Mobile
apps
This page is not here to sell an app. For most businesses the honest answer is that they do not need one — and few developers will say so.
A guest staying three nights will not install an app for you.
One of the most frequent requests we get from hotels and resorts here is a mobile app. The reasoning is always the same: guests phone reception for room service, ask about activities at the desk, want a map.
All real problems. But for the answer to be an app, the guest has to accept installing software in the first hour of their holiday. Over a short stay that barrier is rarely crossed — and when it is, the app is deleted at checkout.
Apps win where the same person comes back repeatedly: loyalty programmes, dealer networks, field teams, regular ordering. For a one-time visitor, solutions that need no install are both cheaper and more used.
How a venue app is built
If the decision holds, scope must be limited from the start. The flow below is the core of a venue app — and even here, not all of it belongs in the first release.
Sign in
The guest is identified by booking or room number. If this step gets complicated, the app is abandoned in the first minute.
Home
Today's programme, weather, what is open. The single screen guests look at most.
Room service and requests
Orders and requests. To reach the kitchen and housekeeping it has to connect to your existing system.
Restaurant booking
À la carte reservations — usually the most used section. Capacity management has to work behind it.
Activity programme
Daily events and reminders. The content must be updated every day; an outdated programme makes the whole app look dead.
Around you
Places, distances, transfers. The section most often asked to work offline — international guests avoid roaming data.
Notifications
Announcements and reminders. An app that sends more than one a day gets deleted, so the frequency rule is written up front.
Feedback
Pre-checkout review. Complaints landing here rather than on a public platform is the app's most concrete return.
EVERY SCREEN IS MAINTENANCE · LAUNCHING SMALL AND GROWING BY USAGE IS CHEAPER THAN LAUNCHING COMPLETE
The same problem has four solutions.
Deciding without comparing the app to the other three means making the most expensive option the default.
| CRITERION | MOBILE APP |
MOBILE SITE |
QR WEB PAGE |
BUSINESS MESSAGING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requires an installThe first barrier | YES | NO | NO | NO |
| Build costUp front | HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW | VERY LOW |
| Ongoing maintenanceAnnual load | HIGH | LOW | LOW | VERY LOW |
| Push notificationsBringing people back | STRONG | LIMITED | NONE | STRONG |
| Works offlineWithout data | YES | NO | NO | NO |
| One-time visitorA few nights | NOT SUITED | SUITED | SUITED | SUITED |
| Returning userLoyalty, dealers, field teams | SUITED | PARTLY | NOT SUITED | PARTLY |
Read across the table and the answer for most venues is visible: a well-built mobile site and a QR code in the room. The app wins where users come back.
The cost does not end when the app is built.
These are the lines nobody asks about at quote stage and everybody meets in year two.
BUILD PHASE
- Needs assessment and screen flow
- Interface design
- Development for two platforms
- Integration with your existing systems
- Testing and store submission
- Admin panel
CONTINUING
- Developer account fees on both platforms
- Maintenance to keep up with OS updates
- Server and notification infrastructure
- Keeping content current — programme, menu, announcements
- Adapting to store policy changes
- User support and bug reports
An app without a maintenance budget stops working within a couple of years and the whole investment is lost.
Most of the time, the answer is the site
A mobile site with a QR code in the room solves the same problems with a fraction of the maintenance.
Decision and cost
Does our hotel need a mobile app?
For most hotels, no. A guest staying a few nights will not install an app for it, and deletes it at checkout if they do. Apps earn their place where the same person returns repeatedly. For a one-time visitor, a well-built mobile site and a QR code in the room are cheaper and get used more.
What does an app really cost?
Development is only part of it. Add two platform developer accounts, maintenance to keep up with operating system updates, server and notification infrastructure, and keeping the content current. We do not quote figures on this page because a number without a scope is misleading — but do not decide before you have seen the maintenance line.
What can we do instead of an app?
Most needs are met by a mobile site, a web page opened from a QR code in the room, or a business messaging account. None of them require an install, all carry far lower maintenance, and they use tools the guest already has on the phone. Saying this leaves us with a smaller job, but it is the honest answer.
When is an app genuinely the right answer?
When the same user returns regularly, when it has to work offline, or when it uses the phone's hardware. Loyalty programmes, dealer and distributor systems, field team tools and businesses taking constant repeat orders all fall into that group. If one of those describes you, the app is a sound investment.
Who publishes the app in the stores?
Developer accounts are opened in your name, so you own the app. We run the publishing process, but ownership of the account and the published app never sits with us; our access is removed when the work ends.
Can it talk to our property management system?
If the system exposes an interface, yes. If it does not, the app becomes an island: the guest sends a request that never reaches your system and someone has to retype it. That is the most common reason venue apps fall out of use, so it is the first technical question we ask.
First, let us check whether you need an app at all.
Describe the problem you want the app to solve. Within three working days we send back whether it is an app, a mobile site, or something considerably simpler — and what each would cost you in maintenance.