Getting your mobile app right is a tricky business, but Intercontinental Hotel Group has delivered the goods

It was a difficult decision to make but IHG has been named the winner of this year’s Mobile App in Travel awards.

Judges agreed that while the competition from other finalists – Thomas Cook, Guidepal, Jet2Holidays and hotels.com – made it tough to call, in the end it was IHG’s intense customer focus and ability to execute that made it worthy to take home the crown.

In making their final decision judges considered the following: design, usefulness, features, user experience, speed & performance, technology, marketing and, importantly, results. 

One of the judges, Graham Cook, Director, Indigo Insight, had this to say: “The shortlisted finalists were all very strong with some very original elements delivered by Thomas Cook and seamless quality by Hotels.com. However IHG had thought through and executed with exceptional attention to detail and ease of use a complete application which delivered a range of highly relevant services for customers on the move and needing a hotel".

This year’s judges believe IHG delivered on exceptional attention to detail

Volker Glaeser, Member of the Advisory Board of Mondia Media, another judge, also paid tribute to “great participants that are all focused on the consumer and easy access to information”.

In his view, however, IHG won because of their overall customer experience and an omnichannel approach. In addition, IHG had “leading search capability, and provided a nicely slick design."

Commenting on what the award means for his team, Fabrizio Di Martino, Manager, Mobile & Social Europe, IHG said: "It's really great to be recognised for our work. We're continually evolving our app in line with our research and customer feedback to ensure we improve the guest journey for both the leisure and business travellers."

Fabrizio Di Martino from IHG receives the Mobile App in Travel awards

To summarise what makes a winning app:

1.      Start with the customer
2.      Pay acute attention to detail
3.      Deliver top-notch search capability
4.      Design a slick user interface with relevant services
5.      Take an omnichannel approach
6.      End with the customer

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