Expedia's mobile app takes flight
Expedia.co.uk has announced a significant update to its existing free mobile app to allow UK travellers to instantly research and book flights on more than 130 airlines via a sleek new interface. While this newest update still allows travellers to book from over 140,000 hotel properties, Brits will now also enjoy access to exclusive mobile-only hotel deals of up to 30 per cent off properties worldwide all brought to life with new, crisp destination imagery.
Insights from Expedia data show that mobile app bookings differ from those made on the desktop reflecting more immediate travel needs. Over 60% of people using the mobile app on their phones are booking within 24 hours of their stay, and over 80% opt for a hotel within 10 miles of their current location. As a result, the app default settings are designed around bookings in the next few days. The app also affords travellers the information about the flight and hotel availability (as well as cancellation messaging) that they expect to see when booking on Expedia’s desktop site.
“Ten per cent of Expedia customers are already using a mobile device to make a booking, and this trend will only continue to grow with Juniper research predicting mobile shopping will increase by 50% by 2014. Our job is to make the mobile experience quick and simple for those wanting to make reservations on the go. Our app is not just bringing the desktop experience to mobile, but using the platform to create such an intuitive, simple experience it masks the underlying intelligence behind it.” said Andy Washington, Managing Director of Expedia in the UK and Ireland.
“We are a marketplace. People come to us to explore a broad range of flight and hotel booking options. The ability to refine that choice in seconds is increasingly important to help people to quickly find the right travel options for them, wherever they are. With the new update we’re giving travellers everything they need to book whilst on the go in a rich and engaging app designed with mobile at its core.”
The new Expedia.co.uk mobile app features the following improvements:
Introducing Flights: British travellers can now view, sort and book flights – to domestic and international destinations – on 139 airlines. Flights can be sorted by price, departure time, arrival time or duration. Sorting is a quick and simple process and travellers can checkout easily via a single swipe.
Rich Hotel Visuals: Upwards of 140,000 hotel properties – and literally millions of hotel rooms worldwide – are accessible via the Expedia app with graphics that illustrate every last room. Rooms can be sorted via popularity, price, deals and ratings.
Mobile-Only Hotel Deals: Upon launching the app, travellers will see hotel deals available exclusively on their phones. In some cities, rooms are available for up to 30 per cent off when booked via the Expedia app.
The addition of flights builds on the success of the Expedia Hotels App, which launched in April 2011 and has seen around 10 million downloads in 220 countries and territories. Further, research by Forrester shows that 40% of mobile-owning regular travellers in the UK have now researched products on their mobile at least once, while 37% have purchased tickets or made reservations on their mobile in the last 3 months.
“Expedia launched the upgrade to the app in the US at the end of last year and have seen a very positive response so far. We see increasing numbers of customers coming to us through mobile channels but with still just over half of regular travellers in the UK owning a smartphone (according to Forrester) there is still enormous potential for growth in mobile for the travel industry,” said Andy Washington, Managing Director of Expedia in the UK and Ireland.
The Expedia app, which previously featured only hotels, is available in the UK through the iTunes App Store and Google Play. For more information visit expedia.co.uk/p/app.