Welcome to the mobile internet; the rise of smartphones and tablets has given way to an undeniable truth: The internet is mobile.
We don't sit down in front of a computer to 'go online;' we simply are online, all the time: on the couch, in the kitchen, at work, around town and abroad.
This paradigm shift has led to a simple reality for businesses in their efforts to attract new clients.
A mobile presence is no longer an option; it's an absolute necessity.
The travel industry is certainly not immune to the mobile shift. 2012 was a banner year for travel research, planning and purchasing on mobile devices:
- Nineteen percent of all travel queries in 2012 came from a mobile device (up from 11 percent in 2011
- Approximately 36 million Americans used a smartphone to research travel and plan their vacation
- Sixteen million U.S. travelers booked a trip via their smartphone – four times as many as in 2011
- Two-thirds of tablet owners made a travel purchase on their device in the first half of 2012.
- Ninety percent of tablet owners said they would book on their device in the future
- Perhaps most importantly, almost half of all travel searches on a mobile device result in a purchase
The news only gets better in 2013: January saw an all-time high of 27.1 percent of all travel queries come from a mobile device. When you consider that the smartphone market was merely a blip before 2007 (and the tablet market onexistent before 2010), the rate of growth is impressive.
With this in mind, there's a clear opportunity for you to reach out to potential mobile visitors and tell your hotel's story.
While different devices and screen sizes might call for slightly different storytelling methods, the capabilities of these small but-formidable devices, the 'personal feel' they provide and the clarity of their screens combine to offer powerful visual storytelling opportunities.
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