Swiftfox Apps

Last week, I sat in on a presentation given by a new visitor to SoolNua HQ, Jamie Gale. He shared an interesting and interactive company overview presentation for Swiftfox Apps.

The idea had been developed by himself and his friends based on a problem they had identified in the marketplace when tasked with designing an inexpensive festival app. They wanted the app to benefit both the attendees and event organisers and to pull all of the event information into one place.

Push notifications

I know that from personal experience, I already liked the sound of an app that would contain all of the information I needed in one place, making the event experience easier overall. The Idea of push notifications really appealed to me in particular because I have experienced, as I’m sure most people have, being at an event and due to getting caught up in the moment or losing track of time, we can miss the very thing we had come to see! I know that if I had gotten a push notification on my phone then I may not have missed my favourite act of the night!

It is an exciting prospect from the Event Managers side, as the app would allow them to add features such as promotions before the event even starts! 

Then Pádraic asked the question that was probably on everyone’s mind… not another App? We have all downloaded an app that looks appealing for a short period of time, to then later becoming frustrated with the number of unnecessary apps that are sitting on our phone and taking up memory.

My own reluctance to download yet another app was reassured by Jamie’s explanation that the app would only need to be downloaded for the two weeks duration of the event and then it could be reinstalled again the following year. He also assured us that the app is easy to use and always brings added value, making it worthy of the precious download space.

I particularly like the emphasis that the company puts on the design and functionality of the app, as they say in their own words: “ if a 6 year old can’t navigate our apps, then it’s no good”. That sounds good to me!

To find out more about the company, you can visit their website here: https://www.swiftfoxapps.com/

Stampowl

Here is a photo of Jamie on a postcard that he sent into the SoolNua office!

The postcard was made from an app called ‘Stampowl’. An app that Jamie Gale also developed – this time for a personal reason. He told us that he came up with the idea when he was studying abroad in Austria and he wanted to stay in touch and send photos to his grandparents who did not use any technology. The way the app works is that you choose a photo from your phone, write your message and then it is delivered with a stamped owl icon in the top right hand corner. The owl they used in the example was called ‘Hedwig’ which reminds me of the owl in Harry Potter! This is all done from the App using personal photos from your phone!

For more Info on the App, take a look at their website: https://www.stampowl.com/

Hyatt Centric: The Liberties, Dublin

Prior to that, we had another visitor – John Costello from Hyatt Hotels. He gave us all a sneak preview of the new Hyatt Centric Hotel that is planned to open up in the Liberties area of Dublin’s city centre in May 2019. It was exciting to hear all about the plans for the new hotel. John also explained how the Hyatt Hotel Corporation would partner with the Athlone-based Hodson Bay Group and its chairman, John O’Sullivan.

This is an exciting time for the inner city area, a place full of history, character and authenticity. I know that the Liberties also has a strong history with whiskey distilling that is currently being revived with distilleries such as Teeling Whiskey which opened up in recent years. The hotel’s location is very central too, with other top Dublin attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse, Christ Church Cathedral as well as Saint Patrick’s Cathedral which are closely situated.

New ways of designing meeting space 

The subject of meeting and conference space came up during the meeting. It was very interesting to hear the team discuss the design of meeting spaces with a particular focus on colour choice as well as new and modern ways of designing meeting spaces that are emerging from companies like We Work. A discussion about the colour of a meeting room space being described as a  “beige colour’ was something new to me.

Read this article for more info on the soon to be Hyatt Dublin Hotel here: https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/first-look-irelands-first-ever-hyatt-hotel-announced-for-dublin-36938101.html

I also wrote a blog post about SoolNua’s week at IMEX in Las Vegas last week. It highlights all of the activities and events that they attended at the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel and meetings and events. Here is the link to it: https://soolnua.com/blog/soolnua-imex18/