At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we caught up with Jeremy Krol, COO of Phunware, a company helping hotels deepen guest engagement through mobile technology and data-driven personalization. In our conversation, Jeremy explained how Phunware uses mobile apps, behavioral data, and AI to improve the guest experience and generate additional revenue. From replacing paper maps with seamless digital navigation to enabling smarter upsell opportunities, Phunware is helping properties enhance their digital footprint without losing the human touch.
What does Phunware do?
Phunware helps hotels turn everyday guest interactions into revenue-generating opportunities using mobile technology. Their platform provides hotels with a branded mobile app that allows guests to navigate the property, book amenities, and engage with services. The aim is to offer an end-to-end guest journey while giving hotels valuable insights to improve operations and revenue.
What makes your platform more than just an app?
While Phunware delivers a branded guest-facing mobile app, the core of its offering lies in its infrastructure. The company combines hotel data with its own wayfinding and engagement technologies to build a richer guest profile. This enables more effective communication, stronger guest engagement, and better commercial outcomes for the hotel.
How are you integrating AI into your platform?
Phunware has used AI for some time to improve product development, but new capabilities are enabling deeper guest engagement. By combining hotel data with behavioral and transactional data, Phunware can help hotels understand their guests better and even anticipate their needs. This predictive intelligence allows for more relevant and timely offers.
Is hyper-personalisation becoming an expectation in hospitality?
Yes. Jeremy believes the hospitality sector is moving in the same direction as platforms like Netflix or e-commerce, where guests expect experiences tailored to them. Generic messages are easily ignored, while personalised offers based on preferences and behaviour catch attention and drive engagement.
How do you measure mobile engagement and link it to revenue?
Phunware bridges digital touchpoints with revenue-generating actions such as spa bookings or excursions. Hotels can see exactly how mobile engagement drives results, from the number of devices connected to what services are most popular. This transparency gives operators clear insight into what works and what guests are looking for.
Can this technology reshape how brands interact with guests?
Absolutely. Jeremy sees an opportunity for brands to offer seamless, intuitive experiences that align with guest expectations. AI should work quietly in the background to enhance the experience, not overwhelm it. For hotels, this means designing engagement around the guest and letting technology do the heavy lifting.
What role should AI play in staff empowerment?
AI should not replace staff, but rather support them by automating repetitive tasks. Jeremy stressed the importance of freeing up staff to focus on what they do best, which is creating genuine connections with guests. With more time and better information, frontline staff can deliver a better experience, which benefits everyone.
About Phunware
Phunware, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHUN) is an enterprise software company specializing in mobile app solutions. We provide businesses with the tools to create, implement and manage custom mobile applications and analytics, digital advertising and location-based services. Phunware is transforming mobile engagement by delivering scalable and personalized mobile app experiences. Phunware’s mission is to achieve unparalleled connectivity and monetization through widespread adoption of Phunware mobile technologies, by leveraging brands, consumers, partners and digital asset holders and market participants. Phunware is poised to expand its software products and services audience and industry verticals through its new platform, utilize and monetize its patents and other intellectual property rights and interests, and update and reintroduce its digital asset ecosystem for existing holders and new market participants.