There is a lot of focus on turning smartphones into mobile office desks these days. Hands free access to e-mail, office telephony features, video conferencing and VoIP services are providing more and more flexibility for businesses to operate from all over and out of town.

But what about vacation? The more we use our mobile device to tie us to our workplace, the more attractive the idea of leaving it powered off while taking a break can become. That’s how it used to be, at least: with access to hotel amenities solely provided through a telephone and a television remote control.

Freedom One changes that. DOCOMO interTouch (DCMi), in a partnership with Fingi, has come up with a solution to business phone fatigue with the new hospitality focussed mobile app. In an attempt to give visitors complete control of their hotel experience Freedom One will be offered to guests before they check in at their destination and works on both iOS and Android (News - Alert) platforms.

The app functionally turns the user’s phone into a room key, giving her the ability to lock and unlock the door to her suite, as well as full control over all in-room features including lighting, temperature, curtains and of course entertainment. Freedom One also gives full and direct access to the hotel’s guest services and amenities like the spa and the concierge.

A big obstacle in travelling with a smartphone comes in the form of roaming charges. In order to avoid being blasted with a massive bill upon vacation’s end, travellers have always been best suited when keeping in mind certain cost-reduction methods. Freedom One also aids in this matter by providing users offsite access to their hotel phone which includes a local number to send and receive calls.

DCMi and Fingi are both companies that exclusively operate in the hospitality industry, and they hope it shows with how much this app was built specifically to cater to hotel visitors. It’s a bit of progress that has been a long time coming, after all, the hotel industry is all about the very concept of mobility, so an app developed by the hosts for the hosted is a logical next step.