Boost Your Bookings: Hacks for Developing a Hotel Booking App

Hotel booking app development requires more than just offering a list of available rooms. It’s about careful planning, creating a smooth, reliable experience for users and hotel owners, integrating essential features, and establishing a clear strategy to ensure long-term success. 

 

Are you a hotelier, startup founder, or entrepreneur looking to build a hotel booking app but finding the process overwhelming? Don’t worry! With the right team, the development of the hotel booking app can be smooth and stress-free.

 

The Onix team has the experience you need. We built a travel booking website with over 900K members and facilitated more than 1 million accommodations in 200 countries.

 

We know what it takes to succeed, and we’re ready to share our knowledge and insights to help you build your own hotel booking app.

 

In this article, our experts:

 

• walk you through the key steps to building a hotel booking app
• break down the hotel booking app costs involved
• share valuable insights we’ve gained from our successful project.

Example of an accommodation booking platform built by Onix – misterb&b

Why Hotel Businesses Need a Mobile Booking App

Still trying to figure out the benefits of hotel app development? These reasons might convince you:

 

• Increased direct bookings

A mobile app allows customers to book directly, bypassing third-party platforms and reducing commissions, which boosts your revenue.

 

• Streamlined operations

A mobile app can automate booking management, inventory updates, and even customer service, reducing manual tasks and improving overall efficiency for guests and staff.

 

• Direct communication with guests

Through push notifications and in-app messaging, you can provide instant updates, exclusive promotions, or personalized deals to drive bookings and improve guest relations.

 

• Data collection and personalization

A mobile app provides valuable customer data, helping you understand user preferences and deliver more personalized experiences for future visits.

 

• 24/7 availability

An app allows customers to book rooms anytime, anywhere, offering unmatched convenience that fits the modern traveler’s lifestyle.

 

• Global reach and accessibility

With an app, your hotel becomes accessible to a global audience. Travelers worldwide can easily find and book your property, opening up new markets and revenue streams.

 

Sounds pretty fantastic, don’t you think? With the right development team, this can all become a reality for you.

How to Make a Booking App: Must-Haves From Onix's Experts

Let's start by breaking down the typical hotel booking app development process into key stages. This way, you can get a clearer picture of the standard steps involved and how it all comes together:

 

1. Project discovery: This involves research, gathering requirements, and documentation.
2. Selecting a tech partner: Choose the right team for your project.
3. Choosing a booking app type that meets your business needs: For example, OTA, aggregator, or brand/chain app.
4. Creating hotel mobile app design : Develop wireframes and prototypes focusing on ease of use and navigation.
5. Technology stack decision: Decide on the best tools and technologies for your needs.
6. Development: Includes backend and frontend development, APIs, and quality assurance.
7. Deployment and support: User group testing, launching your app, and providing ongoing assistance.

 

And now, we share our insights on the process specific to hotel booking mobile app development and provide practical tips for each stage to help you navigate your own process effortlessly.

 

Learn more: How to Develop a Website Like Airbnb? [Complete Guide]

 

1. Project discovery (Preparation for a hotel app development)

We recommend starting with a product discovery if you're considering creating a hotel booking mobile app from scratch.

 

Here's how the Onix team can conduct the product discovery phase for your project:

 

1. Planning (2-3 days)

We start by analyzing requirements and creating a further discovery plan.

 

As a part of our project discovery services, our specialists help you to:

 

• Gather high-level requirements
• Assess existing solutions and customer feedback (*if the product is not built from scratch)
• Review internal documents and market surveys
• Conduct competitor research
• Create a detailed discovery plan

 

2. Analysis (7-10 days)

We analyze your business to develop a clear product vision, set priorities, and establish success criteria.

 

This stage involves:

 

• Defining functional breakdown
• Setting priorities
• Studying the target market and defining user personas
• Creating user journeys
• Analyzing architecture's functional requirements
• Designing initial architecture vision
• Creating user screen flows

 

3. Finalizing product vision (10-15 days)

Our experts finalize your product vision, prepare a possible project implementation roadmap, and calculate recommended development costs.

 

At this stage, our team will help you:

 

• Define the most suitable architecture
• Choose the optimal technology stack and automation level
• Build an MVP prototype with essential features for hotel booking experience
• Validate hypotheses from business, user experience, and IT perspectives
• Shape the final solution scope
• Develop a project roadmap
• Estimate the project timeline and budget for MVP or full-fledged product implementation.

2. Create a unique value proposition (UVP)

Winning potential users comes down to a UVP and proper positioning. Here are some worthwhile models for consideration: 

 

• Last-minute booking deals. Booking.com, Travgo, and HotelTonight are some of the companies that offer this UVP.

 

• Cheap booking options. Many tourists, especially millennials, are either looking for the cheapest flight and stay options or feeling excellent about it. HostelWorld, HostelBookers, and other companies have chosen this model to target low-cost travelers.

 

• Room sharing/ apartment rental. Airbnb adopted both room-sharing and short-term apartment rental business models.

 

• Short stays. Some people need to stay no longer than one night while traveling. For instance, Dayuse.com offers a cheaper rate for one-day bookings.

 

• Peer-to-peer model. The Couchsurfing app assists thrifty travelers with free stays, but it’s also about cultural exchange and friendship. So is Locali, an upcoming mobile app whose design was created by Onix. The app marries Tinder and Foursquare City Guide, enabling tourists to explore cities and connect with locals and other travelers.

 

3. Required tech stack to build a custom hotel booking application

The technology stack impacts many aspects of hotel booking app development. The chosen technologies will largely determine whether your mobile app will be:

 

• scalable
• secure
• maintainable
• and perform well.

 

It will also directly impact your budget and time-to-market. 

 

Below, we prepared a list of reliable technologies and tools that allow you to build a robust hotel booking mobile app with a competitive advantage and future growth prospects. 

 

Read also: The Best Mobile App Tech Stack in 2025

 

4. The MVP approach: start small, think big

We always recommend our clients start with an MVP.

 

This approach helps you:

 

• quickly test your app idea and gather valuable feedback from users.
• speed up development and bring your app to market faster
• keep costs down and reduce risks.

 

 

The main features of an MVP for a mobile booking app should or may include:

 

• User registration and login (account creation, login, and profile management.)

The user profile feature on TripAdvisor

 

• Search functionality (search for hotels based on location, dates, and room preferences.)

Example of travel booking platform design by Onix – TravelTail 

 

• Room availability and booking (show real-time availability and allow users to book rooms.)

 

• Payment integration (secure payment processing for bookings.)

Example of in-app payments feature

 

• Booking confirmation (provide users with confirmation details and booking receipts.)

 

• Hotel listings (basic hotel information including names, addresses, and descriptions.)

 

• Filter and sort options (basic filters such as price range, star rating, and amenities.)

 

• User reviews and ratings (show user reviews and ratings for hotels.)

An example of how Onix built a reviews and ratings page

 

• Push notifications (send booking confirmations, reminders, and updates.)

 

• Basic support (provide contact details or basic support options for user inquiries.)

 

Once you’ve validated your concept and received feedback, you can iterate and improve your app based on real user insights, leading to a stronger and more successful product.

 

5. Build an admin panel

Building an admin panel for a mobile hotel booking app involves creating a backend interface that allows administrators, hotel managers, or tour operators to manage bookings, users, listings, and other important functions.

 

Before building an admin panel for a hotel booking app, consider:

 

• User roles. Set permissions for super admin, hotel manager, and support staff.
• Scalability. Ensure it handles data growth, especially during busy seasons.
• PMS integration. Sync with hotel management systems for real-time booking and availability.
• Real-time updates. Enable instant updates on room availability, pricing, and booking status.
• Custom dashboard. Provide admins with a flexible dashboard for key metrics.
• Analytics. Include tools to analyze bookings, revenue, and user behavior.
• Backup & recovery. Implement regular backups to prevent data loss.

 

6. Third-party integrations

To make a hotel booking app, consider integrating the following third-party services to ensure smooth operation, enhance user experience and functionality:

 

• Payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square)

For processing payments securely and efficiently.

 

• Property management systems (PMS)

For syncing room availability, bookings, and pricing in real-time.

 

• Customer relationship management (Salesforce, HubSpot)

For managing customer interactions, marketing, and sales.

 

• Maps and geolocation (Google Maps, Mapbox)

For location services, maps, and directions to hotels.

 

• Review platforms

To display hotel reviews and ratings from trusted sources.

 

• Email and SMS services (SendGrid, Twilio)

For sending booking confirmations, updates, and reminders.

 

• Analytics tools (Google Analytics, Mixpanel)

For tracking user behavior, bookings, and app performance.

 

• Cloud hosting and storage (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure)

For scalable hosting, data storage, and backend services.

 

7. Protect user data

Every business is vulnerable to hacking. However, there are some best practices you can follow to prevent security issues and keep your app security at the highest level.

 

Let's look at them:

 

• Use HTTPS. Encrypt data transmission with SSL/TLS protocols.
• Secure authentication. Implement strong passwords, 2FA, and OAuth for user logins.
• Data encryption. Encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit.
• Role-based access control (RBAC). Restrict data access based on user roles.
• Regular security audits. Conduct frequent security checks to identify vulnerabilities.
• Tokenization. Use tokens for sensitive data, like credit card numbers, to avoid storing raw data.
• Compliance with regulations. Follow GDPR, PCI DSS, and other relevant data protection laws.
• Use firewalls and anti-malware. Protect against external threats and attacks.
• Regular backups. Ensure regular data backups and secure storage for recovery.

Hotel Booking App Development Costs: What to Expect

The hotel booking app development cost is comprised of various factors such as:

 

• Type of booking app
• Number of required features
• The complexity of the project
• The platform you’re opting for (iOS, Android)
• Mobile app development approach (native or cross-platform)
• Needed technologies (languages, libraries, frameworks, AI, VR, etc.)
• Team size
• Cost of deployment and support
• Cooperation model (find an outsourcing company, hire freelancers, create in-house development team)

 

Below, we provide a rough breakdown of  hotel booking app development cost:

 

Basic MVP (minimum viable product)

 

• Cost: $30,000 - $50,000
• Features: User registration, search and filter for hotels, booking system, payment gateway integration, basic admin panel.

 

Mid-level app

 

• Cost: $50,000 - $100,000
• Features: Advanced search filters, user reviews, and ratings, multiple payment options, multi-language and currency support, third-party integrations (PMS, maps, etc.), notification system.

 

Advanced app

 

• Cost: $100,000 - $200,000+
• Features: Full PMS integration, loyalty programs, real-time booking synchronization, AI-based recommendations, advanced analytics, CRM integration, custom admin panel with detailed reporting and analytics.

 

Ongoing costs

 

• Maintenance & updates: Around 15-20% of the initial development cost annually for updates, bug fixes, and feature enhancements.

 

Note: This is only an approximate example of cost. Prices are calculated individually depending on the type of your application, whether it's being developed from scratch or an old version update, what development approach you need, the technologies required, and many other factors.

 

If you want to calculate your app development costs, share your app idea with us, and we'll be in touch shortly.

 

How Onix Can Help: Our Experience

With extensive expertise in mobile app development for hotel booking, our company has successfully contributed to notable projects, exemplified by TravelBid.com — an innovative booking platform tailored for travelers in Cyprus.

Onix’s experience in building a travel booking system

 

TravelBid.com allows users to secure exclusive deals and personalized offers unavailable elsewhere effortlessly. Local travel and hospitality businesses benefit by presenting special deals during periods of low demand without compromising market-average pricing on popular booking engines such as Booking.com or Expedia.

 

Misterb&b is one of Onix’s oldest ongoing projects. Initially, the client presented an existing website and mobile apps that required refinement.

A travel booking app by Onix

 

Onix's specialists played a pivotal role in:

 

• Improving app functionality, increasing product capacity, and expanding functionality using reliable technologies.

 

• Enlarging the listing base and business opportunities through effective integration with renowned aggregators and providers such as Booking.com, Rentals United, Guesty, Ospita, and BookingSync.

 

• Enhancing the search experience through a vast database of over 2 million property listings, incorporating various filters.

 

• Automating financial processes to bolster payment security.

 

• Implementing a fraud detection system heightens overall security, identifying illicit and high-risk activities such as suspicious credit card transactions, theft, cyber hacking, or scam messages.

 

The resulting platform, once called the "gay Airbnb" by Forbes, is considered the world’s largest gay hotelier with 900K+ members and 1 million accommodations in 200 countries.

 

Wrapping up

In this blog post, we’ve explained the steps to creating a mobile hotel booking app, including key features, development insights, and cost breakdowns.

 

With this knowledge, you can start your project confidently, avoiding costly mistakes that waste time and resources.

 

And remember, you don’t have to do it alone. The Onix team has the experience and expertise to guide you every step of the way.

 

Regardless of your app development stage, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance!

 

FAQ

 

How to create a hotel booking app for my business?

To create an online booking mobile app for your business, follow these steps:

 

• Define your requirements
• Choose a development approach
• Select a technology stack
• Create a hotel booking mobile app design
• Integrate payment and security features
• Thoroughly test your app to identify and fix any bugs

 

How much does it cost to build a hotel mobile booking app?

The cost to create a hotel booking app ranges from $30,000 to $200,000+, depending on the app's complexity, features, and development team rates. An MVP may cost between $30,000 and $50,000, while a more advanced app with additional features could exceed $100,000.

 

What key features should be in a hotel booking mobile app?

 

Critical features for a hotel booking mobile app:

 

• User registration and login
• Hotel search and filtering
• Room availability and pricing
• Booking system
• Payment gateway integration
• User reviews and ratings
• Maps and location services
• Booking confirmation and notifications
• User profiles and booking history
• Multi-language and currency support
• Loyalty programs and discounts
• Customer support and chat
• Cancellation and refund options
• Integration with Property Management Systems (PMS)
• Admin panel for hotel management

 

What trends are influencing the development of hotel booking mobile apps?

 

Trends influencing hotel booking mobile apps include:

 

• AI and machine learning. Personalization and recommendation systems.
• Mobile wallets. Enhanced payment options via digital wallets.
• AR/VR. Virtual tours and augmented reality features.
• Chatbots. Automated customer support and booking assistance.

 

What ongoing maintenance is required for a mobile booking app?

 

Regular maintenance is crucial to ensure your app functions smoothly. This includes:

 

• Bug fixes. Address any reported bugs or issues promptly.
• Updates. Keep the app updated with new features, improvements, and security patches.
• User feedback. Act on user feedback to enhance the user experience and address any concerns.
• Security checks. Regularly assess and reinforce the app's security measures to protect customer data.