| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 10/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 53 |
| Copyright: Other |
Mobile phones by James Rogers
WAP set to ring in changes for information on the move
Mobiles may be next platform for late-availability sales
Over the past 12 months there has been a great deal of hype about Wireless Application Protocol technology – or WAP as it’s known. Indeed, if the mobile-phone companies are to be believed, it could revolutionise the way we use and access information. Whether it be checking share prices or football results, it is predicted millions of us will be using our mobiles to look up a huge array of facts and figures on the Internet in the near future. But does it have any real relevance for the travel industry?Thomascook.com clearly thinks so. It has just announced deals with BT Genie, Orange and Vodaphone whereby the mobile-phone companies’ customers will be able to access information currently held on Thomas Cook’s Web site via their mobile phones.
Not all the information available on thomascook.com will be accessible via a mobile but users will be able to look up holiday and flight offers as well as city guides.
There is still some doubt over how much WAP will take off but figures from thomascook.com suggests it is going to be big.
Ventures and futures director Bill James said: “Our Web site is already receiving 5,000 hits a day via mobile phones and that’s without any promotion or publicity. We always believed people would adopt the technology and we expect to reach 30,000 a day within two or three years.
“WAP is merely the first version of mobile Internet technology. It will become much more sophisticated in terms of what it can do,” he added.
Thomas Cook is currently involved in a trial in Finland (the most advanced mobile telecoms market in the world) for the first mobile service allowing secure transactions. Consumers will be able to find out about currency rates and then order their currency on-line. It also means on-line booking via mobile phones will become a reality in the not too distant future.
“It will be the first time any retailer – let alone anyone in the travel industry – will be able to offer such a service. We expect to start trials in the UK by the end of the year. It will set us apart from everyone else,” said James.
Thomas Cook is not the only company entering the world of WAP. Urbanweb is in talks with BT Genie to become a supplier for its customers.
Managing director Steve Endacott said: “People will not use WAP to scan sites. But they will use it to get information quickly. At the moment, people are using it for shares and footie results but its use will grow.
“Where I see it working best in travel is in notification of late availability. Users will type in their requests – a holiday for two for under £1,000 say – and the holiday company will get back to you via an e-mail or with a call-centre number,” said Endacott.
Head of marketing at reservation systems firm Anite Travel Systems Howard Frost said: “I think WAP will initially be more of a business traveller than a leisure traveller tool, whereas Digital TV will be the other way round. Leisure travellers like to browse and think about their holiday, but if you are on the move and need information about hotels and flights fast, then WAP is ideal.”
For its part, Anite Travel Systems claims to be the only company capable of Web-enabling any travel reservation system, regardless of whether it is an Anite System or not. This means its clients, including tour operators, ferry and cruise providers and flight consolidators, are now able to sell through the newer channels such as Digital TV and WAP.
Other companies have also started to exploit WAP in the travel industry. At the end of last year, IBM announced a deal with Swissair to let users check in for a booked flight via their mobile phones.
Customers receive information on the phone display that would normally be printed on the boarding pass such as the departure time, gate and seat number. In the event of any changes, the customer receives updated information via the telephone display.
Initially available in Zurich for selected frequent flyers, Swissair claims it is the first airline to offer this service to its customers.
Although still in its infancy, WAP is no doubt being seen as a threat by some travel agents as it potentially offers yet another channel for direct sales. But this is not how Thomas Cook sees the new technology.
“We do not see WAP as a threat but as a means of offering customers more choice. There are now five channels consumers can book a holiday through – travel agents, call centres, the Internet, digital TV or WAP.”
“If you are on the moveand needinformation fast, then WAP is ideal”
WAP technology: ideal for business travellers on the move
ANITE TRAVEL SYSTEMS
While Anite’s reservation systems are Web-enabled for WAP, head of marketing Howard Frost acknowledges that the technology is currently better suited to some business uses than others. “WAP will be very good for single component bookings, such as flight bookings and ferry bookings from A to B,” he said.
“It will also be a very good medium for customerservice information such as traffic information and data on delayed flights,” he added.
On a personal level, Frost admits he is already sold on the benefits of WAP phones.
“I have had a WAP phone for six months and I am becoming addicted to it because there’s a new service available every day. For example, I use it a lot to find restaurants, as well as flight information,” he said.
Ultimately he believes it is the mobile phone suppliers who are pushing WAP technology forward.
Addicted: head ofmarketing at Anite Travel Systems Howard Frost
THOMASCOOK.COM
Ventures and futures director at thomascook.com Bill James got his WAP mobile three months ago and, although he doesn’t use it every day, he has already found it pretty useful in both his business and personal life.
“Most of the time I use it as a standard mobile but Iprobably access the Internet about four or five times a week. I find it especially useful for news headlines and sports results.
“When I’m on the move it’s the best way to get information quickly. From a travel point of view it is very good if, for example, I was in Paris and wanted to find a restaurant near my hotel.
“When I connect to the BT home page it gives me various options including news, sport, money and travel. Under the news section, I could access BBC news on-line and under travel, I can scan companies such as ebookers which is currently offering WAP service.
“With the current device there is always a delay while it connects to the Internet but in future you will be able to access the Internet immediately.”
Finds WAP useful: ventures and futures director at thomascook.com Bill James