![[Translate to Englisch:] Die digitale Gästemappe](https://www.cologne-tourism.com/fileadmin/_processed_/e/2/csm_visitKoeln-die-digitale-zimmermappe-visitkoeln-christoph-seelbach_6eb4576367.jpg "Digital guest directory")
Guests staying in Cologne’s hotels can now discover the city even more conveniently. With “VisitKöln – the digital guest directory”, a new web app is now available that brings together tourist information, bookable offers and up-to-date event listings. The Cologne Tourist Board is taking a pioneering role in developing a central digital guest directory for hotels and other accommodation providers. The platform combines Cologne Tourist Board’s data expertise with the innovative software technology of Guestnet.
The app provides guests with quick and clear access to curated content related to their stay in Cologne – from city tours and experiences that can be booked directly in the app, to an event calendar listing what’s on in the city. Acting as a kind of digital tourist information centre, the app can be accessed anytime and anywhere on a smartphone or tablet by simply scanning a QR code.
“By launching this digital guest directory, Cologne Tourist Board is taking another important step in advancing the city’s digital tourism infrastructure while also supporting hoteliers in communicating with their guests in a modern way. The app is a practical example of how structured data can be used within the framework of our digitalisation strategy,” explains Dr Jürgen Amann, CEO of the Cologne Tourist Board. “We are providing our hotel partners with the app free of charge – as part of our commitment to future-oriented guest services.”
Free service enhancement for hotels
For Cologne’s hotel sector, the “VisitCologne – digital guest directory” offers a wide range of benefits. The application is easy to use and can be customised to match each hotel’s corporate design. In addition, Cologne Tourist Board is making the app available free of charge for an initial twelve-month period, with the prospect of extending this free service on a long-term basis.
Among the first hotels to use the new guest app are Die Wohngemeinschaft, Flandrischer Hof, Steigenberger Hotel, 25hours Hotel, and the three Cologne properties of A&O Hostels. Guests staying at these hotels can already take advantage of this new digital service and access information about Cologne quickly, clearly and conveniently on their mobile devices.
“Our goal was to create a digital solution that hotels can easily implement and that offers guests genuine added value,” says Katharina Weiß, Key Account Manager at Cologne Tourist Board. “In the coming weeks, we will be actively reaching out to our hotel partners and look forward to engaging with them personally about introducing this new service.”