Hotels Determine Prevalence of Mobile Bookings

Hotels are responsible for the prevalence, or lack of mobile bookings for their properties, according to David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions.

According to a recent survey from PhoCusWright, more than three-quarters of travelers are “somewhat” comfortable researching travel via mobile device, but only 40% said they are as comfortable purchasing a travel product. This resistance, according to Millili, is because hotels may not always have the right technology in place.

“A smartphone or tablet may lead a traveler to a hotel website,” said Millili. “But, the site has to cater to that device – or any device – to allow them to easily book once they get there. Hotels that have optimized their mobile site through responsive design and seamless booking will tell you, bar none, that travelers are comfortable with purchasing a travel product via mobile. Hotels that haven’t addressed the mobile experience are dumbfounded by the channel.”

After becoming one of the very first hotel reservation solutions providers to offer responsive web design for hotels in 2011, Pegasus Solutions’ Open Hospitality division has seen clients realize gains as high as 15% in mobile bookings.

Responsive design allows hotels to deliver hotel content correctly formatted to any mobile device: iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Kindle, etc. Responsive design leverages fluid widths, scalable images and adjustable layouts to allow bookers to quickly access important details via their preferred point of mobile contact.

“Much has been made of mobile apps, but we see mobile sites driving the majority of mobile reservations,” added Millili. “Mobile is all about making the experience doable, and removing the risk of attrition in the booking process. I can guarantee the number of PhoCusWright respondents who will book via mobile would have been significantly higher if more hotels had the proper websites and mobile booking solutions in place. The technologists have given them the tools, it is up to us, as hoteliers, to give them the way.”