Cost of Building a Hotel Booking App

Technologies have already drastically changed the life of an average traveler. The typical user has switched from desktop to mobile. And while some think that having a responsive website is enough, it is not quite right. 

People rarely wish to bring laptops or even tablets on the trip, which leaves smartphones to be their only source of connection and information. 

There are mobile applications for planning the trip, getting advice on places to visit from fellow travelers, buying tickets, and getting yourself a place to stay over at. The constant emergence of new services for comfortable traveling makes it easy for customers to get the best deals, the most exciting adventures, and the brightest experiences. 

However, while these apps are excellent for travelers, they present a stiff competition for hotel operators. Therefore, hotel businesses have to pick up new technologies to offer smooth experiences and attract more clients. 

If you are wondering how much money you need to get an application for your inn, we are here to tell you how much does it cost to create a hotel booking app. 

Cost-forming factors of getting an app

All in all, there is no fixed price per application, as there are many things that can influence the cost. The application can vary in platforms they are built for, who they were built by, the number of features they offer, and so on. The essentials that make up the cost are: 

1. Tech team 
   
2. Development platform 
   
3. Set of features 
   
4. Post-development support 
   

Now let’s carefully analyze each of these components. 

1. Getting a tech crew

Finding a team to build an application for your application is not as easy as it may seem. There is a lot to think through such as vendor’s rates, headquarters location, language and time zone differences and more. 

When you finally settle down with one company, there is no getting back, so be careful with your choice. 

Pay close attention to company’s history, read through the reviews on Clutch, and check their applications available in the Appstore and Google Play Market. Is their reputation as good as they claim? Do they have experience in building a similar application? 

If your choice is largely based on the project’s budget, then check out the hourly rates by region presented below. 

• North America – $100-150 
  
• Western Europe – $45-75 
  
• Eastern Europe – $20-35 
  
• Asia Pacific – $15-20

2. Choosing a platform

When one has finally gotten a hold of a perfect tech ally to cooperate with, the next question would be “To go with iOS or Android?”. What can we say? There is no definite answer. After all, the platform you are going to choose is determined by the needs of the business. 

For example, if the vast majority of the hotels of one network are located in Asia, where the biggest part of the population uses phones on Android, then there is no use beating around the bush. Android it is. 

On the other hand, North America is iOS through and through. Not only has Apple gathered a devoted user base that is open to new apps, applications for iOS are also consistent on all devices. 

Whereas, Android lags behind and requires more time and money for successful app development. Plus, making it run accordingly on all devices is going to be tough. 

Nevertheless, we at IDAP create seamless native applications for all platforms. Our team ensures that apps show high-performance level, has intuitive design and meets the standards of the operating system it’s built for. 

3. Set of features

Authorisation

By entering the application, it is important to give a user an opportunity to connect to the application through an email or an existing social network account. Actually, choosing to go simply with a social network account is much easier, than requiring a full-scale registration with an email address verification. 

Authorization is going to take approximately 124 hours. 

Profile

Here users can leave all information required for booking (e.g. name, age, identification documents, payment information, and additional details) and check out all their previous reservations. 

Time needed to create a Profile feature – 140 hours. 

Search

One of the most important features is to search for accommodation by either imputing the place of interest or by utilizing the geolocation. Search has to include where the user is going, dates of check-in and check-out, a number of rooms and guests that are going to stay, and the purpose of traveling. 

Search has to include where the user is going, dates of check-in and check-out, a number of rooms and guests that are going to stay, and the purpose of traveling. 

Moreover, it’d be a good idea to allow saving searches or having a history of recently searched for. Search is a must-have feature for any booking application, and can take up to 118 hours of development. 

Room Page

Users have to be able to review the information of the room, take a look at the interior and what kind of service is provided (wifi, cleaning services, front desk services, and other miscellaneous goodies). Developing a Room Page – 108 hours.

Booking

It is a base of any booking application. After a user has chosen a room for their liking, next stage would be booking it. The booking has to include selecting the time of check-in and check-out, making a prepayment, stating the purpose of the visit and the form for filling in information on visitors. Plus, a place for making special requests for the room. 

Developing a User Page – 56 hours. 

In-app messages

It is not a necessary feature. However, having an opportunity to chat with support or hotel administration right through the app would be a plus. 

Creating a messaging feature can take about 84 hours. 

List of trips

A list of completed trips will allow users to look through the list of hotels and rooms they have been at in case they would want to return to that particular place. 

Implementing list of trips is going to take about 96 hours. 

Review system

Looking through the reviews is important for any visitor. Clients prefer to stop at clean rooms with exceptional service. Leaving comments, giving feedback on the provided services, loving or hating the hotel – all of the opinions of previous customers can help your future clients decide whether they are going to choose you. 

Review system will take 132 hours to create. 

Saved places

When searching for a place to stay at, users often come across places they would like to visit later. Give them an ability to like and save them for future plans. 

Creating the list of saved places requires nearly 68 hours. 

Travel guide

If you want to make sure your service is of a high standard, then adding a travel guide is a must. In such way you will be able to help clients look for a point of interests, finding out the prices around and getting the insights on the most beautiful locations to check out. 

Creating travel guide requires 192 hours. 

Hotel booking application MVP cost estimation

There is no way to figure out how much time and money can require the process of building a hotel booking application. Applications usually do not have a fixed price since the cost relies on the rates of hired vendor, app’s complexity and the amount of features that are going to be coded.

Looking at it with tech team eyes, we can say that in general an MVP for a hotel booking application can take between 2 to 4 months of work. It can be more or less depending on the technologies chosen for the app building.

The usual process of making an MVP for an application looks like the one below:

1. Planning the project;
2. Designing for iOS and Android;
3. Developing iOS application;
4. Developing Android application;
5. Developing the back-end part;
6. Testing.

After we have figured out what features a basic hotel booking MVP should contain, let us give you a rough estimate the budget needs for its creation.