Press

Having an app is becoming increasingly important for businesses across every industry. However, the process of building one can still be prohibitively expensive and intimidatingly complex. Criton offers a solution for the hotel industry: an easy app building platform that allows hotels and businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors to create beautiful branded apps providing an array of functionalities such as mobile booking, requests and recommendations.

The Edinburgh boutique hotel, restaurant and bar, Tigerlily, is the latest operator to create its own branded mobile guest app using the app-builder developed by travel tech firm Criton.

Deploying a range of tools and functionality offered by Criton's award-winning technology, Tigerlily's new app will give guests easy access to room and check-in information, details of services available at the 5-star venue, restaurant booking and local recommendations, along with links to social media channels and the ability to post reviews, from their smartphones.

Fashionable Edinburgh boutique hotel, restaurant and bar Tigerlily has launched its own branded mobile guest app developed by travel tech firm Criton. The app gives guests easy access to room and check-in information, details of services available, restaurant booking and local recommendations, along with the ability to post reviews from their smartphones.

Netherlands: Corporate Housing Factory (CHF) has teamed up with app builder Criton to launch a newly redesigned app for iOS and Android mobile devices. Driven by "many technology-loving guests and employees", CHF says it has been looking for a suitable communications tool to support the needs and demands of its residents. "The Criton system allows CHF to provide all information a guest might need to know about their apartment and neighborhood right on their own device," says the company.

Edinburgh-based hospitality app firm Criton’s link-up with GuestRevu is claimed to give hoteliers ranging from boutique owners to growing firms a similar kind of brand-based app for guests as some of the world’s biggest chains. It allows visitors to provide instant feedback and “guest intelligence” to which hoteliers can respond, before, during and after the stay.

One in four businesses in the licensed trade sector expects to lose staff because of Brexit, says Crtion. Theresa May’s decision to scrap the £65 “Settled Status” fee for EU citizens is a welcome move for the hospitality sector wanting to hold on to its workforce. But, as raised by Marc Crothall of the Scottish Tourism Alliance at the Scottish Affairs Committee in Westminster earlier this month, many of the government’s post-Brexit plans will make it extremely difficult for the industry to attract the talent and experience of EU workers it needs in the future. 

UK: The hotel app builder, Criton now offers a way for hoteliers and serviced apartment operators to gain guest feedback, having added GuestRevu's offer to its functionality. The integration with the management review software GuestRevu, formally announced at the Hotel General Managers Conference in London, provides the means to gather essential feedback on the guest experience 'in-stay', and encourages guests to leave comments on key review sites, once their trip is concluded.

After a year of exponential growth, Criton wins Best Technology Provider after being shortlisted also for Startup of the Year and Best Use of Mobile at the Travolution Awards.

Criton, the UK’s first intuitive app builder for the hospitality and tourism sector, has been announced as the Best Technology Provider at this year’s Travolution Awards, which took place in London on Monday night at the Troxy with over 400 guests in attendance.

App builder for the hospitality sector Criton has announced a partnership with cloud-based mobile access firm 4SUITES. The partnership will allow hotel guests to bypass lengthy check-in queues via a digital key on their mobile device to unlock their hotel room.

In what was claimed to be an industry-first, hotels that create a digital guest portal via Criton’s content management system will be able to utilise this technology.

“As technologies become more accessible, I think the hotel industry is going to use them to provide better amenities for their guests. From providing additional comforts for guests, to enhancing their stay through visuals - it's all going to contribute to a more pleasant consumer experience.”

Julie Grieve, CEO & founder of  Criton, the UK’s first intuitive app builder for the hospitality sector agrees that technology will play a huge part when it comes to the future hotel room.

Q: Describe both the business and technology aspects of your startup?

Criton is a technology company created for the hospitality industry.  It is the UK’s first DIY app builder designed for the sector and works with accommodation providers to support how they communicate and engage with their guests.

UK: London-based operator Cheval Residences is the first serviced apartment brand to adopt Criton’s new group app functionality across its portfolio. Criton, which offers intuitive app builders for the hospitality sector, has announced the launch of its group app functionality. Created specifically for the hospitality sector, the new product enables accommodation providers with multiple properties a platform to include information on each one within a single container app.

Criton CEO Julie Grieve tells SAN how serviced apartment operators can adopt the best technological advances in their properties. Filmed at the 2018 Serviced Apartment Summit in London.

Hoteliers have always focused on the guest experience, but never before has a guest’s experience outside of the hotel room mattered almost as much as their experience within the room. Guests now rely on peers and online recommendations rather than traditional star ratings to make their booking decisions. 

In the report available below, we shine the spotlight on 10 companies bringing new innovations to the hospitality industry. All 7 have been given exclusive use of our rosette to let the industry know they have been recognised for their creativity.