi Indian restaurant, Sharat told me about the Magnum – Sharat’s new iPad killer!

Being the geek that I am, I was all ears as Sharat told me about their concept of the fourth screen. Through life, we generally use 3 screens: the television screen, the computer screen and the mobile phone screen. Sharat plans to make the Lacs Magnum the fourth screen in our lives, thereby taking care of all our data, gaming and communication needs.

Back at his office, Sharat showed me some of the things that you can do with this little Touch Screen Device. For example, you can hook up the Lacs Magnum to both your mobile phone and your car stereo system (or any fm receiving device) and drive hands free while listening to what the other person has to say through the stereo speakers. I mean, how cool is that? Sharat tells me he uses it everyday while driving back from work, to the envy of the other motorists

If you link your smart phone to the Lacs Magnum device via Bluetooth, then you can use the wider touch screen of the Lacs Magnum instead of the smaller screen on your smartphone. Sharat feels however, that the Lacs Magnum will be used mostly for touch gaming and watching movies on the go, what with the 3G auction just complete in India.

How I could use tablet computing for my guests

As soon as guests to my Mitaroy Goa Hotel exit the Arrivals lounge at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport, they are received by our hotel chauffeur. With the Lacs Magnum (embedded in the back of the headrests, for example), my guests can now see a video of my Goa Hotel and the services we offer before they arrive at the Mitaroy.

However, as a techo-hotelier (boy, I love that term), what interested me the most was the location-based services that Sharat’s touch screen device offers.

For example, as our chauffeur drives my guests from Goa’s Dabolim International Airport to the Mitaroy Goa Hotel, they can receive location based information as they pass by the important sights of Goa. They can also choose to see a video that starts and stops as we pass by the important sights and sounds of Goa.

Tablets as a virtual tour guide

Last week, I also bounced off a few ideas with my good friend Vinay from Royal Mysore Walks about the concept of a virtual tour guide, a concept that could fit in perfectly with Lacs Magnum touch screen device.

Instead of a personal tour of the Unesco Heritage Zone of Fontainhas, Asia’s only Latin quarter and the location of my Mitaroy Goa Hotel, guests could be offered a technological alternative. Using the Lacs Magnum touch screen device, they can replay videos, search for more information on the internet or simply receive location based information on Fontainhas as they stroll its quaint bylanes without the need for an intrusive, personal guide.

Technology has been improving guest experiences for a long time now what with check in kiosks in major American hotels, check out via the Television, sensor based minibars that automatically record consumption, key cards etc.

But the future certainly lies in location based services that could offer personalised holiday experiences through technology.

With touch screen devices such as the Lacs Magnum, the future is already here. All we hoteliers need to do is reach out an touch it!

A few days ago, my laptop died. Since I usually work from 5 different computers, that usually wouldn’t be a huge deal. Except I’m on the road, and the other 4 are sitting uselessly at home.

Fortunately, I’ve shifted nearly everything to the “cloud.” While an iPhone will never replace the functionality of a desktop, I can still hobble by. It’s not catastrophic. At least not completely.

For that reason – and others – I recommend you makes as much use of cloud computing as possible. Here are my most valuable tools:

Web-based Email

Of course, it’s Gmail. There’s no contest – this is the hands-down best email service anywhere. Some of you may say “of course!” while others maybe have never even tried the service. Do yourself a favor and switch. Once you do, you’ll never go back.

With Google Apps for business, you can still have your branded email (you@example.com) while using the Gmail interface.

Web-based Documents

Since I use Gmail exclusively, it’s only natural I use Google Docs. I stopped using Microsoft products about 2 years ago, and switched to Google Docs for everything. It’s far easier for sharing files with others, collaborating on documents, and tracking changes.

If someone sends me a file, I”ll upload it to Google Docs. So it also acts like a file storage system.

Web-based Scheduling

And to round out my suite of Google Apps, I use Google Calendar for all scheduling. You can export, sync, and access this on many devices, so it’s very convenient for me.

Scheduling meetings is often very time consuming – so many back-and-forth emails – so you may look into a tool such as Tungle to make the process easier.

Web-based Project Management

For a very long time, Basecamp has kept my life a little more sane. From one dashboard, I can track milestones, updates, deadlines, and files. It’s great if you work with a team of people – especially if they are not all in one location.

Web-based Journaling

I’m trying to use Twitter more and more for keeping track of thoughts, story ideas, and questions. The stream-of-consciousness format is helpful: I can go back and review what’s happened the past week…

Web-based Bookmarking

I come across so many great sites and pages each day, it would be a nightmare to record them all in an organized fashion. Fortunately, Delicious makes this all very easy.

It’s still valuable to use browser-based bookmarks, and I use Xmarks to sync my bookmarks across all my computers.

The Bottom Line: Switch to Google Apps

My life would be so much harder if it were not for Google Apps. All email, documents, and scheduling takes place there for me.

Have you switched to cloud computing yet?

Should your hotel use Skype?

Many of the articles on ‘Skype for business’ I see talk about the cost savings potential. That’s an insignificant benefit in my mind…and not what I want to discuss today.

Instead, I see Skype as a tool for providing better service. If many of your guests come from overseas, you may want to consider using Skype to make it easy for these people to contact your hotel. Based on my work with a few hotels recently, we’ve noticed that by offering Skype — either as a phone system or simply a chat service — interaction significantly improves.

Today Krista Pappas of Microsoft Bing Travel said they will be using a lot more visual-style search like this:

Once you click a destination (right now), you’re led to a page that offers traditional links in sections: General, Map, Hotels, Travel, Tours, Attractions & Images

What do you think? Game changer or not?

Google and Microsoft explain how consumers are interacting with mobile…and how suppliers can reach them.

Thomas O’Neil, Google Travel

Mobile landing pages: designing the user experience

• landing pages are evolving
• 4 great examples
  • Hotels.com/iPhone
    • being first moving has big advantage
    • have 1 million+ app downloads
  • m.toyota.com
  • m.cnn.com
  • iPhone.fandago.com
• key take-away: there needs to be optimized landing pages for the consumer
• not everyone has an smart phone…design for less
• search google webmasters: “mobile seo”
  • search algorithm is different for mobile sites

Mobile search: what consumers are doing

• not usually willing to do more than one search
• probably won’t go beyond top 2-3 search result listings
• they search for roughly the same amount of words…but search less often
• SEO is extremely important. If you’re not in the top 1-3 results, you may as well not even be there.

Advertising on the go: opportunities to reach individuals

• 4 types of Google advertising opportunities
  • WAP search
  • HTML search
  • content network (on other sites)
  • YouTube videos
• understand which apps your audience is using to choose advertising opportunities
• Google provides a high level of reporting options

Read more…

A few weeks ago Choice Hotels became the first major franchise to launch an application allowing guests to book their room from an iPhone. With the integration of GPS capabilities, street-view images and the ability to amend or cancel reservations, Choice has positioned itself in the forefront of the competition for business travelers.

Yet they are still just a quick step behind the Kayak booking portal, which 2 weeks earlier launched its iPhone capabilities. Marketed as a stranded traveler’s best friend, the application allows a guest to access a comprehensive comparison of flights and hotels.

The dot-mobi version of the site has a special feature where hotels can be sorted by the categories “cheap”, “close” and “classy” depending upon the nature of the stay. And once the property is located your guestroom is just a phone call away. Say goodbye to sleeping in airport terminals. With international search capabilities, Kayak is zooming to the top of global booking sites. There’s no doubt the competition will be following quickly.

Has your hotel reserved its’ dot-mobi website extension – and is now the time to develop your iPhone application? If not, at least be sure to check if your hotel be found on Kayak’s search engine.

Yesterday I met with Steve Stollerman of TVTrip at their offices in Paris. Below is an excerpt from our conversation:

What does TVTrip do?

TVTrip provides professionally produced videos of hotels. Travel planners can use the site to see what a hotel is really like before booking a room. Hoteliers can benefit from direct bookings and increased exposure. We operate in 15 markets, and are expanding to 25 next month.

What is your competitive advantage over other video review sites?

Consumers want professionally produced content. They like the videos shot the same way around the world. They dislike videos created by hotels that look like infomercials. We shoot a minute-long overview of the hotel, then separate videos of different rooms or hotel amenities. The viewer can access all information (rooms, rates) all in one place.

You say you’re independent, and the site is free to use for consumers. How do you make money?

We make money through CPC generated leads to merchant sites (hotel direct sites and online travel agencies). We also earn money through advertising and licensing our video catalog.

Does the hotel have an option which payment arrangement to use with you?

Yes, they can be part of the check-rate (on a CPC basis) or take part in TVtrip’s preferred partners program – which is a flat monthly fee.

Okay, if I’m a hotel owner, why should I use you?

It’s an affordable way to get into video. We’re doing well in this climate because we are a middle-ground solution: not really expensive like a high-end video production company or low end like user-generated content. TVTrip is high quality, low cost solution.

You get filming of your hotel in HD by professional cameramen, editing, hosting of the video (bandwidth costs are taken care of), and you get the video on your site in multiple languages. The content of your hotel is translated into 24 languages, and distributed around the world.

Explain the video production process

First you contact us through our website. We have cameramen ready in all the key cities, which gives us the flexibility to respond quickly. For hotels that are in secondary markets or remote places, there may be travel costs involved. The reason the setup cost is so cheap is that we finance most of the video…we absorb costs for filming, editing, encoding, translation. That’s the added value we’re providing consumers and hotels. The setup fee is a fraction of the total cost, more of a security deposit.

Now the videos have no voice-overs, right?

No they don’t. The reason is that we decided early on that video is the universal language. We did, however, translate titles and information into 24 different languages. So users in each country will be able to navigate the video player in their own language. Our player also shows rates, photos, a description of the hotel, and a map of the area – which the view can access without leaving.

Can the hotel place the video you produce on their own website?

They can’t place the exact player we use on our website, but they can have the video embedded on their website. Your website visitors will then be able to view the video, but it won’t have all the features as on our website.

How would you recommend hotels use the video for best results?

The video needs to be in the website’s hotel description or on the “about us” page. It should accompany the website visitor as they view the room descriptions. Doing this typically helps conversions.

Do you have any plans for mobile distribution in the future?

Great question! We’re still waiting to see how this will play out with all the operators. I think committing to mobile now would be a little premature just because things are still so much in the air with all the providers. But I think it’s not a question of if, but when. For the guy who just landed and doesn’t have a hotel…being able to view and book a hotel room on his Blackberry or iPhone makes a lot of sense.

Thank you for your time, Steve. Visit the TVTrip website to learn more, or watch a sample video of Ku’Damm 101 in Berlin.

Highlights from panel discussion:

• Frequent travelers are usually the earlier adapters in mobile technology.
• Don’t just take your existing web content and adapt it to mobile. Create mobile-specific content.
• Notifications of travel changes is what makes the mobile platform unique.
• Many hotel booking systems are too complex to use on a mobile. Will the future bring saved payment/profile information that eases this process?
• In the US, 30% of iPhone users say it replaces their laptop usage
• In Japan, more people access internet on their mobile than with a traditional computer
• For many people in India and China, the mobile internet is their only access to the internet
• Web-based content could eliminate the need to for traditional smartphone apps. However, there are cases when it’s good to have an application that does not rely on internet access.
• The user doesn’t care of your service is an app or online, they only care about ease and speed of use
• Advantage of apps: you can use device-specific features (like iPhone location services)
• Travel suppliers are taking the lead in mobile innovation, not travel intermediaries
• International data roaming is a big barrier and issue to work around