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The tourism and travel industry has witnessed remarkable growth in the last few decades. Firms worldwide are taking advantage of the mobile phenomenon and digital technology. Gone are those times when people had to spend days booking a hotel room. Instead, hotel reservations are only a few clicks away nowadays.
Kudos to custom mobile app development services, there is a surge in the development of new and innovative mobile apps targeted at improving the traveling experience to an exceeding level.
Without a doubt, mobile technology is a game-changer for the travel and hospitality industry.
Mobile apps are a way to better customer service and engagement. For hotels, mobile apps present an opportunity to use such powerful tools for branding, guest loyalty, marketing, advertising, cross-selling, etc.
Mobile app development services are ruling the hospitality industry
The effect of digitalization has impacted the travel and tourism industry. For the same reason, top mobile app development companies are stepping into this market to grow their business and build efficient apps, improving hotel reservation stature. Consistent with its popularity, travel mobile apps are the 5th most downloaded leisure apps in the market.
Still wondering if building such mobile apps offer rewarding results!
Let’s study some basic statistics.
Now that you’ve read some alarming statistics about the importance of mobile apps in the travel sector, it is safe to say that these apps do transform the market, rendering physical bookings and contacting travel agencies as obsolete tasks.
The top trends that should make an introduction in a hotel mobile app
The hospitality industry is known as a service-proficient industry. Technology in the hospitality industry, assists in creating a personalized and seamless experience for clients. Just like all the other domains, even the hospitality industry needs to take advantage of the efficient technology parameters and revolutionize their operations.
IoT-based smart decisions
IoT is truly a blessing for mobile app development services. With the use of IoT technology, developers can implement geolocation smart systems, therefore, connecting services, locations, and people together. The data generated can help tourists across the world, allowing them to use it for their advantage.
Chatbots provide customized services
As per a survey, 25% of customer service and support operations employ virtual customer assistant or a chatbot technology to increase engagement levels. Chatbots have been blessed with AI technology, predictive analytics, and machine learning. They know the right answer to every customer query, offer personalized customer service like recommendations based on previous experience, help find locations of best properties or hotels for a vacation, make payments for services, or place room service orders on behalf of customers.
Therefore, chatbots can take care of the guests in an efficient manner.
Location-based services
Adding such sophisticated services make guests happy right from check-in to check-out. Such services interest customers and allow you to take hospitality up a notch. For example, pushing coupons, special offers, discounts, or rewards when a person crossing a restaurant is an outstanding way to great customers, and spread a good word about your services
Voice-based assistance
Integrating Amazon Alexa with hotel services along with the modern amenities provided by the hotel acts as a virtual concierge for the guests. Voice-based assistants simplify a lot of tedious tasks undertaken by humans. For example, ordering towels, controlling in-room temperature, looking out for nearby location attractions, searching for local restaurants, booking tickets to the movies, ordering room service, etc., can all be accomplished by voice-based assistants. Such hospitality experiences are not only impressive and convenient, but provide a personalized and memorable experience to the guests.
Use of AR and VR for hotel reservations
There was a time when people had to visit the hotel premises, browse through the different hotel rooms, and then complete their hotel reservations. However, now with VR and AR into the picture, you can do everything you would have done before booking a hotel room, virtually. Hotels can partner with AR technology, construct a virtual outlook for their hotel and rooms, and let users view it in real-time. Not only does it make the hotel booking process easy and comfortable for the users, but it also allows them to make a more informed decision. This will reduce cancellation rates, improve customer trust, and allow hoteliers to leverage this amazing trend for their advantage.
Guest Apps for Room service
Smartphones can make the lives of the housekeeping department easier. Around 94% of business travelers and 80% of leisure travelers prefer using mobile apps for requesting certain services or message the hotel staff. This will reduce the number of visits a room service employee makes, making it convenient for both the parties.
Let’s say, there is a package waiting for your guests at the front desk. Now, instead of calling them, you can notify them by sending a message on the guest app. It facilitates communication between guests and staff members, updating them with necessary information through an app. Moreover, it reduces the in-person availability of the staff to attend the guests, letting them handle some core operations.
Geolocation features
After arriving at the destination, most travelers want to know everything around them. With the help of geolocation, guests can get to the club, restaurant, shopping mall, and all the nearest locations through the using a geolocation-powered travel app. People can, therefore, go around the city comfortably without worrying about getting lost in the middle of nowhere. Such apps will be of great use for people new to the city.
Conclusion
The travel industry is a multi-billion-dollar business, thanks to the growing number of food and travel chains, catering to the infinite needs of the customers. With apt mobile app development services, people can enjoy better, reliable, and faster services.
With the booming internet speed and growing smartphone users in the world, travel planning doesn’t seem like a daunting approach. However, with technologies like AI and IoT in the game, the travel industry can witness a much-needed makeover.
