Same-Day Travel Apps Cater to Last-Minute Travellers

Procrastinating travellers who find it difficult to plan trips in advance could find some spontaneity and even bargains with last-minute travel apps to book flights and hotel rooms.
Whether it's finding a flight, or a same-day hotel room, apps are catering to consumers seeking more flexibility.
"Most people think that it's crazy to book a flight at the last minute because it's expensive and complicated," said Patrick Surrey, chief data scientist at Massachusetts-based travel company Hopper.
"Although prices do tend to go up quite sharply as departure time approaches, there are some cases where prices can go down," he added.
Hopper's new app, Flight Tonight for iPhones, helps consumers find flights leaving within 24 hours, which could be cheaper than or the same price as flights booked in advance.
After entering the airport of departure, the app displays every destination with flights that day sorted by cheapest price. The company, which analyses millions of flight purchases each day, said a small number of flights booked on the same day of travel have the same price as those booked 30 to 50 days in advance.
The app is free and available in the United States and Canada.
For last-minute hotel bookings, consumers can turn to popular apps such as Hotel Tonight, for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone, and HotelQuickly, for iPhone, Android and Blackberry, which show rooms available at a discount for the same night. The travel website LastMinute Travel also has an app to make same-day hotel reservations.


Last month the Chicago-based deals service Groupon launched a new feature called Getaway Tonight on its app for finding same-day hotel deals in the United States.
"Already, 15 percent of hotel bookings are done at the last minute and it's growing as more tools emerge that allow consumers to be more spontaneous in their planning," said Simon Goodall, vice president and general manager of Groupon Getaways.
But Chris McGinnis, editor of the website TravelSkills, said it is unlikely travellers will embrace a same-day flight booking app.
"To drop everything and run out to the airport, that's not the way people operate. At the last minute, flights are outlandishly expensive. People who book at the last minute like that are often business travellers who need to jump on a plane for a meeting and the company is paying the bill," he added.
McGinnis added that consumers have a better chance of finding deals on last-minute hotel booking apps, but said it could also be risky to wait until the last minute.
"The thing about having reservations is you get peace of mind knowing there's a room waiting for you," he said.

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Facebook Unveils 'Save' Button to Bookmark Items for Later Consumption

Facebook on Monday began letting people squirrel away online tidbits such as links to chew on more thoroughly later."Now you can save items that you find on Facebook to check out later when you have more time," software engineer Daniel Giambalvo said in a blog post on the leading social network.
"You can save items like links, places, movies, TV and music."
The feature is being added as Facebook users increasingly connect with the social network from mobile devices while on the go, with only snippets of time to explore Internet offerings.
Letting people save items for later scrutiny encourages people to return and spend more time on Facebook, increasing opportunities for the social network to cash in on money-making tools such as advertising.
California-based Facebook said users have the option of keeping saved items private or sharing them with friends via the social network.
The "Save" feature will be rolled out during the next few days to those using computer browsers or mobile devices powered by Apple of Android software, according to Giambalvo.

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Apple iTunes Pass Rolls-Out to US, UK and Other Countries

Apple on Wednesday has launched iTunes Pass for more regions after first debuting the service in Japan on Monday. Along with Germany, the US, and the UK, users of Australia, Spain, Canada and the Netherlands are also reporting the availability for their regions. The service isn't available  India as yet.
Apple has also noted that "iTunes Pass is not available in Brazil, China and Turkey" as of now. The iTunes Pass is compatible for devices running iOS 6 or higher. From the terms and conditions for (non-refundable, no resale) iTunes Gift Cards, iTunes Gifts, and iTunes Pass, a user must be atleast 13 years old along with a valid iTunes account, and it can be used only in the country in which they are purchased.
"Now you can add money directly to your iTunes or App Store account with iTunes Pass. To get iTunes Pass, go to the iTunes Store on your iOS device, scroll down, and tap the Redeem button. Then go in to any Apple Retail Store and let a Specialist know you want to add credit to your account. Open iTunes Pass in Passbook, and have the Specialist scan it and accept your payment. Your balance will be updated and can be used immediately," notes Apple on its website.
The iTunes Pass service by Apple essentially helps customers who use iTunes gift cards to purchase things on the iTunes Store, App Store and iBooks Store. In order to use new iTunes Pass, customers can add it in the existing Passbook app in iOS. Previously, users could already fill up their Kids account credit using physical gift cards purchased from brick-and-mortar Apple stores or by setting up an iTunes allowance for their kids.

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Zynga Lowers 2014 Forecast as Losses Widen

Zynga said Thursday it wants to perform better, as the social games firm reported losses widened and revenues sank in the past quarter, sending its share price tumbling.
The loss for the past quarter deepened to $62.5 million, compared with a deficit of $15.8 million in the same period a year ago.
Revenues dropped sharply to $153 million in the three months ending June 30, from $230 million a year earlier.
"While our quarterly financial results were in line with our guidance range, we aspire to do better and improve execution across our business," chief executive Don Mattrick said in a statement.
"We are purposefully competing, and while we would like to be further along, we believe we are making the right decisions to grow our business and unlock long-term shareholder value."
Shares in Zynga tumbled nearly eight percent to $2.69 in electronic trades after the news, reflecting investor disappointment.
Zynga also lowered its outlook for 2014 "primarily to reflect the delayed launch of new games and features," according to its earnings statement.
The company rose to stardom by tailoring games for Facebook, but has struggled as the two firms have grown apart and Zynga seeks new sources of revenues.
The San Francisco company announced it is launching a new line of sports games under the brand "Zynga Sports 365."
Zynga said it signed a licensing deal with the National Football League and NFL Players Inc. to use real NFL teams and athletes, "creating an authentic team manager football experience that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere."
The company also signed a multi-year partnership with Tiger Woods for golf-themed games expected to debut on mobile devices in 2015.
And Zynga announced a deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to license the Looney Tunes brand for mobile games expected to be launched later this year.
"We continue to make significant investments in the highest potential areas of our future pipeline," Mattrick said.
"We are further diversifying our product portfolio in order to reach more consumers and widen our demographic across more entertainment genres."

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Google Testing 'Explore Nearby' Button in Maps App for Android

Google started rolling out an update to its Google Maps smartphone app bringing it to version 8.2 last week. It is now being reported that a few users are getting a new dedicated Explore Nearby button with the same update, bringing some new features.
The new Explore Nearby option's dedicated button was first spotted by Artem Russakovskii, a Google+ user who posted a screenshot of the option currently being tested by Google. Users not seeing the dedicated button can still access the Explore Nearby option via the Search interface.
As seen in the screenshot posted by Russakovskii, the dedicated Explore Nearby button is seen placed alongside the GPS button at the bottom right corner of the screen. GSMArena notes that when users tap the Explore Nearby button, it gives them details about their current location, along with the weather conditions and nearby places of interest.
The Explore Nearby feature is also seen to show different places of interest for different times of the day - such as Evening, Night and Late Night. There is also an 'Anytime' option that shows all the possible options at once.
Since only select users have been issued the dedicated Explore Nearby button with the Google Maps 8.2 update, it appears that Google is currently testing the feature and will roll it out to all users gradually.
Changes all users can see with the Google Maps app update (version 8.2) include voice controls for vehicle navigation inside the app and elevation information for bicyclists. Google also announced support for Hindi on Tuesday.
Google has also added the options to comment and +1 the images in the 'Views' section of the Google Maps, especially useful for commenting on shared images such as Photo Spheres.
The news came via Google's Evan Rapoport's Google+ account. "Love photo sphere, Views (g.co/views), and +Google Maps? We just added comments and +1s into Views, allowing you to chat with the photographer about their photo spheres and the amazing places they visited. It's a perfect way to plan travel for you photo enthusiasts out there," states the post.

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