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Booking App: The list of most important functions which have to be there

The steady growth of mobile users also makes many booking companies rethink how they manage their business. Today hotels and other travel-related companies get 60% of bookings via mobile devices, while 74% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2026 according to Statista.

 

Booking apps can offer many benefits, ranging from user engagement, a broad customer base, multiple revenue streams, lower customer support costs, and more.

In 2020, almost 150 million travel bookings were made online, and it`s apparent that the popularity of booking and travel apps will continue to grow. Safe travel, capacity management, better customer experience is one of the few things that will  elp many companies to add value to their apps and recover the tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The steady growth of mobile users also makes many booking companies rethink how they manage their business. Today hotels and other travel-related companies get 60% of bookings via mobile devices, while 74% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2026 according to Statista.

The Ultimate List of Important Functionality to Implement
Search Filters: Users should be able to search for their lodging options based on price, location, rating, location to stay, check-in or check-out dates, number of rooms needed, and other things like pet-friendly venues, etc. Apart from that, in the wake of the COVID pandemic, many companies need to find new ways to offer safe traveling and add more value to their booking apps. Therefore, information about COVID-19 requirements, hygiene measures, and statistics about the level of vaccination by the country could be a wise step for many companies.

Discover places: Travelers would like to discover new places. Moreover, 70% of new customers will spend their time reading reviews first before booking. You can integrate a feature that informs about exotic destinations through blogs or suggestions based on user preferences. Integration of content API is the way to go if you want to add this feature.

Push notifications: The travel industry has the highest open rate for push notifications, which is 30% for Android. This feature allows the user to stay informed about new offers and suggestions for the app. It notifies the user of changes in availability or order status. According to Google, almost 50% of users find pushing notifications containing trip information very useful.

Customer account: Users should easily access their profile information. That includes a wish list, booking history, browsing history, currency, and preferred language. By implementing these features, companies can send personalized offers and discounts based on the data collected from customers` profiles.

Booking and Cancellation: Once the user decides to stay, he will be redirected to a secure payment gateway and pay with his debit/credit card. An extra tip: most hotel reservation services offer their customers a full refund within the first 24 hours in case of cancellation, however, many applications let hosts decide what's suitable for them.

Contactless payment integration: add a payment function with multiple payment methods. According to the GlobalData survey, 55% of users are more inclined towards contactless payments, while 60% of responders from another survey say that they will continue using banking transactions after the COVID-19 subside.

Analytics Dashboard: A must-have feature if you want to go big with your booking app. Typically, such a dashboard allows getting consumer feedback for mobile app, making informed decisions, and easily determining where your business is heading.

Car Rentals: Integration of omnichannel experience into booking apps is an emerging trend today. If you want to bring more value into your services, merging different trip services into one application can be a wise step to do. By uniting efforts with other companies, you can integrate other services like taxi rentals, booking tickets, restaurants, etc.

In-app navigation: Apple or Google maps could be a great addition to your app that allows users to easily find locations without any problems.

Nearby locations: By implementing geographic location tracking, you can allow users to search for places to explore such popular places as tourist spots, malls, restaurants, and more. That also includes useful information about these places like free spots, working hours, reviews, etc.

Almost 70% of travelers prefer multi-functional apps rather than single-purpose apps. Therefore, considering the above-mentioned features and aligning them with your business objectives could be very beneficial.

Business Analyst - Computools | + Posts

Viktoria Ruban is Business Analyst at Computools

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