Travel App Development: Revenue Models, Features, Cost

Do you want to know about travel app development? Here is everything you need to know. If you want to plan your trips, you may be relying on mobile more than anything. According to legit reports, more than 80% of users use their mobiles.

Hence, we can say that travel app development has covered most part of your journey planning. Therefore, if you want to build your unique app, you must know mobile app development.

Choose Your Business Model Wisely:

Travel apps cover almost everything about trip planning. Hence, you must choose your business model, its features, and the cost of building wisely. We dedicate this post to guiding you through the thorough information about travel mobile application development. We will start from scratch and share information about travel applications, covering the cost too.

How Does a Travel App Function?

Most travel apps include hotels and restaurants to guide users. However, feeding engaging and useful travel app content is the most crucial part of this app. Travel plan companies may feed the content like a guide, reviews, ratings, exclusive tours, offers, and many more.

Through travel apps, entrepreneurs provide a convenient tool to let users perform several tasks. Hence, users can search for tickets, costs, rents, cars, and also book services. This type of app also covers filtering options, features, and review systems to let users decide quickly.

You may have seen that currently running businesses like TripAdvisor and Expedia have integrated apps. Thus, you can see some platforms partnering with clients according to their convenience and propositions to include specific tours, additional services, and insurance features.

How To Make Money With a Travel App?

You may be wondering how giant companies like Expedia, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor make money. Therefore, we have covered it in this section. Travel apps can use the following three revenue models.

Travel App Revenue Models:

1. Commission Fees (booking.com)
2. Merchant Model (Expedia)
3. Ads (TripAdvisor)

Now let’s discuss how these revenue models work.

• Merchant Model:

Through this model, your travel app can generate most of its profit. Therefore, Expedia and services like that have running businesses. You may think about how it works. Hence, admit that they purchase the rooms and resell them to guests. Therefore, they get rooms at cheaper rates because of bulk orders. They also handle airfares, car rentals, and other services.

• Commission Model:

Some hotels are small and lack advertisement budgets and hotel chains. So, they are better to place in big hotel chains like booking.com and OYO rooms. So, if you create your travel app, you can charge 10 to 30% of the booking fees.

• Ads Revenue Model:

One of the most affordable and convenient models is to place ads. Therefore, travel companies run ads on their platforms. Hence, ads like hotels, tour providers, airlines, or buses are best revenge generating. However, they can also earn money through cost-per-click if users book hotels or flights. Of course, there is no guarantee that each user will book. The reason is there is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the conversation rate.

What Are Key Features Of Travel Apps?

Do you want to build your business with a travel app? If yes, you must know about the following features that the travel app has. Therefore, go through the features and learn about them.

• Sign Up/Create and Manage Profile
• Search & Navigation
• Information Integration
• Chatting Tools With Host
• Booking Service
• Reviews & Feedback
• Suggestions & Notifications

1.    Create & Manage Profile:

Mobile app development means allowing users to sign up and create their profiles to manage well. However, your app has to allow users to browse without logging in every time. Use information like email and phone to create a profile. Or else, they must be able to create an account using social media or Google. However, you must provide settings and different features to let them manage their profiles.

2.    UI/Search/Navigation

Nowadays, most apps come with search and navigation systems that also let them filter out. Therefore, users can filter options according to their preferences. It includes budget, dates, and locations. However, your app can use their location, dates, costs, and a number of people to serve options. Therefore, your app must have an integrated map and GPS system.

3.   Integrating Info:

Once users get hotels and restaurants according to their preferences, they want to know more. Thus, you can add more information about places and offers. Hence, it includes photos, booking availability, dates, reviews, and terms of services. At the same time, the travel app includes addresses, photos, descriptions, prices, and customer experiences about the place.

4.    Chatting Tools:

It helps your users stay connected with your support team when looking or roaming to places. Hence, your users don’t have to worry about being lost.

5.    Booking Service:

There are several travel services that let users book hotels, tours, flights, and others. Hence, they are the best-optimized apps. You can use technologies like APIs to support booking services.

6.    Review & Feedback:

Users who have taken services can give reviews and feedback. Of course, this feedback helps other users know the reality of the places. Therefore, it must include information like payment, services, and the suitability of users.

7.    Suggestions & Notifications:

• Allowing users to suggest improvements can win their hearts. Hence, they feel important to you. Therefore, you can let them give suggestions.
• Notifications are easy to let your user know about several things. It includes upcoming bookings, done services, offers, and many more.

Other Essential Features include weather forecast, currency converter, in-app purchases, in-app payments, translator, and more info.

How Can You Create Your Travel App?

Do you want to know what it takes to create your travel app? You can create the app according to your customizations. Therefore, the following points are essential to consider.

• Decide your audience and app features according to the type of business.
• List out services and merchants you want to integrate into the app.
• Decide your revenue model(s) and design your app accordingly.
• Observe your competitors’ businesses.
• Choose the correct and technically competent team to build your codes.
• Let team members know the exact outcomes you want to see.
• Tell them about your audience. Hence, they can integrate the data perfectly.
• Also, build the official website of your travel company. It helps the reader win trust. They know more about what’s going on in your business. Hence, you must include everything about your business on the website. Thus, transparency is the key to success.

What Factors To Consider For A Travel App?

• Modern tech comes with default integration of travel app features. Hence, building them becomes easy.
• You can either build a native Android app, native iOS app, or hybrid app.
• Third-party tools are essential. Of course, no apps can perform without third-party tools and integration.
• You can use several technologies to build Android and iOS apps. It includes Swift, Java 7, Web tools, JavaScript, AngularJS, Nodejs, Sequelize, PassportJs, GitLab, Testing, some third-party services, and many more.

What Does It Cost To Create A Travel App?

It depends on several factors. It includes OS, size of the app, data integration, the expertise of developers, features required, and licenses required. Therefore, the average cost can be anywhere between $1000 to $10,000.

Wrapping Up:

Don’t you think mobile app development for travel services is easy? Of course, it can cost initially, but you can start your own business. You can start your unique app and business. Therefore, you need to hire a professional team of experienced developers. However, if you still have doubts regarding mobile application development for Android and iOS, let us help you.