Is Geofencing Hospitality’s Answer To Rising Costs And Safety Concerns?

Sarah Dandashy Jul 1, 2021

Driven by consumer desires for new experiences, innovative technologies and environmental impacts – travel is changing. Host Sarah Dandashy explores the technologies and logistics that power travel and the brands that build unforgettable experiences.

While travel slowed the past year, innovation and technology in the travel space hit hyper-speed, as founders and innovators used the time to create new travel solutions.

On this episode of Say Yes To Travel, Host Sarah Dandashy talked with Vito Pagano, President and CEO of GettinLocal, the first travel app and technology of its kind that works with GPS-positioning that’s able to give a curated end-destination travel experience to hotel guests and local residents. It acts as sort of a concierge in your pocket. In addition, the duo talks about the possibilities of geofencing as an answer to traditional hospitality tools.

“All within one platform, a guest can discover and book everything that’s happening around the hotel, or if they’re visiting different pockets of the city, the app is dynamic, and it changes based on their physical location.” – Vito Pagano

“Think of it as similar to a Google search engine, where Google connects to different websites,” Pagano said. “We created one comprehensive app that pulls in Viator, OpenTable, our own curated content, and we marry into Google for reviews. So all within one platform, a guest can discover and book everything that’s happening around the hotel, or if they’re visiting different pockets of the city, the app is dynamic, and it changes based on their physical location.”

The app can be used from the safety of a visitor’s hand. It acts as a digital guide, similar to how a concierge would curate end-destinations for a hotel guest. Users can find things that are physically around them. The app also drives income to local municipalities, as guests visit and spend money in these destinations.

“In the future, we’re able to engage with that past visitor or local resident to come back to the city and promote things such as a food festival,” Pagano said. “We’re able to get people back into destinations once they’ve left.”