Cut the fat to fast track mobile bookings

Cut out all unnecessary fields, steps, content, graphics, and clutter that stand in the way of streamlined mobile bookings.

There’s no denying that mobile bookings are rapidly rising in many segments of the hotel chain scale. (Urban/city hotels, are you listening?) In fact, an eMarketer study shows that by 2021, 50 percent of all online travel sales will be made from tablets and smartphones.

So, why are your mobile bookings languishing, while everywhere else they are exploding?

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One glaring reason is that your hotel’s mobile experience doesn’t match up to the online habits and expectations of modern travellers.

Here’s a simple tweak to fix this: Cut the fat. 

Real estate on a smartphone or tablet screen is minimal, so instead of adding features, erase them. Streamline your hotel’s mobile booking funnel as much as possible. Get rid of the extra elements that aren’t vital to making a reservation. This includes extra fields, up-sell features, navigational elements, ads, and superfluous links.

Remember, mobile bookings are being made on-the-go. Travellers don’t have time, nor the patience, for lengthy procedures. So, whittle down the booking process to three steps or less.

And don’t forget to pare down the content inside the mobile booking environment too. Only include copy that is necessary or a clear next step. Feature just one hotel image, versus a full gallery or video, which can slow down mobile load times even more.