Over the past decade, smartphones have revolutionized our lives and have become completely interconnected into our everyday routines, so much so that we barely even notice them at times.  

From connecting with friends to shopping online, taking photographs or planning and booking a vacation, the opportunities are endless.  

It’s because of this significance that hoteliers have slowly caught on and begun to see the value in going mobile. In fact, all signs point to mobile becoming the majority shareholder of all online bookings in the near future.  

So, why is going mobile important?  

Let’s start with some statistics. Did you know that more than 70% of consumers who own a smartphone have used it to research travel? Or that more than 46% of travelers make their booking decision while researching with a mobile device? How about the fact that more than 20% of all visits to U.S. travel sites come from mobile devices?  

The proof is in the user statistics, yet hotels are reluctant to spend money on shifting their marketing to suit mobile devices, which is creating a cycle of lost revenue for hotels.  

Prioritize consumers’ needs 

Booking a vacation is meant to be as easy, and as stress free as possible – which is why mobile optimization must be treated as a priority.  

People are goal oriented and want their experience to be as seamless as possible, with no confusion taking up their time. Consumers using a hotel website that isn’t optimized for mobile devices causes an unnecessary number of issues like small, hard-to-read text which forces users to zoom in and out, or having to scroll down pages to find what they’re looking for because the page just doesn’t fit the screen.  

Why is this something you should be concerned by? As mentioned, consumers are goal oriented. If they are unable to find what they’re looking for or are met with confusion on how to access the areas of the site they deem relevant, they will simply click off and won’t bother with the hassle of continuing their search. You will lose their business before you ever had it, and definitely won’t be getting any future referrals.  

Mobile technology shouldn’t be intimidating 

It’s time to redesign your website to be optimized for mobile and understand all the things travelers want from a mobile browsing experience. Invest in one website that can adapt to all devices and suits the needs of your consumers – you won’t regret it! 

A great place to start would be by checking out roomMaster Anywhere and its expert mobile responsiveness when it comes to online booking. By offering a guest-centric design, potential guests are offered the best booking journey possible.

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InnQuest Software is a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry. For over 25 years, innQuest has combined hotelier experience with innovative technology to deliver an all-in-one solution that empowers hotels to attract guests, drive customer loyalty, and increase profits. Our flagship hotel management software, roomMaster, helps manage over 5,500 properties across 100 countries. InnQuest develops scalable solutions ranging from a Hotel PMS, Cloud PMS, Channel Manager, Hotel CRM and helps properties enable guests to Book Direct. We believe that everyone deserves a great guest experience, whether they’re staying at a small B&B, a thousand-room resort, or anywhere in between.

Call us today at 1.813.288.4900, or email us at sales@innquest.com. For UK, reach us at 44 (0) 33 0100 – 1090 . We will be happy to walk you through InnQuest’s solutions.