A study by the GBTA Foundation has revealed that 61% business travellers have had an app of one of the seven major hotel chains on their mobile phone in the past year and 54% have had at least two apps from major chains.
The majority of business travellers say they mostly use the apps to check the status of a reservation (43%) or manage loyalty points (43%) while almost 40% use them to book a stay, reports tnooz.
The apps are less likely to be used to discover restaurants or attractions with only 25% of travellers using them for that purpose and only 10% use them for room service and less to contact hotel employees.
The Best Western-sponsored study also looks at reasons why business travellers have not installed hotel apps on their phones in the past year. More than a third of respondents say they can find the same services online or in person while 28% say they don’t see the benefit of the apps and 21% say its not worthwhile downloading the app as they don’t stay at the same property enough.
In addition to apps, respondents were also asked about other new hotel technology they would like to see.
Despite investment from hotels in initiatives such as mobile check-in, kiosks and keyless entry, business travellers say they’re more interested in power and USB outlets (35%), streaming services (34%) and in-room chargers (32%).
27% expressed interest in mobile room entry, 22% in online or mobile check-in and check-out and 18% in hotels building guest profiles for a more personalised stay.
