is available, it wouldn’t take much for an application like Tripit to use glasses to alert a business traveller that their flight is delayed. No need to check your phone, and no need to look at departure boards.” But do travellers need their hands
held so tightly? We’ve all managed to negotiate airports and catch flights up until now. Is this technology really necessary? Agrega’s Lorenz points out: “Some products out there help you but, in this day and age, if you don’t know when or how to go to the airport…why would I want to pay for that? You have to separate the useful from the gimmicky.”
HOTEL BOOKING For the hotel sector, augmented reality can be used to sell products but also to help locate and book hotels. HRS has developed its iHotel app with augmented reality so a traveller can find hotels nearby, and see prices and photos. Jon West thinks the industry should embrace this new technology. “We know videos and photographs influence decision-making, so why wouldn’t you move this on to augmented reality? It’s only a matter of time before we are all demanding a lot more information. By using the augmented reality on iHotel, travellers can see where they need to go and what hotels are available. They can get all of their corporate discounts and negotiated rates.” West admits, however, that while this is useful for the last-minute business traveller, it has limited use for buyers. “Travel managers would rather you always book in advance, but equally, if you were stuck, they would rather you find the right hotel, make sure it is in programme and go and stay there.”
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MEETINGS AND EVENTS Imagine if you were organising an event and you could see a detailed layout of the venue from the comfort of your office. You could see how a product launch would look before the physical stand was even set up. Media Grand’s Paul Lewis agrees the technology works well in this sector. “It’s also a way of making access to meetings information easier – you have it right in front of you.” Lisa McKenzie, new media consultant with events specialist Grass Roots, adds: “It is no longer a gimmick – it’s a true way for
us to produce innovative and engaging communication. Only our imagination can limit us now.”
SECURITY At the top of every buyer’s list is the security of their travellers. One buyer on Buying Business Travel’s Linked In discussion group noted: “Augmented reality is your third eye. I think the majority crossover for travel buyers in this segment will come faster than we think, especially when it comes to security and knowing where your travellers are.” Agrega’s Lorenz agrees: “Some of the usages are great – traveller security is one of them.” Sabre Travel Solutions director Sarah Kennedy is looking to the future where security is concerned. “Security is a valid point for this technology, especially if a contact lens is what we are wearing every day and the user could get messages directly into their line of sight without needing to use a device.” (See In the line of sight, previous page.)
THE FUTURE The future for augmented reality is already being formed. Media Grand’s Lewis explains: “A lot of the handset manufacturers are investing quite a lot in augmented reality and building chips that can run it faster and smoother to make the most of the phone. Chip manufacturers are going into it now, so that gives you an idea of the future.”
ASIA AND AUGMENTED REALITY
IN A RECENT SURVEY by Amadeus, the most popular concept among Chinese travellers was an application that overlays visual information about the physical world around you through your mobile device. In fact 80 per cent found it very or extremely appealing. This figure is meaningful because according to previous forecasts by Amadeus and Oxford Economics, Asian travellers will account for one third of travel spending by 2020 – up from 21 per cent today.
Source: Amadeus’s report, From Chaos to Collaboration, 2012
“Some products out there help you, but if you don’t know when or how to go to the airport…why would I want to pay for that?”
CWT’s Simon, who has already
launched a virtual travel assistant for the CWT2Go app, thinks augmented reality will become part of business travel very quickly. “Technology is going so fast, I would say three to five years. It’s not that hard – the technology exists today, you need the data and then it is a matter of getting it done,” he says. The signs are all there and Amadeus’s report on future business travel technology released last year, From chaos to collaboration – insight into the future of travel, found augmented reality definitely played a part in managed business travel.
Amadeus UK managing director Diane Bouzebiba says in the report: “In our quantitative survey, the technologies rated mostly highly were those that tell you more in real-time about the world around you (including translation services) and help improve efficiency in transit. Eventually, we may also see more use of technology to preview a location. As well as a familiarisation tool, technology will be able to offer an alternative experience of a place.” Sabre’s Kennedy agrees: “What we are seeing today is that getting the content is no longer the challenge – the winners are the ones who can create the content in a physical world”. But Thomas Lorenz is still not convinced the technology can work for travel buyers. “I don’t believe it will ever go into a virtual environment. Airlines and hotels are getting more and more complex with offering their products. Even if you just take long-haul, it’s pretty impossible to get the best long-haul pricing – there are so many rules. So my view is the more challenging the industry gets, the more complex yield management will get, so travel technology companies are always playing catch-up.” ■