Blue Book Press Releases

November 2010: The best Tourism/Travel App Award went to Ireland’s Blue Book at the 2010 Appys awards ceremony held last Thursday, November 4th at the Gibson Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. The Appys awards ceremony, sponsored by the Carphone Warehouse, was created to recognize top-notch developers and shine a light on the most innovative and useful apps in their respective categories. The apps were judged on seven attributes including usability, production values, design, relevance to target market, utility, currency, and innovation.

Ireland’s Blue Book app was developed by O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing and DeCare Systems Ireland (DSI) and was recently launched in September 2010. The team worked closely with Michelle Maguire, Marketing Manager at Ireland’s Blue Book, to develop an app that would be useful and relevant for guests who visit Ireland’s Blue Book’s collection of Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles, and Restaurants. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create an app with O’Rourke and the Smartstay team. They have made the process extremely simple and have worked with us to focus on and deliver what our travelers really want – the freedom to wander,” said Michelle.

O’Rourke Hospitality and DeCare systems Ireland have developed over 12 Hotel & Resort Apps and are working on 13 more. They have branded the app platform with the name ‘Smartstay.’ Once a hotel signs on for an app the branding changes to represent the hotel and is populated with the hotel’s logos, images, videos, and content. DSI and O’Rourke have developed a framework to help hotels take a short and simple route to mobile commerce.

“What makes the Smartstay app so successful is the collaboration of knowledge, skills, and creativity from the three parties involved; O’Rourke Hospitality offers its expertise as a leading Hotel Marketing firm, DeCare systems Ireland makes it all happen with their extensive experience in application development, and the hotel provides the high-quality content that represents their brand and is valuable for their guests,” said Tom O’Rourke, founder/CEO of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing.

“Working with Michelle to create Ireland’s Blue Book app has been a fantastic experience and helped us to develop a mobile platform capable of showcase multiple hotels on one single app. This app is different from the other hotel apps which are built for one specific hotel,” continued Tom.

The Ireland’s Blue Book app features geo location services, maps, Twitter feeds, image libraries, and lodging and destination information to help the traveler plan their trip and supply them with useful information once they are at their destination. The app is free for guests and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store by searching on “Ireland’s Blue Book.” It can also be downloaded on iTunes. The Ireland’s Blue Book app will be available for Android in the coming months.

Hotels & Resorts that are interested in creating a similar app for their hotel or group of hotels should contact O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing at 978-465-5955 or send an email to info@orourkehospitality.com.

About Ireland’s Blue Book:

Ireland's Blue Book is a divine collection of Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants. Located throughout the island of Ireland these charming and stylish hideaways are the perfect choice for your holiday vacation in Ireland. Choose from over 40 elegant Georgian manors, stately castles, historic hotels, cozy bed and breakfast accommodations, luxury boutique hotels and designer lodges. Ireland’s Blue Book is a member of Historic Hotels of Europe.

Ireland’s Blue Book Website: http://www.irelandsbluebook.com/

About Smartstay:

Smartstay is the result of combined efforts between O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, LLC, and DeCare Systems Ireland, Ltd. An award-winning marketing firm that focuses exclusively on the Hospitality Industry, O’Rourke recognized the hotel industry’s need for a sophisticated mobile platform that would allow hotels to effectively communicate with their guests before, during and after their stay. O’Rourke found a proven and forward-thinking partner with DeCare Systems Ireland, Ltd, and together they combined the best marketing and hospitality knowledge with the best technological expertise to deliver Smartstay, a high-quality, robust, unique mobile solution for hotels.

Smartstay Website: http://www.smartstayapp.com/

About O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing:

Founded in 2001, O’Rourke is an award-winning Hospitality Marketing firm headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Serving national and international clients, O’Rourke provides hotels with a complete range of services including hotel website design and development, Internet marketing, print design, and hotel iPhone apps. O’Rourke services world class brands including Marriott International, Renaissance Hotels, and Winegardner & Hammons, Inc.

O’Rourke Hospitality Website: http://www.orourkehospitality.com

About DeCare Systems Ireland (DSI):

Established in 1998, DeCare Systems Ireland (DSI) is an enterprise software development company specializing in architecting, developing and integrating custom.Net and Java applications. Serving both private and public sector organizations, DSI focuses on Architecture Blueprinting, eSolutions, Bespoke Application Development and Application Performance Management. Leveraging their extensive experience in providing end-to-end eBusiness solutions across industries and a team of highly skilled technical engineers, DSI has created a range of mobile applications to help organizations take a short and simple route to mobile commerce.

DeCare Systems Ireland Website: www.decaresystems.ie

For further information contact:

Michelle Maguire on 01 6769914 or email mail@irelandsbluebook.com

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