Interested companies can come along to discuss joining the shared Appi Distribution Platform, or to talk about their own aspirations for Mobile Apps, Mobile site or Website as their own bespoke solution.

When it comes to planning holidays, there’s nothing we like more than good-quality information that’s easy to search through. When it comes to skiing it’s no different; you need to have reliable, up-to-the-minute information on which resorts to book and which have been blessed with the best winter weather. Looking at www.welove2ski.com – an excellent source for the best places to ski and the latest gear – we learn that Wolf Creek in Colorado (www.wolfcreekski.com) was buried in a metre of early snow 10 days ago and opened early, on 8^th October (a record start date, it seems), to the joy of 3,500 visiting skiers. That’s can-do management for you and hopefully a sign that there will be good snow – in Colorado, at least – for the coming season.

Don’t forget to check out appiholidays.com for a thematic look at what’s available in the ski world this season. Perhaps you’re ready to move up from intermediate to advanced slopes, or maybe you’d prefer quieter (or more exuberant) après-ski this year? There are over 500 different ski holidays currently listed on the app and website, with 56 different themed options to help you find the perfect ski trip. ‘appi skiing!

You can also choose from a range of guided tours where you can immerse yourself in Turkish tradition and culture, and learn about Turkey’s intriguing past dating back to Biblical times. For lovers of the ocean, there is no better way to explore the beautiful Turkish coastline than on a luxury gulet cruise, your cruise itinerary will take you to some remarkable landmarks and you will also discover hidden coves normally unreachable by road. After a day spent exploring there is nothing nicer than sitting back relaxing on deck and listening to the sounds of the ocean while watching the sun go down.

It is also worth spending time in historic Istanbul, this fascinating city has one foot in Asia and the other in Europe, and boasts a diverse and interesting history. Soak up the atmosphere of this unique and lively city which is an extraordinary blend of the modern and historic ages.

Northern Cyprus holidays are popular year round, this stunning destination offers breathtaking scenery and ancient sites to discover, as well as a warm welcome from the Turkish-Cypriot people. More like the Mediterranean of yesteryear, you can get away from the crowds and enjoy a peaceful and relaxing holiday.

If you have ever fancied taking a journey down the Nile exploring the wonders of ancient Egypt, then why not consider one of Anatolian Sky’s luxury Nile cruises? Accompanied by an Egyptologist, you will learn all about the mysteries of Egypt’s intriguing past in elegant style. Spend your mornings exploring the ancient pyramids, temples and other historic sites, and then relax on a luxury river cruiser for the rest of the day.

Citybreaks in Marrakech are also a popular choice, stay in one of the authentic Moroccan Riads, lovingly restored traditional buildings which are built around a courtyard, a perfect long weekend being only around 3 hours away by plane. Or why not combine a stay in Marrakech with a trip to the peaceful High Atlas Mountains? Escape the city heat and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the mountainside, a world away in atmosphere from vibrant Marrakech. The picturesque Atlantic Coast also has plenty to offer, the coastal towns of Essaouria and Ouladia overflowing with personality and style.

With Appi Holidays unique search you can narrow down the features of a holiday that are really important to you, unlike any other holiday finder website. Choose features such as boutique hotel, close to the waterfront, air-conditioning, golf nearby, etc. to create your perfect holiday rather than having to wade through individual descriptions of each accommodation, let us do the hard work for you. And remember, Appi Holidays only work with travel suppliers who are associated with ABTA, ATOL or another “supplier failure protection” scheme, so your holiday booking is 100% safe with us.

Since the concept of Appi Holidays was announced in May, with a planned launch sometime in August, agreement has already been reached with over 20 Tour Operators to feature their holidays.

Product types already covered from the existing Tour Operators include Sun & Beach, Ski, Cruises and Villas.  We are now looking to sign up companies offering Escorted Tours, Rail Tours, Coach Tours, Lakes & Mountains, Wildlife, Special Interest  and other niche sectors.   Contact us for a demo of the App and to get your product featured!

As a new Sales channel, Appi Holidays provides the most cost-effective solution for tour operators wanting to reach this marketplace, without the need to develop their own applications, or indeed as an addition to their own App.

The App is already in pre-launch testing phase and the supporting website nearing completion.  Pre and post Press, Social and Marketing plans are in place.  Basically we’re very Appi  !!

About Appi Holidays

Appi Holidays is a revolutionary B2C App and Sales platform for selling holidays to the consumer via Smartphone and mobile devices.   Think of Appi Holidays as a mobile-based travel portal, for a complete range of holiday types with unique thematic search – always switched on, always to hand, featuring your brand.

Appi Holidays features a unique, content-led, “thematic” search for products, using “holiday types”, “features” and “filters” to narrow the search for the consumer.   Appi Holidays innovative Search technology delivers lifestyle matched product to the customer’s needs, as opposed to selling the same old product on the same old Travel Search criteria.  We believe this breaks the mould and will result in higher conversion ratios of lookers-to-bookers.

Because of its unique technology, for the first time, Users can compare different holiday types, with different features, in different destinations, based on maximum flight times from the UK … before checking pricing and available departure airports.

For more information about Appi Holidays and it’s features, visit www.appiholidays.com

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has predicted that Smartphone-using holidaymakers will increasingly turn to mobile phone applications and services in 2011 – http://www.traveldaily.co.uk/AsiaPacificNews/Detail.aspx?Section=21482.

World Travel Market’s Global Trends Report suggests smartphones will replace Google as the most important tool for the travel industry.  The report, in association with Euromonitor international, forecasts smartphone penetration to reach 92% in Europe by 2014, with mobile web browsing overtaking PC internet access in the same year – http://www.wtmlondon.com/page.cfm/T=m/Action=Press/PressID=1753.

“Euromonitor International has forecast that 50 per cent of European travellers will use Smartphones to source and book holidays. The travel trends predictor has indicated that many Smartphone-using holidaymakers are likely to employ applications and mobile services to plan their holiday.”

With the smartphone becoming the technology of choice for the consumer, it naturally follows that this will become an important channel for all Travel companies to have a presence.  Appi Holidays is an ideal solution for those companies who don’t have the budget to develop their own Mobile App, or who want to test the market with a low cost, low-risk entry point.

• Where you want to go?
• When you want to go?
• Which airport you must fly from?
• How long you want to go for?
• What date you want to leave?

What if you don’t know some or all of these things right now?

We’re not all travel experts!

My guess is that most of us aren’t great at geography and know little about some of the holiday destinations in the lists on a website, so how do I choose?  Answer: I spend hours online, searching loads of (old technology) websites, looking for inspiration!

I am also guessing that most of us could probably fly from more than one ‘local’ departure airport, but choosing more than one is not an option!

And what if I might actually like to see what I type of holiday, to fit my personal needs, I can buy for my money, before I decide how long I will go away?

Finally, how can I compare prices between different places, if I’m forced to choose one, drill down, go back, choose another etc., etc.

You get the picture!

The fact is that we are not all travel experts and the technology doesn’t allow us to compare destinations, or types of holiday, or find holidays that have the facilities or features that suit my lifestyle … before making all those decisions above.

So what’s the problem? Why are we stuck with this old technology?

The cause stems from the legacy reservation systems used by the majority of the larger Tour Operators. Yesterday’s technology, with restricted processing and communications capabilities, along with the need to enable Travel Agents to connect and book into these systems, forced the industry down a completely inflexible road with regard to data structures.

Over time, this restrictive structure became the de facto ‘standard’. Many companies, travel agencies, websites and systems are now dependent on this recognised structure of data and the methods of search and it is difficult to see a way to change it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Basically the search relies on the pricing and availability data within these systems, rather than the rich descriptive content about the holiday.

Appi Holidays to the rescue!

We figured that it was about time for a change. How could we get away from the old approach to finding you a holiday? Could we find a way of bringing the simplicity of user interfaces like that of the iPhone, to the data and content of holidays in the industry? What if we turned the search “on-its head”?

Well we think we’ve succeeded! Appi Holidays uses the rich content first, then slices-and-dices the pricing and availability data to filter the results down to a manageable number, based on your choices at each step.

The result is a revolutionary, simple-to-use method of searching and comparing holidays that match your needs, rather than forcing strict decisions from you at the beginning of the process. Think of it more as a “lifestyle” or “features” search.

In addition to this, for the first time, we are able to introduce the Customer to a whole range of different “Types” of holiday in a single App, giving him choices he probably hadn’t considered previously. This offers a huge opportunity to smaller, specialist Tour Operators to promote their product to this marketplace.

And, with our intelligent Search technology, the choice of “features” for the Customer change relevant to the holiday type. So, for example, with a “Sun & Beach” holiday, a room with a “Sea view” may be important, but with a “Ski” holiday, a “Ski in, Ski out” chalet may be important. The whole experience is based on filtering the important criteria to each individual holidaymaker, to deliver a set of relevant results that meet their needs.

Oh, and as a by-product, guess what, IT DOESN’T SELL ON PRICE FIRST! It also allows the customer to compare holidays in different Destinations and Resorts side-by-side.

We hope you like it and are looking at more ways of improving the experience for the future!

See here for a more detailed view of the Search process and App.

The proliferation of Smartphones and Mobile Internet is finally beginning to have an impact on the way that people research and book their holidays.

Already there are several Apps in the marketplace to enable people to book flights and hotels, but there has been scepticism about people actually booking their next holiday on a mobile, with the size of screen being seen as the main hurdle for such a high priced purchase.

Times, they are a changing

However, a wealth of new research is beginning to suggest that the size of a mobile screen is no longer a barrier to using it for a holiday booking for the majority of owners. Indeed, the new generation of users are suggesting that the Smartphone screen is now the accepted normal screen size, with Laptops and PCs being seen as “big” screens. And, they are already happy to buy product through this route, as the Appstores and other online Retailers can verify.

Whether the size of screen actually is a hurdle to booking is probably an irrelevant argument anyway, if you consider that using a mobile device for researching a holiday, prior to going to a website or calling the tour operator, is perfectly acceptable to most users. The mobile holiday booking App, or mobile website is a natural and very useful Marketing and Sales channel.

Too many Apps

At the time of writing, there are already several Apps out there for booking flights (only) and hotel beds (only), with very few available from individual holiday companies. Eventually, most of the large to medium-sized companies are expected to have an App or mobile site of their own. Smaller companies probably won’t be able to afford the development costs, leaving hundreds of companies, and their products, out in the cold.

All these individual Apps however, promoting their own brand, poses a real problem for the User.

• How do they know which brand or App is best for their needs?
• How many Apps are we expecting them to download?
• How do they compare what’s on offer between companies?

The future is mobile … the future is Appi Holidays

Enter “Appi Holidays” to solve the problem – one simple-to-use App for the Customer, offering holidays from many companies; one simple Sales platform for the Tour Operator to promote and sell their product.

Expected to launch in August 2011, Appi Holidays is the new mobile holiday research App, mobile holiday website and full size holiday website, providing a whole collection of holiday companies’ products, in a single, simple service for the holidaymaker to find exactly the right vacation to match their lifestyle.

Watch this space for more updates

See more about Appi Holidays unique holiday search features.

If you are a Holiday Company (Tour Operator) find out how you can feature your holiday product.