Apps That Simplify Travel Planning and Monetize Too

By Tim Cronin 

With users turning to mobile instead of their desktops and laptops, the idea of ‘smart travel’ couldn’t be any more prevalent than it is today. According to the ComScore MediaMetrix 2.0, nearly 40 million people age 18 and older visited a travel destination via mobile browser or app on their smartphone, representing 2 in every 5 smartphone owners accessing from a device running the iOS, Android or Rim operating systems. While TripAdvisor Media led the pack as the top travel destination for smartphone owners with an audience of 6.7 million visitors, Expedia and Southwest Airlines took the next two spots with 6 million visitors and 4.1 million visitors, respectively. Now add to the fact that almost 95 percent of all Android and iOS mobile traffic to travel-related content comes from mobile apps. So I wanted to highlight a few travel apps that don’t just simplify the travel process (from start to finish), but monetize too.

  

TripIt

One of the advantages of booking travel via mobile devices is that you can instantly access important details, such as flight confirmations and detailed itineraries. The TripIt app for iPhone and Android takes it one step further and lets users combine all of their flight information into one convenient location. As cool and useful as this app is for consumers, its developers knew that the app couldn’t survive just on adding users alone; they needed to monetize it. Frequent fliers like myself, who often spend two weeks out of each month on flights, in airports, in rental cars, and in hotels, can upgrade to TripIt Pro for an annual fee of $49. What’s great here is the clear delineation of benefits between the free app and the upgraded Pro version. Users who are less inclined to pay the annual fee of $49 won’t have their in-app user experience disturbed by ads or in-app purchases. However, those frequent travelers who care more about the long-term convenience and simplicity won’t blink twice about forking over the annual $49 fee for the Pro version. The TripIt app is a great example of why it’s important for app developers to understand who their target audience is, and tailor their monetization strategies accordingly.

HotelTonight

Since its January 2011 launch, last-minute hotel booking app HotelTonight has made some big strides  and as of January 2013, hit a huge milestone with four million downloads in the last two years. As HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank stated: “Mobile technology has revolutionized the way we plan our lives, totally shifting our mindset and approach to travel. We are no longer tied to pre-planned itineraries, but empowered to make spontaneous decisions about where to go and for how long.” I couldn’t agree more. The app, currently available in 10 countries and 80 destinations around the world, is in a very crowded and competitive market facing off against apps like Hot Hotels (UK & Ireland), Blink Booking (Spain) and JustBook (Germany). What better way to stand out amidst the crowd than to monetize? That’s exactly what the app did with the release of its 4.0 version in September, leveraging geo-location targeting to give users more personalized recommendations based on their exact location, booking history and feedback.