While in Penang this week, the second leg of our WIT Hospitality Roadshow, I downloaded the HotelQuickly app to quickly check what rooms were available and at what price;

The company had just raised US$4.5 million in a second round of funding and they were part of our panel of speakers at this roadshow designed to update hoteliers in Bali, Penang and Phuket on the latest customer trends.
 
I found a surprisingly good choice of hotels – from more budget hotels such as Eastin to the higher range Eastern & Oriental and Lone Pine hotels. The prices weren't bad and they promised me a discount on top of rates advertised if I signed on as a member.


 
A few hours after I downloaded the app, I received a message from HotelQuickly thanking me for doing so and asking me for feedback.
 
That same evening, Douglas Khoo, one of the co-founders of Qunar, got visibly excited at dinner after taking a phone call. "You won't believe who that was from? MyTeksi."
 
Khoo had used the Malaysian taxi app twice that day and had encountered a slight problem. "They wanted to find out what the problem was and if they could do anything to help," he said. "I am very impressed."
 
Indeed, these new tech companies are showing the way in customer service because they know that is the fastest and surest way to gain consumer trust – the biggest fear of booking online or on mobile is thinking you're going to be left alone after the purchase.
 
Full story