Month: May 2012

Hertz has been dubbed the top auto rental firm in North America and it has secured its top place for its leading kiosk experience. According to a consumer survey by Zagat, Hertz has ranked number one out of its competitors because of its reliability, vehicles and best services. The auto rental company was rated highly as the most popular firm and renters surveyed said Hertz was the best for self-service kiosk experience as well as business and leisure travel, counter staff, loyalty programme, car return experience, shuttle service and website, and ‘green’ options.

National Car Rental scored second place followed by Avis and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In total, 10 car rental brands were studied at the start of 2012 of nearly 800 people who rented almost 9,000 vehicles since last year. Each renter took out on average 11 vehicle rentals annually and the most popular reason was for business. Tim Zagat, Zagat co-founder, said: “Avis, the long self-proclaimed No. 2 in the industry, has been passed by National, if only by a hair in the overall rankings. National ranks second in best kiosk experience and ties for second with Avis for the best brand for business travellers.” Further findings revealed that Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked top for best deals and promotions whereas National has the “best bang for the buck. The study shows just how important self-service technology is for modern day consumers. The firm’s self-service kiosks transform the way people can rent cars and given the fact that they have ranked highly, audiences are clearly enjoying the independence.

So what is it that the automated kiosks offer drivers? 

– People can quickly retrieve their car keys instead of queuing up at a rental counter

– 24 car key assess

– No extra charge for rental at the self-service

– Smooth and fast pick-up

If you want to enhance the customer’s experience and make your business stands out from the rest; ‘contact us’ today for more details.

Self-service kiosks have become extremely popular in the hospitality industry, particularly in the hotel sector. The technology can reap tons of benefits to businesses in the trade and check-in kiosks were even rated in the top 10 hotel innovations over the last 16 years. There have been numerous studies recently which show how widespread the technology is and the findings include: – 9 out of 10 decision makers in the hospitality industry believe that mobile and wireless technology is increasing in important. – 56% of hospitality companies plan to spend more money on mobile technology to enhance customer experience, according to a whitepaper by Ariane Systems. – 75% of hoteliers think check-in capability via mobile is useful, according to Hospitality Technology’s 2011 survey. – 76% of guests think being able to check-in before arriving would ease frustration, according to Opinion Research Corp study. – 41% of guests would be more likely to pick a hotel that offers advanced check-in via the web or mobile device, according to Opinion Research Corp study. – 65% of people have booked a hotel room online or via mobile device but only 20% have actually checked-in using the methods, according to Opinion Research Corp study. – 57% would check-in using these methods if they were available. – The average guest carries two smart devices when they travel, according to Runtriz. As you can see from the various studies, self-service technology is common in the sector across the world and it is one of the hottest trends.

Features on the kiosks which guests can take advantage of include;

• Wayfinding, information, check-in, ticketing, cashless payment, internet, video conference, and fast track.

Matt Allard, CEO of Runtriz, said that businesses in the industry have to sit up and start deploying the technology to survive. He commented: “Guests are experiencing and expecting it more and more in their everyday lives, and hotels need to adapt.” If you would like to install kiosks in your hotel, speak to the experts at Protouch today.

Touch screen kiosks are already used across the world in a plethora of airports to help passengers check-in and fly more quickly. The technology makes the process of travelling much more efficient, saving time and money so it is no wonder why Australia has decided to extend its SmartGate program. The Australian government has already deployed a number of kiosks throughout its airports to allow Australians to return home and process their own passports through the use of a kiosk. But the scheme has proved so successful that it will be drawn-out over the next two years. The kiosks use face-recognition technology to perform the customs and immigration checks that are conventionally conducted by customs staff. So far units have been installed in Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth, and Melbourne and they involved travellers with ePassports. Now the government aims to fund another $7.9 million over the next couple of years and according to budget papers it will save the country $11.9 million over a four-year period because fewer staff will be needed for the Customs and Border Protection Service. Airport kiosks can help by allowing passengers to scan their ePassports as well as have their eye ID scanned but what other features can they provide?

– Check in

If travellers have no baggage to put onto the flight, they can simply check-in via a kiosk to avoid the long queues.

– Wayfinding

Airports can be very vast in space which means people can get lost. A kiosk can show vacationers where they are located in the airport and show them where everything is such as restaurants, shops and toilets.

– Internet access and printing

If a passenger has arrived at the airport and forgotten their tickets, they can simply log onto their emails via a kiosk with internet access and print them out again. It couldn’t be simpler! Here at Protouch, we have helped Birmingham Airport introduce an express lane with our fantastic express lane kiosks. Just check out the case study as an example of how we can help speed-line the processes and services at your airport.

Installing a kiosk into your business can reap tons of advantages for both the consumer and the corporation. And the popularity of self-service technology has increased over the past few years, with more and more industries jumping on board the band wagon. Today we are discussing kiosks in theme parks and specifically how can they help? Units include various features such as payment, information, internet access and more so which of these are useful in the leisure sector?

Specific features which can prove beneficial at a theme park consist of;

– Payment We’ve all been there; you arrive at a theme or water park, put all your belongings into a locker and then find that an hour or two later the kids want a drink or are hungry. But that means walking all the way back to your locker and getting out some cash, or alternatively carrying it with you from slide to slide with the risk of it getting wet or stolen. However, a kiosk can help visitors with cashless payment and instead they merely wear wrist bands which are loaded with money and everything around the park is paid via the bands. A perfect example of this is the Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Indiana in America. – Wayfinding Theme parks can cover vast areas so it is common for people and children to get lost. This can be tackled by encouraging parents to keep an eye on their children, by setting up a lost and found building, and by deploying touch screens at various points in the park which offer interactive maps. They can show visitors where they are and direct them to attractions that they want to see. – Fast track One of the features of a kiosk is fast-track whereby customers can skip the long queues and head straight to the front of the service. This can be useful at a theme park when visitors can pay extra to avoid queuing for rides and you don’t need to employ an extra staff member to attend to these consumers because the machine can register them. – Ticketing Often or not, tickets for rides can be bought at the main reception at a theme park but there may be times when a visitor wants to purchase more tickets and instead of walking all the way back to the front of the park, tourists can make payments at kiosks and purchase more tickets without assistance. Here at Protouch, we can help you deploy engaging, high quality software in your theme park to enhance the overall customer experience.