Hotels.com’s new Facebook app offers a collaborative experience
Hotels.com, the global hotel specialist, has launched its latest Facebook app, Hotels WithMe, in Asia Pacific.
Published: 08 Jun 2011
Hotels.com, the global hotel specialist, has launched its latest Facebook app, Hotels WithMe, in Asia Pacific.
The app enables friends, families and colleagues to get together through Facebook and collectively choose and book a hotel, ensuring that everyone is happy with the choice, according to the company.
“For the first time, groups can collaboratively choose a hotel without having to sit in front of the same computer together”, added hotels.com.
Collaboration
With the ‘Hotels WithMe’ Facebook app, selected friends can be invited to join a ‘trip’, from where they can search for hotels together.
Members of the ‘trip’ can perform a hotel search and show all the results to other ‘trip’ members who can pick any hotel they like and add them to a shortlist of potential hotels which everyone can vote on. All the ‘trip’ members can discuss the hotels they’re looking at just by using the integrated chat.
The app automatically keeps track of prices and the availability of all the hotels on the shortlist. Hence if a room-type becomes unavailable or the price changes, the updated information is shown immediately in Singapore$.
Once all members of the ‘trip’ agree on the hotel, a quick click on the “book” button links straight through to the Hotels.com booking page.
The hotel information on the app includes photos and detailed descriptions of the facilities. Google Maps and Google Streetview are also integrated, so users can research the location and area surrounding their accommodation.
The app is perfectly adapted for the social-media generation, letting travellers plan trips together, said Andrew Sittermann, CEO at Columbus Internet. The company worked with hotels.com on this app.