HotelTonight's pioneering success with same-day hotel bookings has led a host of copycat products from other companies, including online travel agencies like Priceline and Last Minute Travel and metasearch sites like Hipmunk.
Now metasearch site Kayak is adding a new tool to its mobile app: Hotel for Tonight. Says the company:
The tool shows hotels in the immediate proximity of the user, which have three stars and have been highly rated by other travellers.
To simplify the booking process when searching, users will be able to see pictures, prices, amenities and location and then book directly at one glance
The tool is available immediately on the Android app version 8.0 and will be available for Apple devices in March -- both the free and paid ("Pro") versions.
Lean forward versus lean back experiences
The move is in response to data.
Half of the time when Kayak app users go onto the hotel bookings part of the app they book a room last minute (aka, staying within 48 hours of booking) compared to 15% for when users go to hotel bookings part on their tablets.
In other news, Kayak has also added travel search to Cuba for Americans, in anticipation of liberalized travel rules.
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