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Homestay introduces video chat technology
Accommodation website Homestay.com has introduced technology which allows guests and hosts to speak to each other via video.
The tool, called Homestay Communicate, has been integrated into the group’s website as part of the booking process.
In phase two, it will be integrated into the new Homestay.com app later this month.
Users need a webcam and an up-to-date web browser (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Opera) to use the tool.
Guests and hosts can choose to video call each other once an initial booking request has been sent, though there is also the option to just use audio.
After a booking has been made, Homestay Communicate enables users to stay in touch, if they wish, to discuss the finer details of an upcoming trip.
Homestay Communicate was developed on TokBox’s OpenTok Platform.
It is already used by Mozilla, Bridgestone and Double Robotic.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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