The Rise of Mobile Bookings
Tour and activities often exist at the tail end of trip planning. Almost half of experiences bookings happen once travellers arrive at their destination. And the majority of those in-destination searches occur on mobile. Skift’s research in 2018 points out that 35 percent of travellers have used mobile phones to book a tour or activity while already in destination for a vacation.
As the overall shopping habits of consumers shift to mobile, the rise of mobile bookings in the tours and activities sector is no surprise. In 2017, 79% of mobile travellers completed a booking after researching on their smartphone, up from 70% in 2016.
These statics show that mobile bookings could soon become one of the predominant methods of travel booking globally. Along with shifting customer behaviour, many factors such as easy booking processes, secure online payment methods, and the adoption of online booking systems are driving mobile bookings.
So, what are the best practices to generate more mobile bookings?
How to Get More Mobile Bookings?
The digital population has raised the bar of mobile experience expectations over the years. Users will leave a website lacking top-notch performance and usability without any hesitation, especially when they book a tour or activity.
Most often, in-destination travellers visit your website with a ready-to-book mindset rather than a random search. They have a specific aim—get tour information, check availability, and reserve a spot if interested.
Imagine yourself as an in-destination traveller looking for a last-minute booking. Get a first-hand experience by simulating your website’s mobile browsing experience on a smartphone. If the mobile experience is not effortless or as intuitive as you’d expect, you might be tempted to abandon your own website.
If capturing more mobile bookings is on your agenda this summer, optimizing your website for mobile users is vital. And here are the three essential factors you should look into to capture more bookings from a mobile device.
Mobile-Friendly Design
A mobile-responsive website—you may have heard this a lot. So, what exactly does it mean? When the website is mobile responsive, the web page seamlessly adapts to a guest’s mobile screen. It is the first and the most crucial step towards improving the user experience.
Google has a mobile-friendly test tool. Drop your URL in the tool search box, and you will get to know whether visitors have a good user experience on your site or not.
The famously impatient mobile users expect to get the information they need as fast and as efficiently as possible, making page speed and intuitive navigation a priority. 53% of visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Moreover, your page speed directly impacts SEO and conversion rates. Remember to adopt simple web design, compress images, and avoid unnecessary graphic elements.
Test your page speed with Google PageSpeed Insights, a tool used for testing website performance. The tool might help you identify and fix issues that make it harder for your visitors to convert to bookers.
Simple and Effective Content
The way users consume content on mobile is different. Travellers, especially in-destination, scan the content rather than going through every detail. Make information easy to find without having to hunt for it.
Adopt short and sweet content in a large, easy-to-read font. The visitor shouldn’t be zooming in on the content to get the message. Your landing page should have just the key information. A good rule of thumb when it comes to content is no fluff or filler.
Clear and straightforward Call-to-Action (CTA), creating an easy path to purchase is also vital. They should not miss the ‘Book now” button. Ensure that it is easy for them to click on with a finger.
Easy Booking and Payment Process
You definitely don’t want to mess up the final booking stage. Simplify the booking and check-out process, making it easy to complete the tasks.
Refrain from asking too many details at the booking stage. Guest’s name, email address, and phone number should be enough to reserve their spot. If your activity requires any further details, you can ask for it. But try to remove unnecessary entries at this stage. Always remember, it’s not an easy feat to type in too much information on a smartphone.
Final Word
As travel recovers and travellers begin their trip planning, seize every opportunity to get more bookings. Your next guest will be booking your tour while waiting to check-in a hotel or waiting at an airport.
More travellers flock to mobile devices to reserve their spot for a tour or activity on the go. Ensure that you have a mobile-friendly website to convert more visitors and an online booking system equipped for mobile reservations.
Zaui’s online booking engine is designed for mobile reservations. Travellers can easily navigate your site and complete a booking comfortably. Learn more about Zaui and how it can optimize the online booking process for you!