· Mobile No.1 – A mobile phone is the number one travel accessory, with twice as many people preferring to travel with their device than their loved one
· Hotel booking via mobile- 73% of Indians choose to book hotel stays on mobile
· Price isn’t always right – The right payment method and customer reviews are more important than price according to Indian travellers
June 13 2016, 18.13 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Chandigarh 13th June 2016: As mobile devices continue to evolve, the Hotels.com™ Mobile Travel Tracker* uncovers the true impact that the number 1 travel accessory, the mobile phone, is having on our booking and travel behaviours. It reveals we’re now booking hotels in secret, becoming more spontaneous and placing less emphasis on price.
Bleisure travel has emerged as the most prominent trend amongst Indian travellers. 71% of people admitted to booking hotel rooms for a business trip coupled with a short holiday as their travel purpose. In fact, near one-fifthof Indians (18%) admitted leisure as their primary purpose fortravel followed by 10% acknowledging business as their primary purpose for travel. Some of the other prominent revelations from the survey include 81% Indians choose a laptop or computer as their means for booking a hotel room while 73% Indians book hotel rooms on mobile. Through the traditional route of a travel agency received 45% respondents.
Global travel summary for 2015
According to the Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker, a global study of 9,200 travellers across 31 countries, today’s modern traveller makes four trips a year and on average stays in a hotel 13 nights of the year. Although for some, the hotel becomes their home for a month, as almost 1 in 10 spend more than 31 days a year in a hotel room.
Mobiles and smartphones have emerged as leading channels for hotel booking primarily since consumers are on the lookout for easy mediums that can provide sufficient choices. In fact a little more than half the people surveyed in India admitted that they book more trips than ever thanks to mobile, so as smartphones continue to get smarter, it’s no surprise that 73% of people have bookeda hotel stay on a mobile device. Business trips (58 %), short break elsewhere within India (41%) and booking a hotel room nearby while attending a particular event (37%) are some of the main reasons for making a booking on the mobile.
Hotel booking has become a more secretive affair
Every traveller today desires to choose and customise his or her holiday. While beach destinations are most preferred by honeymooners, free individual travellers prefer backpacker destinations such as European cities.Over 40%Indians say they have booked a hotel while searching for hotels in other devices such as personal computers - this is the most popular situation for booking a hotel. Almost 40% Indians admit that they chose to book a hotel room whilst in bed with their partners, 36% Indians book hotel roomswhile on public transport, 36% Indians book hotel rooms while they are at airport prior to departure and 34% Indians book hotel rooms in their office in between working hours.
It’s no longer simply a case of price is always right!
According to Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker, having the right payment method and offering genuine guest reviews are important factors when booking a hotel on mobile. Nearly every individual today is inquisitive to know minute details while planning a holiday. This comes handy with smartphones as one can download an app and scan through all the details in a few clicks while on the go. At Hotels.com we offer 15 different payment methods including the newly launched Apple Pay. Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker lists top 5 influencing factors for people while choosing a hotel room. 75% Indians get influenced by the payment method that suits them, 67% Indians get influenced by genuine guest reviews, 64% Indians are influenced if they feel that the price they pay for booking a hotel room is of best value, 54% Indiansare influenced basis relevant and detailed information on hotel and lastly 51% Indians get influenced if everything is accessible in just a couple of clicks.
Spontaneous Stayers
More than 80% of people say their smartphone makes them more spontaneous when travelling and the fact that 68% of people have made a same day hotel booking and near 30% of holidaymakers book less than a week before travel, seems to be evidence our travel booking behaviour is becoming more last minute. A super spontaneous 36% of Indian travellers have really left booking a hotel to the last minute and actually booked in the airport lounge before departure.
Further Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker reveals that in the past 12 months 34% of Indians booked 1 or 2 hotel stays via mobile devices. 31% Indians have booked 3 to 4 hotel stays while 13% booked 5 to 6 staysin the past 12 months through mobile devices.
Mobile Mappy
It seems that what we get up to on our mobile whilst travelling is all about searching. That includes searching and booking a hotel room (73%), how to get from A to B and using maps to get around (61%), searching online to compare deals (60%). Other popular mediums for mobile usage includes booking a flight (59%) and booking a taxi (58%).
The top 5 usages of mobile whilst travelling amongst Indians are:
1. To book a Hotel (73%)
2. Maps to get around (61%)
3. Comparing prices and Deals (60%)
4. To book a flight (59%)
5. To book a Taxi (58%)
Mobile Travel of the Future
With mobile technologies developing at such speed, there’s no doubt mobile usage when it comes to travel will change and evolve this year. The Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker looked at what activities travellers would be prepared to do in the future on their mobile devices whilst travelling. 82% Indians believe that smartphones make one more spontaneous while travelling. 65% Indians confess thanks to mobile devices, they can now book more trips / hotel stays than ever before. 64% Indians say that their mobile devices are their primary information source for finding interesting spots (sites, events, restaurants, etc.) when travelling. 52% Indians prefer having all the travel documents (e-tickets, boarding passes, hotel confirmations) stored in or directly accessible through mobile devices instead of having printouts.
Dan Craig, Senior Director of Mobile at Hotels.com brand said: “We pride ourselves on the booking experience we offer today’s modern traveller through our mobile app. As one of the market leaders in the mobile space, we’re constantly innovating and adding new features to make our app more personal and improve both hotel shopping and the customer experience. We see a growing number of transactions coming from mobile, so it’s fantastic to see travellers anticipating new mobile technology features. It’s also great to see that booking a hotel on mobile is so easy, that 10% of people do it whilst sitting on the toilet!”
The Hotels.com mobile app is available for IOS, Android, Windows and Amazon Kindle devices, and already has over 50 million downloads worldwide.
Future mobile developments for Hotels.com:
· Apple Pay – this month Hotels.com has gone live with Apple Pay in the US and is working on rolling this out globally.
· In-Stay Mobile Features – Hotels.com is continually evolving its in-stay mobile experience and some exciting new features will be revealed in the coming months.
· New home screen design on Android – Launched earlier this year, a new home screen design on the Hotels.com Android app now means users have a more personalized experience. New home screen features include the Hotels.com™ Rewards punch card, dynamic reservations, cross device searches and offline mode.
Please visit:mobiletraveltracker.hotels.comfor more insights from the Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker.
*9,200 adults from 31 countries were polled by One Poll, commissioned by Hotels.com in May 2016
About Hotels.com
Hotels.com L.P. operates Hotels.com, a leading online accommodation booking website with properties ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favourites and bed &breakfasts, together with all the information needed to book the perfect stay. Special apps for mobile phones and tablets can also be downloaded enabling customers to book on the go with access to 20,000 last minute deals.
© 2016 Hotels.com, LP. Hotels.com, Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker and the Hotels.com logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotels.com, LP in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.