The future of digital content on the road

My wife and I recently returned from an anniversary trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. If you ever have the opportunity to go there, do it; we have nothing but terrific things to say about the city, people and food. The trip opened my eyes to the opportunities that exist for digital content to enhance the travel/vacation experience.

Unlike most hotels in the U.S., our resort didn’t include free wifi access. They instead offer something akin to 1990’s dial-up speeds at $10/day for each device. This model is likely designed to both gouge guests and encourage them to unplug during their stay. I’m sure it works but there are better options that would benefit both the resort and the guests. For example, how about turning the wifi network into a gateway to rich content, services and special offers?

Let’s start by offering a couple of wifi access tiers. A free model includes a slower connection that’s partially subsidized by ads. A paid option offers a faster connection with no ads. It’s the same model you see in many airports today. It’s not the connection that matters though, but rather the content and overall experience the connection provides.

Most travelers are hungry for recommendations of the best local meals, deals and happenings. Here’s where the adaptive content model and opting in to data sharing starts to pay real dividends. The more my app/device knows about my habits and interests the better it can provide relevant content and deals. Think of it as a virtual concierge, but unlike the hotel concierge who knows nothing about you, the virtual concierge has a pretty good idea of what you like to eat, where you’d like to visit, etc.

Let’s also roll in an opportunity for publishers to provide relevant content, acquire new customers and plant the seeds for additional engagement with those customers. How about giving me free access to a daily e-newspaper, for example? And please don’t pick that e-newspaper for me; let me choose one from a list of hundreds offered. When someone’s on the road they like to keep up with news back home. Many of those travelers don’t subscribe to their local newspaper, so what a great opportunity for publishers to expose their terrific product to new prospective readers. Capture names and email address if you must, but be sure to end the trip with an irresistible discount on becoming a full-time subscriber.

This is an opportunity for book publishers as well. Why not offer special samplers to get readers hooked on your authors and products? Better yet, offer access to short works travelers will be able to finish on the trip. Make recommendations (based on data accessible through the adaptive content model) so readers don’t have to spend too much time hunting for something that’s just right for them. This is where the service can combine the knowledge of personal interests (including how fast the user reads) with the visitor’s length of stay to recommend works of certain lengths. Since the content is free the publisher should feel comfortable pitching other products in the reading app. This is another opportunity to capture reader names and email addresses for follow-up marketing activities.

Let’s also not forget that many of these ideas can be extended further with an affiliate program for the hotel or resort; they’re bringing in the customers so publishers and proprietors should be willing to pay finder’s fees from the resulting revenue.

I’m only scratching the surface here but you get the idea. Just as digital books, newspapers and magazines will eventually evolve beyond the print-under-glass model that exists today, I’m confident digital content will find its way into new services like this that can significantly enhance the travel experience.