Gone are the days when people used phones to communicate with each other. Things have drastically changed with the introduction of smartphones. Smartphones have made the life of people more straightforward and more accessible in a lot of sense. More app development companies are now leveraging machine learning to understand the behavior pattern of the users. They make use of predictive analysis to deliver what is best for the app users. One of the leading industry niches, which are greatly influenced by mobile technology, is travel. More people find travel apps to be a convenient way of planning their trips.
Therefore….
Deciding to build a mobile app can be the first positive step towards a great travel business. However, you need to add outstanding features in your app to grab the opportunities that turn your way and boost conversions.
Whether you are already in the travel business and looking for ways to make improvements or completely a newbie in this arena, we have listed some of the critical app features that can surely click for your travel business.
• Travel itinerary generator
When it comes to choosing a travel app, this is the most sorted-after feature by tourists. But what is so special about it? Why app users love it so much?
A travel itinerary generator works effectively to help the user plan the whole trip with ease by asking them the locations they plan to visit. The best thing is that this app automatically comes with the best plan in the most efficient manner.
Let’s here take the example of TripHobo. The app lets the users add the popular tourist attractions or even the places they plan to visit personally (the ones that are not so popular). Based on what they have added in there, it prepares the trip for the users automatically. It is not easy to implement such complex algorithms. However, adding such a feature to your app can go a long way in making your app accessible in the market.
• Booking service
Another essential feature which you should consider adding to your travel app is a booking service. Such a service works well, especially for those people who are planning an international holiday. People don’t want to take chances on such trips and want to get the best deal available in flights, hotels, attractions, restaurants, etc. Moreover, having such a feature added to the app increases its popularity among app users and thereby boosts its value in the market.
• Weather or climate forecasting
Some travelers are spontaneous when it comes to making flight bookings for their vacation. There are situations where such a step works but, in most cases, turns out to be a disaster due to changing climatic conditions. Yeah, it would be wise enough to know whether to pack sunscreen or moisturizer in your bag! Huh!!!
So, to avoid such disastrous trips, a travel app should consider including a climate forecasting feature that offers real-time results. Such a feature will alert the traveler when they are using the app to book their itinerary.
Here we can take the example of the popular weather reporting app named AccuWeather. It is one of the popular weather checking apps which covers almost all the locations across the globe. The app checks several weather information data points like wind speed, cloud formation patterns, humidity, and others, helping you plan your trip accordingly. So coming up with this can have its perks!
• In-app cab booking service
When you are at a new place, you need cab service to move from a destination to another. So whether it is about reaching your hotel from the airport or taking you to the hotel’s attraction, cabs are going to play a substantial role. It would be nice to have a cab booking service in-app to help the tourists have a good time without any hassle.
Again, if you plan to integrate the service of cab-service companies like Uber, you will not be disappointed. In the US itself, it offers an excellent referral amount for every referred ride. So when you are considering developing a travel app, you should consider including this business model in your app.
• Geo-tracking services
One of the useful features you can add to your travel app to make it successful across the market is to integrate geo-tracking services. Once landed on foreign land, the first thing a traveler needs to know about is a hotel to check-in, a list of local attractions, and a café or restaurant to eat. The app should come with the GPS feature to track your current location and offer you the results accordingly.
If you are not sure about how things work in such a feature, you can consider taking a look at the mobile app named RunGo. Keep in mind that it is not a travel app but, having such a feature included in the app can significantly help the tourists who are moving around in the city.
• Travel journal
Many travelers have the habit of maintaining a travel journal of their every trip. In this digital era, saving a travel journal is all about taking pictures and making videos. Some even have the habit of maintaining audio records of their journey. So think about adding in a diary feature within your app where people can keep their trip memories.
• In-app language translator
This is one of the best features to try for your app. It can seem to be tricky to be applied in the first place, but it can do wonders for your business when done right. When traveling, communication in the local language remains the primary hindrance for most travelers. This happens because people are mostly not well-versed with the local, regional style. Some apps like iTranslate and Google Translate help such travelers translate written text, real-time voice data, and even scan text for visual translation.
If you want your travel app to stand out from the rest in the market, it is wise to go for such a unique feature.
• Navigation and apps
Another essential feature which you should include in your app is navigation and maps. Using this feature, you get to find and explore new destinations and attractions easily. The functionality can be used offline, too, so users are saved from the effort to download and use another app completely.
• World clock time converter
Tourists get easily confused when they cross time zones, and it becomes a headache for them to track the exact time on the other side of the world. So a world clock time converter can be one of the app features any travel app could ask for! Adding this feature in the app will let the traveler use it directly here rather than downloading another app entirely.
As a travel app developer, you should refer to an app like Time Buddy to build a feature that helps with time conversion. Such an app calculates the clock times of different time zones for the user and gives the correct time accordingly.
• Currency converter
To have the best app build, you need to look at things from travelers’ perspective or, say, the app users.
On the trip, you are bound to exchange some currencies for paying for things and services. It would be best if you had a clear idea about the currency exchange rates to do your transactions quickly, and your app should be capable enough in that space so that users should not be looking for it elsewhere.
At this juncture, we would like to bring your attention to the apps like XE Currency, which helps track the past and current variations taking place in the currency rates.
• Location-based emergency services
Emergency does not come with a knock on the door, and you may face it anywhere and anytime. For the same reason, every travel app in the market must begin with a feature that provides emergency services and the app’s essential phone numbers based on their current location. This will make it possible for travelers to access such service quickly whenever they need it.
Travel app developers should think about developing such a feature by learning more from the app named Waze. This app notifies the shortest route they can take to their destination by avoiding all the traffic and offers a local traffic guide.
• Washroom finder
One of the last things you want to face on your road trip is to look for the loo desperately! Now, this is something that happens with many. When on the road, many people have faced this issue and so finding a solution for it through your app can be useful. This single feature can be enough to attract significant tourists to your app.
Apps like SitOrSquat or Toilet Finder have proved to be quite popular among the mass, which is looking for a loo or restroom during emergencies. So as a travel app developer, this is something that you should care about.
• Social sharing service
When it comes to app development, social media integration plays a preeminent role. Having real-time social media integration in your travel app will let the tourists connect with their family and friends on the go easily. They can easily share their travel experience and everything about the planned trip with people quickly. This way, your brand will appear in their social media activities and work as an effective marketing strategy to reach the crowd.
• Trip reviews
We all love reviews, and things are not much different when planning a trip. Having an app that offers you a review about places, hotels, attractions, etc., can go a long way in planning a trip without any complications.
This is one of the main reasons why people love TripAdvisor. It lets the tourists know the place and other things related to it before they visit. This will help them make better decisions when booking the hotel and other related services on the trip.
Moreover, such reviews will push the hotels, restaurants, cafes, and cab services to offer better services. Having such a feature included in the app will save the tourists from downloading an independent app.
• Deals and offers
Offering discounts and deals have always proved to be an effective marketing strategy across the industry niches. Your travel business will be able to boost the conversion rate by offering a great deal to tourists. It also helps such companies to retain their customer base effectively. You can even let the tourists use their social media accounts like Facebook to create an account. This can be used to create user profiles as well as to save deals.
Final thoughts
In the current scenario, mobile app development means a lot for a travel business. Due to globalization, users look towards mobile apps to take care of all their travel needs across the globe. With more apps available in the market, it becomes critical for the travel app developers to include exclusive features within the app that can attract the users and keep them engaged. Again, it would be wise enough to offer a few such features as free because free things attract users, and you will get a chance to boost traffic!
Author Bio:
Hardik Jani is an enthusiastic personality with vast experience in the IT industry. For more than 20 years, he has been assisting in helping clients with genuine commitments and outcomes. An entrepreneurial personality is collaboratively holding local and global experience in the IT industry. His perfect foresightedness has enabled him to bring Silicon IT Hub as a renowned Android and iOS app Development company.
