MAJOR OTA Expedia is leveraging the exponential growth in mobile bookings with a new tablet app, even as it urges hotels and airlines to make available suitable inventory for the channel.
Speaking at the first Expedia Partner Appreciation Event in Hong Kong this week, Expedia’s area manager, Jenny Wong, said: “This year, we observed that about 15 out of 100 bookings are generated by mobile phones, which is 193 per cent year-on-year growth. This demonstrates great potential (for further growth).
“About 40 per cent of mobile bookings are for same-day reservations or within three days of booking, so I recommend hotel partners ensure same-day room availability. Mobile-only special deals are definitely a plus,” she added.
Kathleen Tan, CEO of AirAsiaExpedia, said her company had enhanced its booking platform by rolling out a new app for tablets six weeks ago for both iOS and Android tablets.
Called the New Expedia Tablet App, it offers a streamlined search function and federated search, allowing users to view hotel and flight prices simultaneously.
Abhiram Chowdry, VP and MD of Hotels.com, which comes under the Expedia group, said: “For Hotels.com, about 20 per cent of our sales are from mobile devices (global data) and Hong Kong numbers exceed this 20 per cent figure.”
Hotels.com last month launched the latest version of its Android app, which is also compatible with wearables besides the regular mobile and desktop devices.
More than 250 hotel and airline partners took part in the appreciation event, which was also staged in South Korea. The group plans to hold similar ones in Singapore and Tokyo in 2015.
