Find somewhere to sleep on your mobile
Posted 15 August 2007 at 8:41AM by Simon Dickson in Doing business online
We've all been there: a long journey for a business meeting which overruns, or even worse, a post-meeting trip to the pub which, um, overruns. When getting home isn't an option, there's now a mobile-friendly way to find yourself a bed for the night.
Last-minute hotel booking site LateRooms.com has just launched a mobile phone interface for its database of vacancies at over half a million hotels in the UK and abroad. Tell it where you are - in terms of a town name, postcode or landmark - and it will find rooms available for that evening, giving prices and distance. When you press 'book', you'll be given a reference number to quote to the call centre. Confirmation and payment is handled by talking to an operator, rather than sending data via the phone.
It isn't faultless: distance calculations seem to be based on an as-the-crow-flies measurement, which might cause problems where water is involved; and if you enter a town name, you have to hope it guesses the right one. But it's a sound idea, increasing the functionality of the LateRooms website at relatively little cost... and it could be a lifesaver.
Tags: hotel, laterooms, mobile
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Comments
2. At August 15, 2007 9:46 AM, Chris Hainey wrote:
Good idea, but with the advent of more web-active phones and Google Maps etc, maybe these could be tied in together at a later date as well.
Another question regarding this service is: Does it cost more to book? I mean that I would expect to pay for the service and then the call to the contact centre, but would this facility be able to offer reduced rates on selected hotel rooms etc?
Might be worth trying out some time soon...
3. At August 15, 2007 1:25 PM, Patrick Coach wrote:
When I'm feeling Sleepy, Grumpy gets really jealous and starts attacking Dopey, but luckily and without fail every time, Doc steps in and sorts it out! No, But Seriously, How do you sleep on your phone? Well, I know the answer...sideways!
4. At August 16, 2007 4:25 PM, Papa Shango wrote:
good idea, would love to see this for more sites like booking airplanes....
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1. At August 15, 2007 9:42 AM, Mark Thorpe wrote: