Do travel supplier brands (hotels, airlines) need their own mobile app?

Question: Do travel supplier brands (hotels, airlines) need their own mobile app?

Answer: Maybe. It all comes down to options. 

 

Full answer to this question published to Quora on 1/28/2016.

Question: Do travel supplier brands (hotels, airlines) need their own mobile app? If so, what features are needed?

 

The key to elevating your guests’ experience is to offer a tailored experience that conforms to their every need, habit, and desire.

Ultimately, this boils down to providing them with the options and services that they truly care about.

 

To some hotels, this might mean giving guests the option to order poolside cocktails using a mobile app. To others, it could mean providing an array of communications options (mobile messaging services, SMS, email, phone, face to face) of which an app is just one of many.

 

While we’ve written about how apps can particularly benefit small and independent hotels, as well as about how a mobile strategy is 100% necessary for hotels, ultimately, it’s up to management to understand what matters most to their guests, and what features aligns most with their goals.

 

As a starting point, we always recommend that our hotels consider the following features:

 

External (Guest to Staff) Communication: By opening up a direct line of communication between your guest and staff, you will improve your response time, provide a more high touch experience, and identify problems before they can result in a poor review.

 

Internal (Staff to Staff) Communication: Borrow from Apple’s Store strategy, which was famously inspired by Steve Job’s stay at The Four Seasons, and turn your staff into a mobile dispatching workforce by allowing them to communicate and dispatch requests in real time.

 

Unified Task List: The biggest reason for a poor guest experience and bad reviews are dropped or delayed requests. Reduce the chances that a ticket slips through the cracks by giving each employee a list of tasks, which they can access anytime, anywhere, in real time.