Mobile Apps Transforming the Luxury Space

This smart phone software extends a brand’s personality and creates new touch points with customers, giving them anytime/anywhere access. It also reaches a younger more tech-savvy audience, in the hopes of building brand loyalty at a younger age.

High-end players are offering innovative touches such as Gucci’s ‘Little Black Book’ feature offers users how to live the “Gucci Lifestyle” with for hip hotels, restaurants and bar recommendations in 20 cosmopolitan cities, or its Gucci Music Channel, which streams cool sounds continuously, giving a ‘heads up’ about exclusive events. Flaunting its brand history via mobile app, Louis Vuitton showcases 150 years of history featuring its legendary luggage in video footage and images.

Apps can be central for hospitality brands to create better relationships with their customers by being able to serve guests better before, during and after their stay. The end result is to create more brand loyalty.

High-end hotels such as Mandarin Oriental, St. Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and The Luxury Collection are experiencing much success with their mobile sites that increase booking, brand awareness and customer satisfaction for their affluent customers on-the-go. Mandarin Oriental developed its mobile site in 2009 and launched its first mobile application in 2010. “We see a significant amount of general traffic, about 5 to 10 percent, through our mobile site,” said Christoph Oberli, vice president of ecommerce at Mandarin Oriental, Hamilton, Bermuda. “For a brand like ours, it’s becoming a given that you have to have a mobile site, and there’s a certain expectation from our customers.” The St. Regis New York just launched its E-Butler app, allowing guests to interact with staff butlers and concierges.

Airlines let mobile passengers book flights, check in and manage rewards programs. Within weeks of launching its new iPhone app, Continental Airlines provided services to tens of thousands of passengers and generated significant ancillary revenue.

The numbers are big, powerful and persuasive: Travel booker Lastminute.com reports mobile devices searching its site rose 300% in 2010. Hilton Hotels & Resorts earned $40 per $1 invested in mobile in 2009. Priceline.com says 82% of mobile customers book hotels within one day – compared with 45% online. Industry-wide, mobile app budgets are forecast to increase 59% in 2011, up from 45% 2010.

Farelogix Inc., a provider of distribution technology and services for the travel industry, predicts 50% of all ancillary transactions will be made on mobile devices in 2012.