Google Maps Goes Indoors: Is Your Hotel, Convention Indoor Map on There?

We have all been waiting for this, haven’t we? Google has already mapped every street, store and corner of the globe and now indoor maps are the next logical step. Just imagine, Google men with giant 360 degree cameras on their shoulders will soon be running through your hotel or convention centre to map your indoor space 🙂 Well not quite!

Today Google announced the long awaited update to Google Maps (Gizmodo, Huffington) that is for now only available on Android phones and is still in beta. The good news though? Google is actually soliciting owners of buildings to submit their floor plan to assist them with this.

I don’t generally ask for things but as a holiday present to all travelers, please please for the sake of your visitors upload your maps and help your guests and attendees navigate your beautiful buildings easier. It’s easier than you think, just read this page!

Event planners know well that event apps like EventMobi who provide interactive maps for conferences and expos at hotels or convention centres are of immense value to their attendees. I don’t think the new updates to google maps will eliminate our work as these are fluid data points that change daily, but it will definitely make all of our jobs a heck of a lot easier. In any case how many times have we asked “Excuse me sir, where is the main ballroom?” only received cold stares of “I don’t know!”. Well no more, that is if our wonderful colleagues at hotels, airports and convention centres spend an hour and send their maps to google.