The name iBeacons or Beacons has been chosen very carefully, as it works just like the actual word – Beacon. iBeacons have been the quintessential beacons or like a guidepost to people who have been using them since their launch in 2013 by Apple. Working on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, it relays data over short distances.
It’s been various industries have taken the opportunity of having such technology in hand, very seriously. The Tourism, Airline, Hotel, and Hospitality industries have been keen to take advantage of all that iBeacons have to offer.
Let’s take a look at what makes them all love iBeacons so much:
- It’s Making the Air Travelers so Happy!
iBeacon offers a smooth transition to air travelers from the point of the airport terminal itself. It makes the navigation process utterly simple. All the passengers receive everything they need to know about their travel, from their time of departure to the time they land, all on their mobile phones.
And when we say land, we mean, travelers can even book their cabs and get to know about the gate updates with the help of Beacons.
Moreover, supplementary sales which are important for the revenue generation of the airline industry are getting a boost too. With Beacons gauging the distance of a passenger from the terminal and notifying them of their flight status as soon as they’re about to reach the airport – that makes the passenger feel like the airline really cares about them.
Their passes to the lounge area are also being promoted by the iBeacons.
The airline industry is clearly impressed with this amazing technology, as a survey clearly shows that about 44% of the existing airlines will make use of it by the year 2018.
- The Hospitality Industry is welcoming it too!
The hospitality industry, which includes hotels around the world, can’t function properly if they do not provide up-to-the-mark guest services. And it’s a people-centric industry that at one point or another human error is bound to happen.
One of the ways to reduce the possibility of that error is the introduction of a seamless piece of technology into the game.
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That’s where we have iBeacons.
Right from when a guest makes their entry into the hotel, till they check out of there – iBeacons are there to guide them to everything, send them messages of any offers, inform them of any change in tariff rates – all this and more, on their mobile devices.
- The Tourism Industry Can’t Praise it enough!
Not just travelers, but tourists are enjoying the perks of this technology as well. Once the plane lands, and after they have checked in to a hotel, a person wants to explore the new city that they have landed in.
Travelers do not need to switch their apps anymore because this one is a one-in-all kind of application. They get to know the history of the place, what’s presently trending there, how the transportation holds up there, the places of interest, to everything including the weather forecast.
So, no more making individual Internet searches about a place; no more use of a tour guide! One just has to let Beacons guide their way.
Final Thoughts on iBeacons
iBeacons are looking at an extremely bright future. One of the greatest applicability of iBeacons is the way they work towards making a travel, tour, or hospitality agent’s business profitable.
This technology really does know how to look after a business. It has superb customer data collection skills, which help businesses, target an audience, and finally, send them a personalized set of offers through custom messages and notifications.
It truly possesses the power to completely revamp the way the hotel, travel, and tourism industry works today. We, at Brunchy, have successfully been able to make use of iBeacons to help the people of Dubai plan a luxurious, yet not a hard-on-the-pocket night out any time they want to.
With access to hundreds of happening spots and more than a bunch of coupons and offers, Brunchy has opened a whole new fashion of nightlife experiences for Dubai. And of course, beacons have been a great partner in making it all possible!
About the Author
Chetan Sheladiya, Director at Metizsoft Solutions, specializes in Mobile Application Development, Online Business Marketing, and eCommerce, and is an IT expert. His career has spanned more than a decade, and he has worked on hundreds of projects. Being a technology buff, he loves to blog about his ideas and shares them with technology-loving people.
If you’re looking to follow him, you will find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
