Frequent travelers now have another reason to stay glued to their mobile devices as they move from airport to hotel and everywhere between. As technology reporter Dino Grandoni writes in The New York Times, hotels are stepping up their mobile offerings to accommodate travelers who are increasingly disinclined to call the front desk.

Grandoni’s story even includes an anecdote straight from the associations space, with American Gas Association Managing Director James Linn recounting a time he forgot to bring dress socks on a trip.

“In the past, Mr. Linn, a managing director at the American Gas Association who was in New Orleans for an energy conference, would have rushed to a clothing store near his hotel, a Hyatt Regency, to buy an extra pair,” Grandoni writes. But after Linn sent a quick text, he was told the socks would be waiting for him at the front desk.

Hyatt Regency’s app is the result of a collaboration with startup Zingle, which isn’t alone in tackling the problem of upgrading concierge services to fit the demands of mobilecentric guests. Other hotel chains are getting in on the app request game. Marriott debuted a similar feature in 46 Marriott hotels earlier this year, and the company aims to have it mobilized in all of its locations by this summer.

Checklists of the Day

If you don’t know who your community champions are, it’s about time you found them! Online Community Results Chief Engagement Officer Ben Martin has a new post that breaks down how your association can find and engage its most passionate and loyal members. The list below is just a preview, so be sure to check out all of Martin’s lists here.

Making Contact

• Make a phone call to an individual champion.
• Schedule a conference call with a group of champions.
• Hold a meetup at your annual conference. Ask your ED, elected leader, or a senior executive to attend.
• Schedule coffee or a meetup with your ED when s/he visits their city.
• Honor champions by inviting them into a closed group where you can communicate about community progress and business.

Other Good Reads

Has your association recently lost some of its most valuable advocacy team members? Then heed these four tips from Association of Government Relations Professionals Executive Director Robert Hay, via CQ Roll Call‘s Connectivity blog.

“It’s time publishers accept that the future will bear little resemblance to the past,” technology, media and telecommunications consultant Liam Boluk writes in a potent call to abandon digital magazines on Redef.

How are communities celebrating their local businesses during Independents Week, which begins Wednesday? Writer Christina Green explores what three towns are doing in a post on Frank J. Kenny’s blog.

(Paolo Oltrona Visconti/ThinkStock)