These days it seems travel apps that let people compare and book flights, secure a last-minute hotel, explore a new city, or find their favourite dish at a nearby eatery, have become the mainstream. However, only a fraction of the apps out there are as successful as say, TripAdvisor, the travel review app that has been downloaded 195 million times at last tally or UK travel darling, TUI Travel’s popular MyThomson app. Many other companies don’t quite know what to do with their app or know how to get users to actively engage. Luckily, there is still a huge opportunity that exists for hotel and transport companies to effectively monetise their apps and turn them into true revenue drivers.
The way that people research and consume travel-related content has drastically changed over the past decade. I can still remember relying on travel agents to book my family holidays! With nearly 2 billion people worldwide with a smartphone in hand, a mobile offering is no longer a nice to have—it is an essential component of any marketing strategy—especially for brands that are in the business of being on the go! Nevertheless, some airlines and hotels have been slow to adapt their web offerings to mobile— providing an opportunity for mobile-first comparison travel apps such as Hotel Tonight, HipMunk and Skyscanner to spread their wings and fly.
I believe that one of the core challenges is that most travel carriers currently see apps as a low-value item that generates costs rather than as a potential profit center. They invest in and develop an app, not because they truly believe their business needs one, but because they want to to keep up with other travel vendors.
For most companies its vision for their app hasn’t gone much further than giving customers the ability to check boarding times. Travel companies are unfortunately missing out on a huge opportunity. They have the ability to collect valuable data about their customers who have installed the app. With that information, they can put the data to work to drive revenue, and give customers something they may actually want.
There are all sorts of opportunities for airline carriers to upsell their customers. While they do not know the name of individual travellers, they do know the individual Mobile ID number associated with customers. The Mobile ID number provides information including, when that person is going to fly, approximately how long they will stay at the airport, and how long they’ll be at their destination. An airline could reach out and ask that consumer if they want to upgrade from premium economy to business class for £500, or see if they are interested in avoiding the long wait at the gate by paying for premium boarding access.
There are also cross-selling opportunities. The airline could work with local airport vendors to show ads to that person on relevant topics. Perhaps they could receive a discount voucher for a taxi service or a visit to an airport duty free shop or a restaurant. You may be thinking this sounds like a lot of work to reach out to individual vendors, however, there are many third parties who will strike these deals on behalf of airline carriers.
Other technologies can also be used to round out the consumer’s data profile; for example, using iBeacon technology in stores or simply from the airport WiFi. By looking at what the person associated with a Mobile ID was searching while at the airport, they could cross different sources of data and analyse it. This would enable companies to gather information on consumer intentions and then seek to meet those needs.
The investment has already been made. Now is the time for travel carriers to turn their apps into real revenue drivers...After all the sky’s the limit!
By Cristina Constandache, VP Business Partnerships, Americas & EMEA at Cheetah Ad Platform.
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