A North American-based hotel and restaurant recommendation website has announced an expansion into the UK and 19 other European markets.
US hotel recommendation site Nara announces expansion into UK
A North American-based hotel and restaurant recommendation website has announced an expansion into the UK and 19 other European markets.
Nara Logics, which describes itself as a computational neuroscience company, uses profiling, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), to match consumers’ tastes with relevant accommodation and eating options.
The company’s chief executive, Tom Copeman, told Travolution that complex algorithms developed by neuro and data scientists underpinned the personalisaton technology.
“Nara gets to know and understand the consumer. We find options that are more relevant and personal to the buyer,” he said.
After registering on the company’s homepage users are asked a serious of “onboarding” questions so the system can begin to develop a profile.
Users then gives “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to properties and restaurants they have experienced.
“The more the consumer interacts with Nara the more it with understand them and is able to make the most relevant recommendations.”
The technology was developed under the leadership MIT neuro-computer scientist, Dr Nathan Wilson.
“We designed the Nara Neural Network to be able to scale efficiently and effectively,” said Wilson, who is also Nara’s chief technology officer.
“Our ability to analyse and re-index big data at Internet-scale has allowed us to expand the platform across new verticals and now into international territories very quickly.”
Nara already has established partnerships with Opentable and Grubhub and works closely with Expedia in Europe.
Copeman said Nara was looking for further partnerships in its new European marketplaces.
Kristin Pados, the company’s general manager and senior vice president of product, said: “Whether you are travelling domestically or internationally, Nara users can now receive personalised recommendations for restaurants and hotels on both web and mobile.”
Nara is currently available everywhere in North America and from today (April 29) in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Frankfurt, Krakow, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Venice and Vienna.
In the US and Canada Nara hotel recommendations will also be available for the first time on native Android and iOS platforms.
Features of Nara
- Give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on places you know to hone your taste profile
- Discover restaurants and hotels similar to those you love
- Learn why Nara is making a particular recommendation for you.
- Pin restaurants and hotels to save them for later
- View friends’ thumbs and pins to see how your tastes align
- Browse recommendations as you like–tile-style, in a list, on a map, or in a beautiful carousel
- View amenities and more for hotels.
Nara is available online for free at nara.me, and on the App Store and Google Play.
