michael arner
iBeacons? Eddystone? How Do You Choose Which Beacons to Have Faith In?
Dr. Michael Arner | December 7, 2016
Beacon agnosticism and the real truth about beacons By Dr. Michael Arner Having learned dutifully that "hardware sales are a race to the bottom," I was surprised when I first got into the business of location-based services to find so many startups that merely cobbled together a Content Management System and then tried to make their mark in the space by selling beacons: buying from China for $8-$12 each, marking them somewhere between $40 and $80, and then insisting that the customer purchase enough of them to blanket their space every few square meters. It's been less surprising to see how many of these "solutions" have fallen by the w...
Smart Hotels Need to Get Smarter About Personalization
Dr. Michael Arner | October 13, 2016
Location-based Machine Learning gives hotels the power to meet the unique demands of all of their guests Click on the infographic above to see the whole picture By Dr. Michael Arner For hotels focusing on personalization, there is smart and then there is smarter. To stand out in a crowded market, many "smart" hotels are making big, bold moves to get personal with their guests. To win the loyalty game, some hotels are creating custom concierges – specialists hired to meet a unique niche of demands and services. A recent article in the Boston Globe titled, "Need a book, a crib, or running pal on vacation? There's a concierge for th...
Location-Based Mobile Ordering: The Natural Evolution of Customer Service
Dr. Michael Arner | September 13, 2016
By. Dr. Michael Arner, CTO RoamingAround With 6 billion people worldwide said to own a mobile phone, rare is the occasion that anyone heads out to the casino, hotel pool, a sporting event, or an evening of dining and drinks, without their preferred mobile device in hand. The growing reliance on mobile wallets and the unwavering trust that there is always, "an app for that," means that customer service businesses must engage their customers where the money is… on their mobile device. Thanks (again) Starbucks! The prodigious success of mobile ordering apps like Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Dominos has proven the value, demand and ...
Becoming The True Hub of Your Destination
Dr. Michael Arner | August 16, 2016
Thinking Bigger About Mobile Applications For CVBs and DMOs By Dr. Michael Arner Travelers of all ages, nationalities, and income levels readily rely on mobile technology to assist and enhance their travel experience — and there is no shortage of destination-based applications available to assist them. With many convenient, close-at-hand, free broad-spectrum resources like Yelp, TripAdivsor or Lonely Planet, to name just a few, the Convention & Visitor's Bureau (CVB) and Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) face an uphill battle to become the destination for destination information. The demand for a user's attention is fie...
