When you own a company, you need to make sure you are able to have your brand out there. The first logical way of doing this is through a website. You may even begin branding yourself onto social media websites that offer business profiles such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, however, from a customer’s perspective, they want the convenience of an app.
Problems arise when this potential customer isn’t fitted with a computer or is just too busy to sit down and do endless hours of research. Maybe they don’t have a computer, and just prefer a data plan, but you’ve not updated your website to work properly on mobile devices. Maybe a customer gets lost in your expansive hotel but doesn’t see a single staff member to get help from. This is where, as a hotelier, you need to expand your horizons to having an app – not just for client convenience, but to vastly expand your audience, which could be more than half the people in the world – Smart phone users.

1. Higher Numbers

Mobile apps become essential when you remember that more than 71% of America’s population alone have some kind of smart phone (that’s over 235,156,000 Americans). In fact, it is estimated that 66.72% of the world’s population own some form of cell phone. App stores themselves gross hundreds of billions of dollars with both advertising and app purchases. This suggests that the market in mobile apps is growing stronger by the day, and not being a part of this huge avenue of exposure is a missed opportunity.

2. Accessibility and Convenience

Taking time out of your day to access the internet on the computer can be inconvenient and cumbersome at times. That is never going to be a problem for those who have full access to a phone and data plan, and who can easily surf the web wherever they take their phone.
When you have an app for a hotel you specifically give every user who downloads the app access to room rates, the hotel’s restaurant, times services are available, tourist sites in the area, and to even rules and FAQ’s. The app could allow for specific advantages you wouldn’t get on a website such as accessing your location and telling you where to find everything as you walk through the hotel, alerting you in real time where each service may be available.

3. Personalized Customer Service and Satisfaction

With a hotel app for your business, you can make staff interaction much easier for your customers. If there is a problem specific to them in the hotel, they would be able to report it in real time and get an answer right away. The patron could also update the staff and customer service with any problems or request they may have, be it entering the room, forgetting their bag downstairs, or needing directions, information, or room service.
Having the app may also allow them to customize an account for themselves to log into during their stay. This would allow hotel staff to have valuable information on the app about these customers that could change the kind of experience created for them. Elderly customers could have notes for specific health issues, while those with diabetes or allergies may be alerted by the hotel’s app what foods are recommended and safe. This can be very fruitful overall for returning customers who have full access of their experience, all with a single app on their phone. An added bonus is that these customers can share their good experience via their smart phone to friends and family, thereby potentially increasing future guests.

Article by Rebecca, FVM