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Up and away - tech for the holidays
Digital keys for hotels
I love tech and hate checking into hotels, so what could be better than tech enabling a more seamless check in experience? That would be great, if only it worked...
Last week before checking into a hotel for a visit to the office in Manchester, I went through the online check in process in detail only to find that - when I arrived - the same was required again because "this system only works in Germany." Likewise on a visit to our office in Cardiff I was promised that my phone could act as the room key. I set it up and, no that didn't work either. So the news that a hotel in Gothenburg has become the first to offer Google Wallet room keys fills me with joy and dread in equal measure. If it works, great. If any part of the user journey is fragmented in any way - it's a disaster.
Is innovation lagging at airports?
Anyone travelling out of the UK this summer might have hoped to forget the tedious experience of removing electronics and liquids from their bags for security. Alas very few airports have hit the deadline for new scanners initially set for June 2024. Perhaps the worst excuse here is that the scanners are too heavy for the buildings - something surely someone should have considered earlier. I'm not giving up on the idea of one day being able to travel through Heathrow without taking out the laptop but in the meantime, this list of future travel technology investment trends did give me some hope. Although it did make me chuckle that the usual guff about the importance of AI and Cloud came without a single example of the difference it would make.
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Farnborough Air Show
Meanwhile with Farnborough Air Show just around the corner, our friends at eVTOL Insights asked me to think about some of the themes that might be shaping this years' show so I wrote a piece here outlining why I think the show will be dominated by talk of AI and sustainability, but the real opportunity is smart use of insight from data to drive better passenger and operator outcomes. If you happen to be attending the show, be great to meet you there!
Exhibition & Events Calendar
A round-up of the big events coming your way over the next three months
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