Hilton Worldwide is putting its name on the Google Map.
The hotel chain recently updated its loyalty program app, HHonors, to include Google Maps context around its digital floor plans.
Previously, travelers could select the exact room they wished to stay in the hotel, however, the floorplan did not provide information as to the room’s surroundings. Responding to customer feedback, Hilton placed its in-app digital floorplan on a Google Map so consumers can see which direction their room faces.
“[Our customers] told us they often toggled back and forth between our digital floor plans and Google Maps to see where their hotel room faced,” says Joshua Sloser, vice president of digital product innovation at Hilton Worldwide. “It just made sense to streamline that process for them and give them what they wanted.”
The map shows travelers where the rooms are located in relation to city streets, expressways, public transportation, parks and bodies of water. In the future, Hilton is working on adding other features to the map, such as landmarks or attractions.
Right now this feature is only available in app. Hilton will add the feature to its website this summer.
“We now have more customers coming to us via mobile than we do via desktops, and a majority of digital check-in with room selection occurs via mobile in our app,” Sloser says. “While our guests have loved choosing their own rooms, they have asked us for more in-app detail of the hotel’s surroundings.” Hilton HHonors members have used the app more than 13 million times to choose their exact room, the company says.
The digital check-in with room selection is available at more than 4,500 properties, and the Google Maps integration is available at 2,500 of those properties, Sloser says. Hilton is working to expand this feature to more hotels in the next few months.
Hilton’s app uses the Google Maps application programming interface, or API, to bring in the Google data for this new feature. A few of Hilton’s employees on the development team with the help of Google quickly created the feature, says Sloser, without giving specifics.
Hilton’s $550 million investment seven years ago in a secure IT infrastructure allows the hotel chain to quickly deploy new digital features at scale, Sloser says.
“We unified our 13 property-management systems into one backbone, replaced servers and other back-office equipment, and invested in building out our digital platforms,” Sloser says. “This infrastructure was extensive and included all our mobile applications, for features such as digital check-in and customization, as well as many other major areas such as our websites, datacenters, sales and revenue management, on-property systems and corporate intranet.”
For example, Hilton recently integrated with the riding sharing app Uber. Travelers with both the Hilton and Uber apps can toggle between them to order rides, check in to their hotel and discover local hot spots.