Hongkongers’ best travel buddies are mobile devices, reveals Hotels.com

HONG KONG – As mobile devices continue to evolve, the Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker uncovers the true impact that the number 1 travel accessory, the mobile phone, is having on our booking and travel behaviours. It reveals we’re now booking hotels in secret, becoming more spontaneous and placing less emphasis on price.

 

Jessica Chuang, Director, Regional Marketing Director of Greater China and Emerging Southeast Asia and India for the Hotels.com brand said: “We pride ourselves on the booking experience we offer today’s modern traveller through our mobile app. As one of the market leaders in the mobile space, we’re constantly innovating and adding new features to make our app more personal and improve both hotel shopping and the customer experience. We see a growing number of transactions coming from mobile, so it’s fantastic to see that travellers anticipating new mobile technology features. It’s also great to see that booking a hotel on mobile is so easy, that 16% of people do it whilst sitting on the toilet!” 

 

According to the Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker, a global study of 9,200 travellers across 31 countries, Hongkongers love their mobile so much that the majority of them (85%) dedicate at least an hour per day on their mobile devices even while they are aboard.

 

More than half of (55%) Hong Kong travellers have experienced the ease of booking a hotel room using their mobile devices. The use of mobile devices for booking is prevalent across all types of travels: business trips (31%), short haul vacations (59%), extended trips to foreign countries (40%), and even spontaneous rewards for oneself (12%).

 

Hongkongers use their mobile devices to book for hotels whenever and wherever they want – even when they are working in the office or in the bath. The most popular scenario for Hongkongers to book for travel accommodation with their mobile is when they are on public transport (40%). Booking at the workplace (during office hours, of course) is also very popular among Hong Kong travellers, with 33% of them booking for hotels at their work desk or by the water cooler.

 

When choosing between different mobile-optimised sites or apps, most Hongkongers (62%) who book on mobile consider the range of payment methods supported on the platform the most important criterion. The second most popular criterion for consideration is if the platform provides comprehensive details on the hotels, at 61%. Following closely behind at 60% is if the platform offers genuine reviews by users, for users. The actual prices of accommodation come fourth in the survey, at 57%.

  

In the survey, about one-third (31%) of the respondents reported to have had booked a hotel room at the very last moment. Their reasons vary: some have missed the last train back (34%), some wanted to reward themselves (22%), and some went through a very successful first date (20%). 4 in 10 (41%) respondents reported to agree on the ability to book for hotels at the last minute with their mobile makes them more likely to stay in a hotel after a night out, and one-third (32%) of them said that it makes planning more relaxing as they know they can easily have a back-up if their first choice was not up to par.