Nintendo at the hotel
Element Hotels, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, will be offering guests the option of checking out a complimentary hand-held Nintendo DS system that will come pre-loaded with a copy of the Personal Trainer: Cooking software. After selecting recipes, guests can view ingredients and watch how-to videos on the DS before cooking a meal in their en-suite kitchens. Users can choose from more than 245 recipes from a variety of regions around the world. Every Element hotel will have an on-site pantry to make cooking ingredients available.
“We know that many of our guests, especially our longer stay guests, don’t necessarily want to eat out every night of the week, but they also don’t have the time to come up with recipes and create shopping lists,” said Brian McGuinness, SVP of Specialty Select brands for Starwood Hotels. “Providing our guests with this best-selling hardware and intuitive software that serves up healthy meal options at the touch of a button makes it easy for travelers to customize meals.”
They won’t settle for less
Companies expanding into emerging markets may find that consumers there more readily quit doing business with a company because of poor service than consumers in mature markets, according to findings in the fifth annual Accenture consumer service study. The study also found that they are most likely to write about those experiences on the Internet.
The study, based on an online survey of more than 5,000 consumers across 12 countries about their customer-service experiences and expectations, found that 87 percent of consumers in emerging markets switched providers in at least one industry sector because of poor service. That was 18 percent more than the global average of 69 percent, which was up from 67 percent in 2008.
Additionally, the study found that the vast majority of consumers (89 percent) tell their acquaintances about their bad experiences, and 25 percent use social media to alert others. Moreover, using the Internet to voice service complaints was more prevalent in emerging markets, where 40 percent of consumers said they use blogs and other online media to tell others about their negative experiences.
While the study found a growing gap around the world between services delivered and customer expectations, the gap was most prevalent in emerging markets, where 68 percent of consumers said companies “sometimes, rarely or never” meet their expectations. The study also found that the gap is growing, particularly in emerging markets, where 75 percent of consumers said their expectations are “higher” or “much higher” than they were five years ago.
Free airport Wi-Fi
Travelers to 47 airports in the USA will be delighted to discover that Google is offering airport-wide free Wi-Fi through January 15. Due to bad weather and other extenuating circumstances, travelers often have extra time on their hands at US airports after they pass through security — 70 minutes on average. Not surprisingly, having an Internet connection during this time can make a difference.
In October, Google and Virgin America announced that, during this same period, all passengers on Virgin America will have free in-flight Wi-Fi. Get more information about the free Wi-Fi, including a list of participating airports from www.freeholidaywifi.com
Dell gets smart
n Dell will be entering the smart phone business and announced partnerships with two of the world’s largest mobile operators. The company plans to distribute its Mini 3 smart phones through China Mobile, the largest telecommunications company in the world with more than 500 million customers, and Claro, which serves more than 42 million people in Brazil as part of the America Movil network. The initial Mini 3 smart phones are designed around the Android platform. Entry into the smart phone category reflects Dell’s continued expansion into mobile internet products and services through value-added relationships.
