Premier Inn | Internet Marketing Blog

Mobile is almost as popular as desktop for travel research: report

When researching their next holiday or business trip consumers are just as likely to turn to their mobile device as they are to use a laptop, according to new research from JiWire.

However laptops are still by far the most popular device when it comes to actually making a purchase.

The new report into mobile’s role in the travel industry shows that 56% of consumers use their laptop to research travel options, compared to 49% on tablet and 48% on smartphone.

This underlines the fact that travel agents and hotels need to have a mobile optimised site or app to cater for changing consumer behaviours.

Premier Inn's simple iPad app is a useful tool for business travellers

Premier Inn recently unveiled a new iPad app alongside a revamped iPhone version as it seeks to increase mobile sales and repeat bookings.

The hotel chain took more than 100,000 bookings through its iPhone app in 2012 and the updated version has already seen average daily sales conversions increase from 3% to 5.9%.

Designed by Grapple, the new apps feature improved navigation, redesigned booking function, Trip Advisor ratings, the ability to add extras such as breakfast, and a simplified process for booking repeat stays.

The iPhone app has been downloaded more than two million times since it was first launched in January 2011, so to find out what the fuss is about I tried out the new iPad version...