How to Build AI-based Travel App Like Hopper for & Hotels Booking?
The use of Artificial Intelligence has found new territories and Flights opportunities. Hopper is one such travel app that has converted the opportunity available in the travel segment for AI into a mobile app that makes travel booking convenient.
Hopper- the mobile-only app, based out of Canada, has made use of AI to help the end users book their hotels and flights. The startup, which raised $300Mn in 2016, raised yet another $100Mn in the recent funding round. The money will be used by the startup towards enhancing the AI algorithms and penetrating the international markets. Having surpassed 30Mn installs and having planned close to 75Mn trips, the gross sales for the year has reached $1Bn for the startup, and it sure is heavy.
Let’s take a quick look at the travel industry and identify how Hopper has carved a space for itself.
- The travel marketplace is gaining popularity and there are many opportunities available in this segment. The main idea is to ease out the whole travel space and make it more available to the users.
- Investors have already invested close to $10Bn in the travel technology in order to bring about convenience to the end users.
- It is being predicted that by the year 2022, the travel marketplace will generate around $1091Bn, and this revenue will be generated by the top earning categories i.e. flight and hotel bookings.
- It is said that the travel industry is fast adopting the current technologies that include Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain Technology.
Things to Consider While Building AI-based Travel App Like Hopper
Considering the revolution the travel marketplace is set to bring in, it is only true that more and more apps like Hopper will see the light of the day.
The app that was initiated in 2007 was mainly developed to check, analyse and predict the price of the flights. Today, the hopper app has started to provide experiences and has increasingly improved the booking experience.
So, what is so different about Hopper that has intrigued investors to invest money in the mobile application?
As a traveller, you are not only interested in the deals available, but also in the different trips that you can take. You want to visit places and travel to new lands. The app does that for you. With the AI framework, it makes it possible for you to discover new places.
AI is used by the app to build your profile and to understand you more. From the time you download the app, to the time you customize your notifications, the app studies you and tries to carve a niche for you. The end profile helps the app send in notifications to you.
The app does not provide you with travel information; it tries to understand what you really need, and customizes the travel discovery to suit your individual requirements.
As a result of all the brilliance that has been attributed to the app, it has been listed among the top 10 apps in the travel segment on App Annie. Apart from that, it has been ranked number 7 on Apple Store and number 8 on Google Play Store.
Why Hopper is the Most Recommended Travel App?
Here are a few reasons why Hopper is not just the most downloaded travel app, but also the most recommended app when you are planning your travel.
1. Offers Better Predictions: With other travel apps you get only the best deals but, with Hopper you get the best deals that have been recently booked. Based on the analysis of the available historical data, and the accurate predictions made as a result, and the recent bookings made across the search engines at the moment, the app will offer you the best deals recently available that you can avail immediately.
2. Contextual Information: Suppose you want to travel from Canada to Istanbul. The app will notify you with the best travel modes available for the route. Apart from that, the app will also tell you the days on which you can avail the cheapest deal for this path. With such information available within the app, you know when to plan your travel.
3. Real-time Notifications: This is an excellent feature that has been imbibed into the app, which will make booking easy and convenient for you. the moment there is a surge/drop in the price, you will be notified via the app. You would immediately know whether you ought to book your tickets at the time or not.
4. The Booking Experience: This is the final reason why the app is recommended by many people. When it comes to booking your flight or hotel, the app offers seamless navigation and makes it easy for you to complete the booking with single clicks.
The Success Mantra to Build Travel App
Having learnt in detail about the travel app Hopper, it is time to understand the success mantra that makes these apps popular with the target audience.
The Ultimate Feature List: What truly shapes your travel app is the features that you have included in it. You should ideally list out all the prominent features that you believe your user is likely to make use of. Once this list is clear in your mind, you should begin planning the ways in which the features can become a part of your app.
For instance, the real-time notification is a feature that will attract your audience. They would want to know the moment the prices drop, and your notification feature will provide them with just that information. The key features should be listed right at the beginning of the app planning process. This way you would know what your app requires and how best to incorporate it
Identifying the Pain Points: Yes, the second mantra for a successful app is identifying the pain points. You need to know what the audience requires, what they are unable to do with the current apps available in the market, and the difficulties they face as a result. Once you are convinced with what you have researched and the findings, then you ought to begin your journey of converting that pain point into an idea that can help the target audience.
With these two as the basis to make a successful trip planning app, you ought to be ready to start churning customers and generate revenue from your app business.
Summing up
It is equally important for you to identify a revenue generation model and the customer acquisition model for your mobile app. This will help you attract more people and improve your conversions.
If you are looking at converting your idea into a successful travel app, connect with us for mobile app development needs. We partner with you to identify the best opportunities and the ideal solution for your business problem.