Best Western fills a mobile vacancy with a new iPad app

Best Western has found room for another mobile offering. The hotel chain has launched an app forApple Inc.’s iPad that enables users to book reservations at the more than 4,000 Best Western hotels worldwide.

In addition to booking rooms, the iPad app users also can share travel experiences and photos through the app via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

The iPad app also enables users to plan their travel by inputting addresses of attractions and restaurants nearby and using a GPS-enabled map  to create itineraries.  Additionally, a trip saver tool allows users to save past trips, including favorite locations visited, or to save the itineraries they create for future trips.

IPad app users also can add pictures and additional information to the app to help them remember and share details about saved locations. They can categorize and sort saved locations by city, trip name and location type for easy future reference. Best Western also took advantage of the larger screen of the iPad to place additional location icons on the map tool than the mobile apps for smaller devices offer. Best Western says this will make it easier for travelers to plan and navigate while on trips.

The iPad app follows the hotel chain’s iPhone and Android apps and its mobile site at BestWestern2Go.com. Best Western launched its first mobile app in 2009 when it unveiled its iPhone app. All mobile apps—grouped under the heading Best Western to Go—as well as the mobile site enable consumers to book rooms at any Best Western hotel worldwide. The hotel chain's mobile site, launched in 2008, was built bu Usablenet. All apps were built by San Diego-based Digitaria.

"Ensuring the iPad Best Western to Go application consistently meets the needs of travelers on the go and is available on the devices they use most is a central part of our efforts to expand brand awareness and grow loyalty," says Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western International.

Best Western says its hotels host 400,000 guests each night.

Source : Internet Retailer
Original Content : Best Western fills a mobile vacancy with a new iPad app