Hopper Launches 'Stay the Night' Hotel Booking Feature

 

In a recent blog post, Hopper -- a travel app primarily used by leisure travelers, among 70% of which are Millennial and Gen Z, to book flights, hotels and car rentals -- announced the launch of a new last-minute hotel booking feature within its app. According to the travel brand, it has seen a marked increase in demand for "last-minute" bookings or bookings made within 48 hours of check-in. Currently, 51% of all hotel bookings made on the Hopper app are last minute. This short booking window seems to be attributable to changing travel guidelines and various vaccine timelines.

"Hoteliers and their staff should be prepared for last-minute spikes in weekend bookings this summer," says Lexi Caron, Head of Stay the Night. "We often see the highest volume of searches for last-minute travel for weekend trips."

Additionally, Hopper found that 55% of all hotel bookings made within its app are for staycations or hotel stays less than 200 miles from a user's origin location. Currently, staycations account for over half of all last-minute hotel bookings made in the app, up nearly 10% from pre-pandemic travel.

As travel returns, short haul stays and road trips are also gaining popularity. In recent months, the Hopper app has seen a tremendous surge in car rental bookings and increased demand for getaways within driving distance. In fact, car rental bookings on Hopper are up 498% since January 2021.

AI+Travel = Hopper

According to Caron, Hopper leverages ~1 trillion data points and AI-driven predictive technology to provide data-driven advice via push notification. The app notifies users with updates such as personalized hotel suggestions, deals or geo-rates they qualify for, and recommendations about when to book. 

"The app predominately appeals to brand-agnostic leisure travelers who are looking for more data-driven guidance and support when booking travel," Caron explains. "Since we are mobile-only, we don’t compete with the websites of suppliers as we don’t spend any marketing dollars on Google Search."

Tags: Hopper