Need a room right now? Go mobile

November 03, 2011 | Online Travel

Looking for a hotel at the last minute? If you’re one of the millions of Americans with a smartphone or tablet, look no farther than the device in your hand. Between new apps and a better understanding of the mobile market, finding an empty bed is getting easier all the time.

“Mobile is really opening up a brand-new channel for hotels to sell rooms for tonight and tomorrow,” said Pedro Colaco, president and CEO of GuestCentric Systems, a developer of reservation systems for independent hotels.

In fact, according to GuestCentric’s data, 60 percent of people who booked a room at the company’s client hotels via a mobile device were booking for the same day or the day after.
“We’re seeing a lot more last-minute travel,” said Lindsey Wise, operations manager at the Aiken Hotel in Aiken, S.C. “A lot of our guests don’t book ahead anymore because they don’t know if they’ll need a room for the night or not.”

And third-party booking sites have taken note. Last month, Priceline launched Tonight-Only Deals, a same-day booking app for the iPhone designed to compete with HotelTonight, which went live last year.

Get the full story at msnbc

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