Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is breaking new ground in the digital age. It’s goHow app and a new “digital concierge” will let travelers know what’s happening and where at the airport. This is a new step in merchandising airports since travelers are finding themselves there for longer periods.
The smartphone app is available at one other airport, Denver. But, the digital concierge is a first-of-its-kind experiment that will provide
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• Information on airport shops, restaurants, services and other amenities
• Flight information
• Hotel and ground transportation options
• Menus for MSP’s full-service restaurants
• Airport maps and walk times to chosen points of interest
• Airport news, deals and events
• Weather information
• Airline information for scheduling or rebooking a flight
• Search or filtering features
According to sources, the goHow Airport mobile app even allows travelers to rate airport shops, restaurants and services – and to see how others have rated them. That’s instant airport social networking an airport TripAdvisor at your findertips. The digital concierge will surely have similar information as it develops.
A new Digital Concierge program features two four-sided digital touch screen directories at either end of the MSP airport mall in Terminal 1-Lindbergh. There are plans to expand the program in the future with additional interactive directories in other areas of the airport.
MSP’s new mobile application, goHow Airport, is available for free download onto iPhone and BlackBerry devices. Early next year, the app is scheduled to be available for Android devices as well.
“These new technologies enable us to personalize each traveler’s airport experience by presenting information in ways relevant to that person’s individual interests and needs,” said Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
“The mobile app and touch-screen directories map the way to your gate, show what shops, restaurants and services are in the vicinity, tell you how many minutes away each location is, and offer search or filter functions so you can find food items, merchandise or services of particular interest to you,” Hamiel said. “Our goal is to provide one of the best airport experiences in the nation by placing the travel information you need right at your fingertips.”
Unlike other travel apps, goHow Airport’s data about Minneapolis-St. Paul International – including real-time parking information — is provided and managed directly by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, helping ensure it is the most accurate and up-to-date available.
Hopefully the digital concierge will include weather maps that will allow passengers to have a better idea of the weather at their destination and in between here and there. That is always a help whenever such a map is available and it answers lots of questions that were once-upon-a-time a mystery.
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