OpenGrid, Inc. and Hilton Hotels Corporation have joined forces to offer U.S. and Canadian residents the ability to search for hotel information, book hotel reservations and access guest loyalty program information through Internet-capable, wireless devices, using OpenGrid's FastBook solution.
The two companies recently completed a successful, 3-month pilot test of the program for Palm OS PDAs (personal digital assistants) and will move forward in evaluating similar options for Web-enabled and digital text messaging phones in the near future, including Pocket PCs, Windows CE-capable PDAs and RIM Pagers.
By downloading a simple program from any desktop or laptop computer and uploading it to an Internet-connected Palm OS device, road warriors can currently access wireless information and reservation services for more than 350 U.S. Hilton(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R) and Conrad(TM) hotels. Members of the Hilton HHonors(R) guest loyalty program also now have the opportunity to access their pre-loaded account profile easily on their mobile devices. Hilton will move forward in launching similar information services for its entire family of brands, which encompasses 1,900 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
"The number of U.S. travelers using mobile applications for information such as bookings and flight updates will increase 20-fold in the next four years," said Keith Waryas, Research Manager for Mobile eBusiness at IDC. In a recently published IDC report on Mobile Services in the Travel industry, "We found that providing robust, yet simple, wireless services will be key to competing for tech-savvy frequent travelers."
"Hilton recognizes the mass appeal of today's wireless technology, the same way our company recognized the potential power of the Internet when we launched our Web site in 1994," said Bruce Rosenberg, senior vice president -- eBusiness for Hilton Hotels Corporation. "We will continue to pursue and explore these types of technology opportunities, which can lead to revolutionizing the way all of us do business. OpenGrid's FastBook offers a simple and secure end-to-end connection for wireless transactions, which provides Hilton with the best wireless solution to serve today's mobile professionals."
OpenGrid, a leading provider of mobile solutions for the hospitality and promotions industries, is hosting the FastBook service for Hilton and providing customer care training. This wireless reservation system offers hotels and other travel industry businesses a simple, hosted solution enabling guests to make, confirm and cancel reservations through most Internet-capable devices. The offering includes:
-- Wireless Web Hosting: A highly scalable environment using state-of-the-art security, with co-located servers to ensure maximum uptime;
-- Wireless Device Rendering: Content can be viewed on most Internet-enabled Palm OS PDAs;
-- Transaction Enablement: Mobile commerce functions allow customers to check availability and rates
-- Administration and Reporting: Secure, realtime tracking and reporting of all transactions.
"Hilton is a perfect match for our products," said Jens Horstmann, President of OpenGrid. "Their volume demands a robust, scalable back-end system, and the best in technology and user interfaces. We've worked with the travel industry for years and have focused our Intelligent Information Switch exclusively on the needs of these customers, and we've now developed an intuitive, full-featured wireless reservation system that's easy to use and ready to roll."
Tech-savvy travelers can access the Hilton Wireless Reservations System download and FAQ Web site at http://hilton.wirelessrez.com/pqa. There is no additional charge to use this wireless application above and beyond Internet airtime charges from your wireless services provider. Devices currently supported by the system include Palm VII, V or Vx and Handspring Visor, Prism, Platinum or Edge with a wireless Internet connection.
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