Launching tomorrow: DLAppTap

Hamish Kilburn
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DLAppTap launches tomorrow at Independent Hotel Show to help improve and revolutionise revenue streams for hospitality retail…

Making its debut at London’s Independent Hotel Show on 16-17 October 2018 is DLAppTap. This is an innovative iPhone and iPad app that allows hotels to easily sell their beautiful products to guests in their properties without the need for in-house retail operations. With DLAppTap, hotels can capitalise on new revenue streams, achieve ROI from refurbishments and improve and provide higher levels of guest-centric services.

The new hospitality-focused tool is an extension of the soon-to-be-launched DesignLife App, which, as the video below demonstrates, was developed to showcase residential products. The iOS app becomes a platform for individual hospitality venues thanks to encoded Near-field Communication (NFC) labels, which are discreetly attached to items available for purchase. After downloading DLAppTap, guests can view the specifications, measurements, costs, lead times, shipping and payment options for any labelled item they “tap” with their mobile devices. Purchases can even be added to their guestroom bills. Orders are automatically sent to manufacturers, with the hotel receiving 25 per cent commission.

“Hotels are the shopping centres of the future,” says Jane Moriarty, founder of DesignLife Associates, Ltd. and marketing director of DLAppTap, “and this technology is set to revolutionise the retail aspect of hospitality.”

Visitors to the Independent Hotel Show can test the app for themselves at the Hotel Room of the Future exhibit conceived by Two’s Company Interior Design. To demonstrate that the labels will not distract from aesthetics, nearly every item in the concept stand will be discreetly tagged with nano-thin, film-like NFC stickers that store data and draw energy from mobile devices. Pieces to be encoded include the Nexus Armchair and two-seater sofa from Knightsbridge Furniture, with JAB Anstoetz’s Hideaway textile collection used for upholstery, curtains and accessories. Various items are crafted by Splinter Works, MRF Design and Langstaff-Ellis, the company building the room’s wardrobes. Minibar facilities are from A3 Solutions, and lighting from Heathfield & Co. Accessories from Cocoon Interiors and Buwier will be tagged, and even toiletries and bed linens from The Fine Cotton Co. These can all be scanned by visitors wishing to test the technology on their own devices.

Not only does this solution help guests get “the look” of their favourite hotel for their own homes, it also offers numerous benefits to hoteliers, designers and product suppliers:

Hoteliers

  • Financial: eliminates the huge investment required to launch and maintain online retail and procurement departments, as well as warehouses
  • ROI: opportunity to, at the very least, partially recoup expenses from new-build or refurbished hotels and restaurants
  • Brand extension: guests have daily reminders of a hotel’s lifestyle ethos in their homes
  • Organic advertising: purchasers will show their friends their hotel furniture “finds”
  • Loyalty: guests can earn hotel brand loyalty credits that can be exchanged for products
  • Maintain market-lead by keeping ahead of the curve: declining product sales may indicate interiors are perceived as tired, and therefore the hotel requires a design refresh
  • Exclusivity: a “white label” app can be created to provide consistency with a brand’s own corporate identity

Designers

  • Portfolio: a platform to showcase a design studio’s range of products across a variety of projects
  • Awareness: acknowledgement of a studio’s creative talents and contributions
  • Increased innovation: developers willing to pay more for bespoke designs that will increase a hotel’s cachet

Suppliers

  • Authenticity: encourages developers to use genuine items that can be ordered from original factories
  • Marketing tool: a gateway for purchasers to learn about the other products suppliers sell
  • Market research: products purchased (or not) reveal insights to manufacturers about consumer preferences

The DLAppTap team manages the retail process: establishing supplier trade accounts; uploading all product specifications to the app; determining if products require minimum quantities in order to be sold; and managing the guest experience when using the app.

Justin Kandiah, managing director of DLAppTap, says, “Not only does DLAppTap have the potential to turn hospitality retail on its head, it is also a win-win solution where guests’ homes have reminders of their treasured holidays, and the hospitality industry has a streamlined way to give guests what they want, increase revenue and build their brand awareness.”

The Independent Hotel Show with the Hotel Room of the Future takes place at Olympia London 16-17 October 2108.

Hotel Designs is a proud media partner of the Independent Hotel Show. 

Hamish Kilburn / 15.10.2018

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