Mobiles dominate travel buys

With the app economy gaining prominence and hotels increasingly encouraging consumers to have direct transactions, the role of mobile in hotel bookings is expected to increase. As per a study by KPMG-Facebook, 9 out of 10 bookings in the hotel category are expected to be mobile-influenced by 2022.

• The findings by KPMG-Facebook further suggest that in case of hotel bookings, 16 per cent of consumers drop out due to media friction and enhancing the media mix with mobile can reduce this friction by 3 percentage points, leading to a USD2 billion opportunity for the brand within the category by 2022.
• A number of factors are considered while selecting a hotel such as proximity to popular locations/market areas, amenities, reviews, pricing and discounts. Consumers expect information on all aspects of the hotel before making a booking. The study suggests that brands do not highlight these factors while communicating with consumers, leading to a dropout of nearly a third of aware decision makers at the awareness stage itself. Most of the friction at the awareness and consideration stages is observed on print, outdoor and radio. As these media fail to engage with consumers, providing detailed and sequential information on property images, cost comparisons, meal inclusions, etc. helps consumers make an informed decision on hotel bookings.