The process of booking a trip has evolved tremendously in the last few decades. From face-to-face meetings with travel agents to phone calls to online booking—the process is nearly unrecognizable. The next step in this progression is mobile booking. The following facts about the shift come from a variety of compelling statistics.
1. Mobile search and site visits are huge
According to eHotelier, 31 percent of consumers will search their next trip from a mobile device. While searches for hotels are significant, this does not always translate into actual bookings. Smart Insights also notes that 48 percent of consumers begin mobile research with a basic search engine. Therefore, hotels should prioritize having a mobile-friendly site and good search engine optimization (SEO), even before creating a supplementary app.
2. People want on-demand booking
An Adobe Digital Report reveals that 35 percent of consumers claim to be more active on their mobile devices while on vacation than at home. Mobile booking is especially useful for last-minute bookings. Even though apps such as HotelTonight have made the popularity of last-minute bookings apparent, when a hotel offers this service directly they boost traffic and profit. A 2015 study from Statistic Brain found that 65 percent of bookings were for last-minute stays, reiterating the value of speed and real-time availability.
3. The process should be as easy as possible
Google dashboard data from April 2014 to January 2016 reveals that most consumers will use whichever device is nearby when making travel arrangements. Year-over-year, mobile device searches for hotels rose more than 27 percent. All figures point to the prediction that mobile booking will continue to rise, largely due to the prevalence of smart devices (and perhaps some human laziness). According to an Adobe Digital Insights report, 65 percent cite “simplification of tasks” as the most important component in mobile travel experience. Therefore, the ideal booking process is intuitive, navigable, clear and as concise as possible.
4. Growth figures are irrefutable
Marketing expert Frederic Gonzalo found that mobile travel bookings have risen 1700 percent between 2011 and 2015—growing from 1 percent of online revenues to 18 percent. Mobile bookings have undeniably been growing exponentially. Overall, mobile booking has become an incredibly important avenue for the hospitality and travel industries to focus on.
