Why do travel and tourism companies need to invest in new media?

Because it works.

Specifically, social media and mobile technology are generating revenue for hospitality businesses that are taking advantage of online social networks and mobile applications. Hilton Worldwide recently reported that more than 100,000 nights were booked at Hilton hotels through its mobile apps, which have been downloaded more than 340,000 times, according to senior VP of corporate strategy Kevin Jacobs, who added that Hilton had “gone all in” with its social media strategy.

Other brands have also embraced new media, including Facebook and Twitter, to build their visibility. The Cornell Hospitality Research Summit presented a study by Peter O’Conner, a professor at Essec Business School, that noted several companies had experienced success in the space, including Marriott, which O’Connor named the most visible online brand; Holiday Inn, which had the most ‘likes’ on Facebook; and Hyatt Regency, which recorded the most activity across online social networks.

Independent properties are looking to follow in the mobile footsteps of some of the top brands. The Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, for example, launched a mobile application on Monday that would allow guests to schedule their housekeeping and car service during their stay. The historic property also has experimented with integrating QR codes into its campaigns. Recognizing the trend, app developers have begun working to create application templates like SmartyStay for boutique hotels with smaller budgets.

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GetJar—the largest “open” app store and second-largest overall following Apple—landed $25 million in Series C funding this week from Tiger Global Management, joining Accel Management, which provided Series A and B funding for the 7-year-old company.

The company offers several travel apps, including Trip Journal, which was ranked the No. 1 travel app in Google’s Android Development Challenge 2. Overall, it provides more than 75,000 mobile applications to consumers in more than 200 countries.

The new capital will be used to expand sales, marketing and engineering initiatives, and GetJar’s offerings to Android publishers in order to secure its position as the premier “open” Android-market alternative while continuing to support other smart phone platforms such as BlackBerry and IOS.

“It’s extraordinary that with hard work and an amazing team, GetJar has become the world’s largest open app store,” said Ilja Laurs, GetJar founder and CEO, in a statement. “I was excited to receive such incredible interest for this Series C round of funding and thrilled to add Tiger Global Management to our current investor base. I look forward to rapidly scaling the company to take advantage of the enormous global app market opportunity.”

In the past year, GetJar has established partnerships with key players such as Yahoo!, Sprint, AT&T, Openwave, Zynga, Glu Mobile and Rovio (developer of Angry Birds), quadrupling the number of downloads per month and significantly extending its global reach. Case in point: Its exclusive app launch deal for Angry Birds resulted in more than 2 million downloads its first couple days on GetJar’s website.

Other milestones:

• In June 2010, GetJar became the first cross-platform app store, and only the second app store ever, to hit 1 billion app downloads. It now has more than 1.6 billion downloads to date.
• GetJar is the first app store to be selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2011 Technology Pioneer “for being an innovative company whose approach to technology will have a deep impact on business and society.”

Facebook is the most downloaded app on the GetJar store, at 111 million downloads. (It’s the most downloaded free app at the Apple App store as well.) During the past six weeks, however, the top three apps on GetJar have been eBuddy Messenger, Nimbuzz and Opera Mini Web Browser.

In a recent report, market research firm Gartner forecasts that global mobile app store revenues will triple from $5.2 billion last year to $15 billion in 2011, and keep growing to an astounding $58 billion by 2014.

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Make Travel Smoother With GetJar Road-Trip Apps

Photo courtesy of GetJar

It seems as if 2011 has barely started, but we’re already coming up on President’s Day weekend, which means March is just around the corner. For those hitting the road for a three-day getaway this holiday, or anytime, really, here are eight road-trip applications from GetJar—the large open app store that secured $25 million in funding this week—to help make your travel planning smoother.

Trip Journal – Rated by Google as the No. 1 travel application, Trip Journal is for trip tracking, recording, documenting and sharing. Available for Android-powered smart phones.

HotelPal – Browse and book from more than 100,000 hotels worldwide. Features live rate availability, full-screen photos and secure, in-app booking. No hotel booking fees.

Weather Underground – Provides weather information for worldwide locations, including current conditions, hourly forecasts, radar and satellite maps.

GPSed – A location-based service for trip tracking from mobile. Real-time tracks are traced on Google maps and stored in an online archive; includes geotagging feature.

TMileage – Keep track of all your road travel expenses (gas, mileage, oil checks) using just your mobile phone. Includes a gas mileage log with comprehensive summary, mileage statistics and graphical history. The app also sends the mileage and trip logs to your computer by e-mail.

Locago – A map/local-search app with directions and GPS support. Browse business listings and traffic info, Wikipedia articles, geotagged images, weather forecasts and touristic webcams on a map in your phone. And you can create new layers with your content, just like making map mashups on the web, but for mobile phones.

WHERE – Use this app to discover great nearby places, get personalized recommendations on where to go next, save and share your favorite places, and find exclusive deals from local businesses.

Pageonce Travel – Sends live flight-status updates, and provides one-page itineraries and alerts when your travel details change.

For more information, visit www.getjar.com.

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Photos courtesy of GetJar

Mobile apps are only going to grow.

With the growing popularity of mobile platforms, such as the iPhone, iPad, Droid, and others, it’s only expected that consumers are likely to see a growing number of applications. With travel showing signs of increase in 2010, the travel industry has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of mobile apps. While most airlines have typically been slow on the uptake with technology, some airlines are getting in on the mobile boom by developing their own apps. SWISS, Southwest, and American Airlines are among a few airlines who have created their own mobile apps for travelers.

Most travel apps that have had some type of air travel element have been general travel planning applications, such as KAYAK or TripIt. 2010 has been the first time airlines, themselves, have gotten serious about developing apps. Airlines obviously recognize the importance of new media, as 2010 was the year when most of them really got involved on the social media front. With an increase in travel and growing popularity of mobile devices, you can expect there to be many airlines who follow suit.

It’s not surprising that Southwest Airlines was one of the first airlines to develop their own iPhone app. Southwest was an early adopter of social media, as they’ve used it effectively the last couple of years to promote travel deals, respond to inquiries, and handle complaints. The app comes well-reviewed, with features that include fare alerts and flight status. It also allows users to book and check-in to their flights.

The latest is SWISS’ app for the iPhone and iPod. Similar to other airline apps, the tool can be most effectively used by frequent travelers on SWISS. The app includes pertinent travel information, such as baggage allowances, airline amenities, flight information, and weather updates. Other cool features I liked were the locations and details of SWISS lounges, access to their Twitter feed for up-to-the-minute information and alerts, and mobile boarding pass. Another important note is that it supports several languages, including English, French, German, and Italian.

I expect many of these airline apps to be most useful for frequent travelers of those airlines who can use it to better manage their account and trips. While I like some of the features of these apps, it would be nice to see airlines do more with apps than just featuring general information that most travelers can get from the mobile versions of their websites.

Photo courtesy of Purplelime.