|
Project Overview
Hilton Surfers Paradise is a leading edge hotel, which opened in 2010. Hilton approached us to create for them a new and unique concierge experience, to align with their style, quality, and contemporary brand values.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Our mobile applications are grounded in either the brand truth or the big idea. Our teams are not out there looking to just 'fit a brand' to some great technology. Rather, it's about starting with the brand first, and finding its best place within this mobile application space!
Project Brief
Surfers Paradise is an area with lots of different things to do. Many of the activities and services on offer are unknown to all but the local residents and businesses that operate in the area.
The Hilton Surfers Paradise iPad app allows guests at the Hilton to explore the venues and activities that might interest them during their stay. Guests can not only see photos and videos of the different activities, but also choose and book the services on the spot, without even leaving the hotel.
The app features an expert system, that presents appropriate activities to guests based on their attributes to do with their demographic and stay. The app will generate very different activities for a family holiday, compared to a guys party weekend.
The technology in the app also allows Hilton Surfers Paradise to learn more about consumers preferences, to evolve and grow the services that they offer to their guests. The integration of the app into the Hilton’s internal network allows Hilton Surfers Paradise to offer Hilton exclusive deals and experiences to its guests.
Project Innovation / Need
Rather than offer the same rack of brochures that meet hotel guests everywhere else, Hilton Surfers Paradise is able to present the surrounding activities and attractions, distinguishing itself from other hotels in the area. This creates a more enjoyable experience for guests at check-in, and during their stay. Added with the learning capabilities of the app, Hilton Surfers Paradise is able to continually improve their offerings for their guests.
The integration into Hilton’s existing network means that the staff and guests always have access to up to date information. This takes the guesswork out of finding relevant contact information or making bookings.
It was important that the app was easy for guests and staff to use, to enable quick and precise access to information. Equally important was the need for the app to carry the high visual quality and polish that guests of the Hilton expect. The structure of the app provides the information that is required with minimal effort, and the interface, including the embedded images and videos, upholds the prestigious and reputable nature of the Hilton brand.
User Experience
Users are able to search for different activities, locations, and experiences, using the iPad app. They are able to do so based on the recommendation from staff, by searching based on geographical location, or by simply looking up the name in an index. These cases allow users to plan out their daily itineraries, adding different activities to fill the day without having to travel back and forth needlessly across Surfers Paradise.
We looked at the core information that guests and hotel staff would need to access, and designed the user experience around being able to access this information as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
The interface is intuitive, elegant, and effortless, furnishing users with the opportunity to have a memorable and enjoyable holiday.
When creating the app, it was important to keep all information accessible, within one touch. The graphical style and interface of the app maximises the potential of the iPad, and allows the experiences to be showcased in the app in ways that printed media could never achieve. This was a crucial part of the app, so it was important that the user experience was not only nice to look at, but very easy for a broad audience to be able to use - from the concierge, who would be very familiar with the app, to gen y guests, and right up to elderly or infirm guests.
Project Marketing
The app was a key part of the Hilton Surfers Paradise opening. It was a key feature in the press and marketing materials surrounding the opening, and received substantial coverage by Tourism Queensland. The app received critical acclaim when it launched and the hotel opened.
The Hilton staff, including the concierge team, continue to actively use this app to assist hotel guests in their visits. This is an Enterprise app, so it is not available to consumers on the iTunes App Store. However, it provides another level of detail, service, and attention that Hilton guests receive that sets Hilton apart from its competitors.
This aligns with Hilton’s brand and consumer image, allowing them to use technology in new and innovative ways to keep abreast of their competition.
In Field Services
This category relates to applications developed in order to aid and facilitate organisations requiring mobility whilst out of the office.
More Details