73% of searches for economy hotels made on mobile

Nearly three-quarters of searches for economy hotels are made on a mobile device, according to new research from performance marketing engine Sojern.

by Helen Leggatt

Searches for hotel accommodation are dominated by mobile, according to Sojern's research conducted in conjunction with Google. Mobile makes up 73% of searches for economy hotels, 62% of searches for mid-scale hotels, 53% of upscale and 45% of luxury.

While luxury hotels was the only segment below 50% for mobile search, it experienced the fastest growth with YoY increase of 23%. In addition, luxury hotel travelers were found to conduct 50% more searches overall compared to economy and midscale travelers.

However, those searches are not converting to sales. Just 11% of mobile bookings happen 30 days or more before a trip.

Travel audiences are incredibly savvy researchers and comparison-shoppers, sometimes visiting 30 or more websites, apps, and aggregators to research and book. When you account for the different devices being employed and overlay that with the multitude of channels visited throughout the path-to-purchase, the complexity for marketers increases exponentially," said Kurt Weinsheimer, Sojern's SVP of property solutions.