DALLAS—Mobile devices have become an integral part of the travel experience. Since 2011, Hotels.com has had over 20 million downloads of its mobile hotel booking app, proving that millions of people are adapting to the mobile way of life, especially when it comes to booking a hotel room on-the-go.
“Through the growth of our mobile booking app, we see that using mobile devices has become a seamless part of the travel planning and booking process,” said Taylor L. Cole, APR, travel expert for Hotels.com. “People are utilizing a variety of mobile resources on a number of devices to help them do everything from planning an extended trip to a simple overnight stay.”
According to data compiled by Hotels.com, mobile apps are vital for last-minute hotel bookings. Data shows that a whopping 60 percent of mobile bookings from the first half of 2013 were made for same-day check-in, while 68 percent of bookings were made within two days of check-in.
The data also found that rooms booked via mobile were not intended for long stays but rather short getaways or spontaneous trips. The majority of rooms, 70 percent, were booked for one-night stays, while 89 percent of rooms were booked for two-night or one-night stays. When broken down by device, iPad users were more likely to book longer stays (three days or more) than iPhone or Android users and stayed at hotels with higher star ratings. Over a third of mobile bookings (42 percent) are for two-star hotels.
The top destinations booked via a mobile channel include Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando, San Diego, and Huston.
