This is a guest post by Alexandru Chiuariu, an Inbound Marketer at Beaglecat
Airports and bus terminals can be very confusing, especially for first-time travelers. One way to go around this is to use indoor maps, and while not all buildings come with one, beacons make the implementation far easier than it used to be. Indoor mapping was typically done using expensive, complex equipment, but beacons solve both of those problems by being both affordable and easy to understand. On top of that, they represent a low-energy solution, meaning that you won’t have to carry a power bank with you at all time while your smartphone communicates with them. Otherwise, they could have represented a problem, as TSA has banned unpowered devices on some international flights. By combining Beacons with custom-made apps, travel agencies and airlines can streamline the entire customer experience, while also making the interaction more personal.
The Airport Lounges of the Future Are Already Here
Airports feature a fair share of technology, but some have taken things to the next level by integrating beacons in lounges. Assuming that you turn on Bluetooth and opt-in to share your location, apps can provide you with relevant information. It ultimately depends on what the companion app displays, but some useful details include directions to boarding gates and restaurants, flight status, baggage claim, and offers from the Duty Free shops.
Dubai’s Hamad International Airport has recently developed and launched an app powered by Estimote Beacons to guide their customers more efficiently through the labyrinth that a modern day airport can be. The First and Business Class lounge at San Francisco International Airport have also been upgraded with beacons, fact that has enabled customers to receive real-time information about the daily menus, an overview of the lounge’s amenities, and the option to check into social media.
Beacons Also Make Checking Into Hotels a Lot Easier
Using a similar approach to the one employed in airports, hotels can provide an augmented personalized experience that will ultimately improve the way customers perceive them. Regarded as the next big tech advance in hospitality, the Beacon technology can take many forms, and each hotel chain is looking for a different implementation that will help it stand out from the crowd.
GuestDriven’s Mobile Guest Engagement Platform, a solution that has been adopted by James Hotels early last year, brings customers closers to hoteliers. Estimote Beacons placed near the key points of the hotel, namely at the entrance, reception desk, hotel spa, bar, or restaurant, provide customers with valuable contextual information, including daily menus and notifications regarding reservations. This represents an easy way for hotels to push special offers to customers’ smartphones in a manner that’s definitely more entertaining than restaurant boards and the like.
Social Media Can Add Yet Another Dimension to the Beacon Technology
Are you passing by a restaurant in an airport, and the Beacon pushes you the daily menu? But what if the food served on that particular day is not to your taste? Social logins can help with that. Assuming that on the social network you’ve used for logging in you mentioned your favorite foods, it might be possible for the app to scrap the relevant data and put it in context. While it may be more difficult to find out someone’s gastronomic preferences, it’s far easier when it comes to music and movies. Beacons could redefine in-flight entertainment, if the app takes into account what each flyer enjoys watching or listening to. This way, airlines could tailor each customer’s experience in a unique manner.
There are many ways beacons could improve our lives and the imagination of the people developing apps for them is the only limit. In fact, there are many uses out there that developers haven’t thought of, yet, but as beacons are gaining more ground, the opportunities will reveal themselves. Travel is only one of the industries that will benefit enormously from proximity marketing. As more and more people become smartphone users, beacons and apps for them will start gaining traction, thus encouraging the progress of more related industries.
Alexandru Chiuariu is an Inbound Marketer at Beaglecat, an internet marketing agency specialized in lead generation for companies in Western Europe and the US. For more internet marketing tips and trends, download Beaglecat’s latest report.