To support UK independent hotel properties, associations, and small to medium sized chains in keeping up with modern technology trends, Appy Hotel has further developed its cost-free mobile marketing app. The own-branded app will generate greater brand awareness allowing hotel groups to compete with larger brands online and help to drive up visitor numbers.

There have been 100-150 new hotel openings in each of the last five years. This creates plenty of choice for the consumer but, in comparison, a saturated market for hoteliers to compete in.

Working with associations, the group app platform will enable independent hoteliers and partner hotels to collaborate and benefit from additional awareness and revenue opportunities. With restricted budgets, Appy Hotel’s group platform easily enables hoteliers to combine marketing efforts by branding individual establishments together under one umbrella app. Each will benefit from its own customised, interactive app promoting its services and facilitating reservations. A link to download the app can then be advertised on each hotel website and marketed together in local tourism guides, publications and websites to drive awareness.

JP Dumas, founder and CEO of Appy Hotel said, “The single biggest challenge for small UK hotels is marketing themselves against the competition. Hotel associations and small chains do not benefit from the clout that a recognised national hotel brand can boast, leaving it vulnerable. By teaming up with other hoteliers – whether that’s a partner hotel, small group in a seaside town in Cornwall, or a group of boutique hotels across the UK, it’s a simple case of power by numbers.  Why go on a solo mission when you can benefit from the brand power of others? We know that hotels in marketing groups experience dramatically increased revenue growth compared to those that remain independent.

“The functionality of the app allows information about the hotel to be easily digested in a format that’s interactive, personal and easy to use. Creating an ‘experience’ for visitors will leave a lasting impression and encourage them to tell their friends.”

Available on both Apple and Android operating systems, the Appy Hotel platform provides a mobile app, mobile web site and web app that can be accessed on smartphones or tablets to engage visitors prior to and during their stay.

JP Dumas continues, “International guests prefer an app that can be accessed even if they aren’t connected to the internet, meaning they needn’t worry about data roaming charges, whilst domestic guests prefer the immediateness of a mobile website. Whatever the platform, it is also simple to update in real time.”