Hilton

iPad Management Application

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Hilton has 18 brands across different market segments and is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, United States.

Hilton approached our development team with a specific requirement to create a dedicated iPad app to manage projects within their facilities management system, Concept – a fully functional website with a project management system, allowing the staff to add, update, and search projects in an effective and convenient manner. However, they recognised the need to extend this functionality to a mobile platform (namely iPad) to enable a more flexible and remote approach.

Main points on the brief included the following pain points:

• Hilton managers often need to access the project management system while on the go, especially when attending inspections and meetings. As such, they required an iPad app to ensure ease of access to the system's most important functions – even without an internet connection.
• Projects also needed to be updated and synchronized in real-time across both the website and the app. Inaccurate or outdated information could lead to significant consequences across the board.
• The client emphasized the importance of a user-friendly interface that was intuitive, easy to navigate, and required minimal training.
• Data security was a top priority since the information stored can be sensitive and confidential. The iPad app needed robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

The application itself needed to have the following functionalities:

• Access the existing database
• Search projects
• Add new properties
• Update existing properties
• Synchronize data and reflect changes from the live website on the app and vice versa

The Solution

We built a native iPad app specifically designed for Hilton’s use of Concept’s project management system, ensuring a seamless and responsive user experience on the tablet device. The app was optimised for both online and offline use, allowing Hilton staff to access and work with their data even without an internet connection.

To maintain consistency and avoid data discrepancies, we implemented real-time synchronisation between the iPad app and Concept. Any updates made through the app or the website were instantly reflected in both platforms, once the dedicated Sync button was pressed.

The iPad application’s interface was carefully put together in a simple manner to prioritise ease of use and smooth navigation. Staff could effortlessly add new projects, search for, and update, existing properties, making the entire process very efficient and convenient.

Data security was ensured through multiple layers of protection. The app featured Microsoft’s multi factor authentication login to prevent unauthorised access to the application. All data transmission was encrypted to safeguard sensitive information during communication between the app and the server.

We integrated an offline mode within the iPad app, enabling Hilton managers to continue working with their projects even in areas with limited or no internet connectivity. Any changes made offline could be synchronized via the Sync button once the device had regained internet connection.

Our development team also focused on optimizing the app's performance to ensure smooth operations, even with a very large dataset of properties. This included minimizing loading times, optimizing database queries, and reducing unnecessary data transfers.