• Paul Blake
• iOS App Development
• 2 November, 2020

Hotel App

Got a hotel app but worried your guests would not download it? Having an app is a hallmark for improved service that guests love. But the alone acquisition of an app does not guarantee guests will use and download it. You will have to put a substantial amount of work to get it downloaded and stay on top of guests’ minds;

Orchestrate the Hype about App

Ever asked yourself why guests would pay heed to download your hotel app? You need to find an answer to this question in your first leisure. Ideally, guests should download the app because it seems to provide the pathway to a plethora of hidden advantages for them. As a hotelier, you carry the responsibility to successfully convey this nuance to the hotel guests. But be cautious you need to show them only the trailer, not the entire movie. Creating the hype is very crucial as teasing before baiting and setting the hook makes the entire process just much more exciting. How will a hotelier do that? You can create hype about your hotel app by publishing tidbits of features and capabilities of the app, user-generated agenda, sponsors information, and surveys about the app.

Host an App Launch Event

You cannot just publish your app on the app store without some extravagant arrangement. You need to understand your app is your F-15E Strike Eagle and such state of the art cannot be released on one nonchalant morning. Host a formal launch event for it. Reminisce the day of the inauguration of your hotel by hosting the launch event on the same date. It does not necessarily have to be the exact inauguration date, but be mindful about the date it must be some special day. Invite the highest value guests, associated businesses, your potential guests, and your competitors to this event. Do not forget to use emotional appeal and human interest in your promotional content. Believe you me, it always helps.

All the teasing and baiting you did formerly should moribund at the app launch event. Download your hotel app in front of attendees, provide the demonstration on how to use the app, dissect your app in front of attendees, make them familiar with all listed features, and how to use them.

Promote your App

The app has been launched, what next? Your hotel app is your baby and you need to provide flourishment for it. You need to put constant deliberate effort to keep it alive. If you do not do it, the hotel app will eventually become a flash in the pan. Promote the hotel app in as much as possible ways to increase the reach of it. Make use of multifarious platforms to cater to this purpose;

Use Social Media Handles: Use your social media handles like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Reddit to release discounts and promotional offers guests can avail of using the hotel app. Moreover, the paid advertisements on these social media applications will perform both specific and granular targeting for the hotel app.

Corroborate the App with Website: Make sure to highlight the app on your website by adding the app icon and link. If you have a mobile website, you can give your customers the option to redirect to the app instead.

Take App Roundups

Do you know what a ruthless insult is? Let me give you an example. Social media is at your disposal and you’re not making smart use of it. Yes, make smart use of social media and submit your hotel app to leading blogs or websites that do app roundup. Roundup is an activity in which experts of different niches dig deep into the mobile application and point out the hitches it contains in a seamless user experience. You must take benefit of it and contact such websites and blogs so that they can exactly pinpoint what in your hotel app is stopping your guests to download it.

Take Some Direct Action

Take some direct measures that facilitate the hotel app downloading. Promote the hotel’s app on the hotel’s Wi-Fi landing page and your website using pop-up or banners so that when guests check-in and log onto the internet or website they are visually reminded to download the app immediately. Another preferred tactic is to send the one or two-liner about the advantages of downloading the app, also make sure to send the link of your hotel app in the reservation confirmation email to each new guest.

One thing more the hoteliers can do is to make the check-in desk to suggest the guests to download the app. The hotel management can advertise the app’s link through the in-room collateral. The in-room collateral is usually a pamphlet or a paper on which apps’ links or directions to download the app are printed. Such pamphlets are kept by the management on eye-catching spots.

Finally, if you’re free on a budget you can perform guerilla marketing tactics like promotional events, collaborations with other brands to promote the app. You can even go as bold as downloading the hotel’s app by your management on the participant’s phones.

Make the Download Worthwhile

Give something to take back something. Give the free stay at your hotel or reward the discount on a stay in your hotel when guests download the app. It will certainly make the app a lucrative option and make the downloading numerous.

Conclusion

Having an app alone does not lead the guests to download and make valuable use of it. The hoteliers need to streamline their efforts in the endeavor of making the guests download the app. There are about 4.0 million apps on both Apple and Google stores which ostensibly makes it very much difficult for a new app to reach the top results organically. So the tactics that trigger the app’s downloads are needed to foster the download rate by the hotel guests. Hoteliers must incorporate the aforementioned tactics in their digital, content, and promotional marketing and bear the fruits of them. They can thank us later!