Americans Book Travel Through Mobile

Hotwire.com, the leading discount travel site recently unveiled intriguing results about mobile bookings from its third annual American Travel Behavior Survey, which was conducted online in October 2013 on behalf of Hotwire by Harris Interactive among over 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The survey found that 18 percent of American adults who have ever booked travel, have done so using a mobile device.

AA.com / Google

The company also released results which revealed younger adults are significantly more likely to book travel on mobile devices—37 percent of adults ages 18-34 and 25 percent of adults ages 35-44. Adults who have ever booked travel using a mobile device have done so: 12 percent have booked travel on a smartphone 10% have booked travel on a smartphone via a web browser 7% have booked travel on a smartphone via an app 10% have booked travel on a tablet device 8% have booked travel on a tablet device via a web browser 3% have booked travel on a tablet device via an app.

"Mobile purchasing has become an increasingly large trend in travel, given that more than half of Americans now own smartphones*," said Henrik Kjellberg, president of the Hotwire Group. "So, I see the 18 percent as the tip of the iceberg in terms of mobile travel booking, considering players in the space are continuing to optimize their sites and products for the mobile booker."

Hotwire experienced a 60 percent year-over-year increase in mobile bookings for the first nine months of 2013. According to the report, currently, nearly 20 percent of Hotwire transactions occur on a mobile device. Interestingly, the survey also found that 48 percent of adults report being more comfortable with eleventh hour booking (i.e., within 7 days of check-in) than they were five years ago. Also, 80 percent of Hotwire's bookings on a mobile phone and 70 percent on a tablet are made at the last minute.

"Mobile is ideal for last-minute travel bookings as many providers offer incredible discounts through easy-to-use travel apps like Hotwire's, especially on bookings made the day of arrival," Kjellberg continued. "We expect the number of mobile bookings to grow exponentially, outpacing desktop bookings in the next year or two, as more people of all ages become comfortable booking through their mobile device and making last-minute purchases."

Organizations in hospitality are expected to further embrace mobile to deliver more innovative and collaborative IT environments using mobile apps and devices. Mobile delivers options similar to the web. Users can search for new homes and explore the latest in features such as receiving push notifications, saving searches, viewing homes for sale and sharing information through social media. Mobile devices allow special functionalities such as GPS for those on the go. Convenience of travel becomes even easier.