How to Prompt Guests to Download Your Hotel App Pre-Arrival
Before your guests walk through the front door, use these digital touchpoints to encourage them to download your hotel app!
Whether for business or pleasure, once a traveler has determined their destination and booked their stay, you don’t need to wait until they are on the property to engage and let them know about your hotel mobile app. Since most reservations are generated online, your guests are accustomed to using digital forms of communication, making pre-arrival one of the best times to encourage them to download your hotel app to use before, during, and after their stay.
Here are just a few places you can grab guests’ attention and let them know how downloading your hotel mobile app can benefit their stay.
Your Website
With some images and a few words about benefits and functionality of your app, a dedicated page on your website can not only let your guests know that you have a hotel mobile app, but is also a great place to really spell out how it contributes to their stay. Be sure to include Apple App Store and Google Play Store links to download your hotel app on that page. It’s an often overlooked detail, but a great way to encourage downloads by making it as convenient as possible for your guests within the context of how it benefits them.
The Confirmation Email
One of the first forms of digital communication a hotel guest receives is their reservation confirmation email. Usually, this email confirms a booking and conveys initial hotel information—things like check-in and check-out time, cancellation policy, and your most up-to-date safety information—are a great place to offer guests a download link to your app.
With so many users using the phone to check emails, this line of communication is perfect for building awareness and giving them a reason to download before they arrive. Mentioning features like mobile check-in, offering a complimentary beverage at the hotel, or any other incentives that you think your guests would respond to are a great way to encourage them to download the hotel mobile app sooner rather than later. And because they’re likely already on their phone, just like with the website, providing links to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store within your confirmation email make it convenient and simple for your guest to download the hotel app and go.
Welcome Email
Varying slightly from reservation confirmation emails and other, more transactional pre-arrival communications, welcome emails are a bit more content-heavy and are usually the last form of digital correspondence a guest receives prior to checking in. Welcome emails may highlight hotel happenings and/or draw attention to property facilities and amenities from a more promotional angle. Guest communications like this are a perfect opportunity to include messaging outlining key features of your hotel mobile app and how it will benefit their stay.
Mobile Guest Experience
Once your guests download your hotel mobile app, there are a number of ways you can continue to engage with them. But if they don’t know about it, the likelihood of them ever using it is slim-to-none. Talking about your mobile guest experience alongside your property’s other great amenities and offerings gives your guests good reason to download and engage with you through your hotel app.
Although the ultimate goal is to encourage your guests to download your app before they arrive, making sure the app provides a positive experience to your guests is what will keep them using it during their stay. A great way to accomplish this is by selecting technology with a focus on elevating your guest experience. If your property is searching for a hotel app with an amazing check-in user experience and a high adoption rate, then you should look to the leaders in digital guest experience. The INTELITY Mobile App is a flexible, digital guest experience solution for properties and brands of all types. With features like contactless mobile check-in, mobile key, contactless service requests, push notifications, and in-room dining, the INTELITY app gives your guests full access to amenities and services within only a few taps.
To see what the INTELITY mobile check-in process could look like for your guests, read our blog What Does Mobile Check-In Actually Look Like. For a personalized look at our mobile app or the full INTELITY Platform, schedule a demo.