The app AroundU is a location-based role playing game for hotel guests that mixes real life and fantasy achievements. Guests can create avatars and use an accurate 3D map to visit nearby partner locations like shops, restaurants and attractions using augmented reality without leaving their hotel room. Each day, the hotel launches a new mission or assignment through the app that offers rewards for guests, such as receiving a free drink for stamping their avatar at the most partner locations before a deadline. The app enhances the hotel's brand awareness and generates partnerships with other local businesses. However, implementing and maintaining such an app comes with costs and requires dedicated staff.

1. AroundUNew App for today’s Mobile Lifestyle Travellers

2. 1/ The ServiceThe app consists on a role-play LBS game, that will mix real life and fantasy “achievements”Guests will have access to this application by checking-in. It would be suitable for iPhone, Androids, and Blackberry

3. How it works?Guests create their avatar on the application platform

4. Then, on a accurate 3D map of the Hotel neighbourhood the guest/player will pinpoint spots representing our partners: luxury shops, restaurants, clubs, and other must-see places (gym, cinema, museums,…)Once the avatar enters one of the marked spots, the apppresents the partnersinteriorwithaugmented reality tools, sohecanvisit the surroundingwithoutleaving the hotel room

5. What is interesting with this concept, is that everyday, the hotel will launch a mission, or “assignment” offering rewards to the guestFor instance, every morning a new challenge will be unveiled on the app, it can be enigma, race, treasure hunt, etc.

6. Examples:« Free drink tonight at the bar for the guest who will stamp the more partners before 03:00pm » Then guest would have to go and stamp themselves in the more spots marked possibleEnigmas: “try to find out what shop offers our guests 10% discount today” to find clues, go to this coffee or this restaurant. / Guest will go there, and on their app, they will have the clue once they have stamped themselves.

7. Other advantagesPossibility to join this game to the loyalty program of the hotel – great users earn more pointsEnhance the brand awareness of the Hotel by this innovative tool, thus attract more potential fansDevelopment of a new way of being tourist, and innovative travellers are seeking for this Generates partnerships with other retailers, it is a win-win agreementBUT: The drawbacks are the cost of implementing & launching such an app + the fact that it will need full-time employee(s) in charge of creating deals and challengesSuch an application is more suitable for big hotels chains, that will support the cost

8. 2/ Similar services existing?As far as I know, there isn’t any service computing a game with real life promotions such as this one. Yet, there are application offering services close to mine, so lets discover them

9. Imaginative travellersIt is basically an online treasure hunt:-You have to set up an account-Then based on a clue, the player has to pin a point on the map, trying to find out a famous landmarks or destination- If he answer correctly to 5 answers, he is entered into the draw to win a trip

10. Gowalla

11. GowallavsAroundUGowalla is a LBS too , but offers in addition social network facilities, whereas mine is a gaming application.Gowalladoesn’t give access to real promotions, with actual partners, it is closer to Poynt or Foursquare in its use, but one common point is the stamping system, based on the location.