A Complete Guide on Concierge App Development

Who doesn't love having a personal assistant in the pocket? Everybody loves having one, especially when it is available at a pocket-friendly/ free of cost. Today, when the times have shifted towards the adoption of on-demand apps like Uber, people expect to have an on-demand app for the travel and hospitality industry. That’s exactly what a concierge app does, assisting people in bookings, registrations, service assistance, front desk management and more. Big hotel chains like Marriot, Hilton already have their concierge app service already. Do you wish to build a concierge application? Yes? Then read this blog and get detailed information about why the concierge app industry is emerging, how you will benefit from developing a concierge app and what are the must-have features of a concierge application.

Well, it would be true to say that, “comfort necessity” led to the idea of concierge app development. The concierge app allows a customer to request various types of concierge services, like hotel booking, to information and booking to nearby tourist places to order food in the room. A concierge app having exemplary features and unique look gives and extraordinary user experience.

You may think, why the craziness for the concierge app? Well, the hospitality industry has crossed the revenue of $550 billion in the year 2016. It is expected that the AppStore will host around 5 million mobile apps by 2022? So what? This makes it clear that if a concierge app is developed by a hotelier or a travel agent, it is going to give them a competitive edge over others.

A Concierge app development company has a great opportunity for the future. Are concierge apps already on your mind? Well, why not? You can connect with us if you have any such idea of building a concierge app for your business. Before we move ahead with the detailing of a concierge app, let’s know about the various types of concierge apps.

Front-desk concierge app:

This service helps customers order room services, perform check-in and check-outs, ask for a room transfer or more information about the prices and the rooms.

Travel assistant:

Travel assistant concierge services allow guests to book their flights, book a city guide, get suggestions for nearby restaurants, activities and more.

Conference managers:

This is another type of concierge app service that takes care of the events for you. With such service, a guest is able to conduct a meeting, conferences, manage beverage serving, temperature regulation and more.

Well-known hotel chains like Marriot have already gained its part to benefit from the application. Apart from just the booking feature, they have provided many other services which put the guest at ease.

Marriott understood the specific needs of their target audience which every hotelier or travel manager who wishes to develop a concierge application needs to understand.

We have listed down a few benefits of concierge app:

1. It allows you to understand the specific needs of your target audience. The special feature within the app, analyses the user’s behavior and gives you a detailed report of the needs.

2. If you can treat your customers as per their expectations, you have chances to increase their loyalty.

3. A concierge app gives you a chance to increase your brand visibility. It has the potential to reach out to the customers who are searching for the services you offer.

4. A concierge app gives you a chance to reach out to the customers and solve their queries at a lightning speed.

5. As the processes are digitally controlled, there are less chances of human errors.

6. A concierge app can be used as a great marketing tool to reach out to a broader range of audiences.

7. It gives you the power to control staff productivity and thereby channelize the communication within the team.

If you still aren’t convinced, let’s have a look at the concierge app market analysis:

Audiences and event managers are looking out for premium and state-of-art luxury services. They wish to have service perks, support and everything else, by just a single tap on the mobile phones.

The global revenue of mobile applications is expected to cross $935.2 billion in 2023. As mentioned above, the annual revenue from apps on App Store and Google Play is already 4.5 million at the beginning of the year 2020. Hence, the competition is huge.

Based on a whitepaper published by World Economic Forum along with Accenture, it suggests that if a hotel app understands their guests' needs and gives highly personalized experiences, they can earn up to $2 billion as additional profit by the end of 2025.

The same analysis is for the market of travel concierge apps. A study conducted by Hotels.com says that almost 46% of respondents are inclined towards using mobile concierge services. Further analysis includes,

Table reservations at restaurants (62%);

For directions (51%);

Tickets for tourist locations (48%);

Coffee table bookings (25%);

Ironing (17%).

The figures look quite promising and compelling for you to create a concierge service app today. But wait, do you know what are the basic features that you need to have in your concierge app? Let’s find out in the next section.

Basic Features for Concierge App:

Registration and login:

Allow the users to sign up for the application seamlessly. Create a signup form that asks the users’ basic information like name, address, payment details, etc. however, ensure that these details are stored securely within the app. Do not ask for personal information, again and again, this may look less authentic and irritate them over and again.

In-app search:

This is the most prominent feature a concierge app needs to have. Suppose that you have a list of properties or travel destinations, then allow the user to search the convenient option for themselves. This feature wins their heart because they get everything at such ease.

Booking:

Once, the user has found their favorite spot for stay, the next step they wish to do is book it for their travel dates. At this stage, you can give them discounts and offers available for the property they have chosen. In this feature, you need to describe the other add-on services available with the bookings like meals, gym access, swimming pool access, parking and more.

Payment method:

In today’s competitive times when digitization is the key, it is important to have a custom payment service in the app. Provide a variety of options, that allows them to pay through debit cards, credit cards, etc. If you wish to integrate a payment gateway, you can refer to this blog and make the decision. However, make sure that you have reliable, and secured payment services.

Admin panel:

Depending on the type of services, you wish to provide, the admin panel’s feature differs. The admin panel should allow the admin to track the income of the staff, check their productivity, keep a record of reservations, managing leaves and many more such intriguing features.

There are a few other advanced features that your concierge application needs to have. Some of the features are generic and few others are completely related to the hospitality industry.

Room service at a single tap:

If given an option, what would you choose, calling the reception to order a pizza or ordering a pizza t through an app? Definitely the latter one. Hence, you can digitize your concierge services through an app without disturbing your employees and also keeping the guests at ease.

Personalized recommendations:

Based on the recent in-app requests and activities, you can provide your users with some personalized suggestions. This will make them feel special and give them what is best for them.

Automated check-in and checkouts:

We all are aware of how NFC technology works in paying an amount of money using phones and how it assists us in opening the doors. In the same way, NFC-equipped locks can assist travelers to open the room without standing in the queue.

This way, you can automate the check-ins and checkout and speed out the whole process.

Hotel Map:

For outstanding user experience, you can integrate location tracking features into your mobile application. The map tracking includes, right from the hotel locations, to the building’s floor and service areas. You can either use geofencing, iBeacon or Eddystone technology for navigating within the hotel.

Chatbots:

Chatbots aka instant reply services have become the need of the hour. The purpose of a concierge app is to solve the queries of the guest and if they are stuck somewhere, they can easily find the solution using a chatbot.

Along with all the above-mentioned features, a unique and attractive UI/UX always wins. Choose a partner or an on-demand app development company that takes care of your UI/UX like their own.

How much does it cost to develop a concierge app?

The actual price of a concierge app development depends on the technology stack you choose and the number of hours a mobile app development company invests in it. Depending on the location, many app developers give you an hourly rate which can be as follows.

It is hard to estimate the pricing at the initial stage of development. You may add on the features or opt to go for third-party integrations which will add on to the final cost.

Which technology stack should you pick up for app development?

Now that you have known the features and the cost to develop a concierge app, let us know which technology stack option do you have to choose from.

Android:

Java

Kotlin

Google Maps API

Proximity Beacon API

Google Location Services API

MySQL database

iOS:

Swift

Google Maps API

Apple MapKit

Core Location API

Core NFC API

MySQL database

You can ask your prospective development partner about which technology stack would be best suited for your application idea.

In the end:

We hope this article will help you in developing a concierge app for your business. Design the app in such a way that it becomes a powerful tool to promote the business in the travel or hospitality industry. You can also opt for a hybrid concierge app that combines humans, AI and allows you to target specific audiences.

To be honest, concierge apps are going to revolutionize the way hotels and the travel industry are handled. It is the best time to take the initiative and open up new opportunities for your hotel/travel business. All the best!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sanjay Kidecha

CMO