It’s faster and better

Last week Hotwire launched its app for the iPad. The company had previously released an app for the iPhone. 

I downloaded it for my first generation iPhone on Monday and gave it a test spin.

Hotwire, is a travel website that allows people to book hotels. I have used it many times before to get some great deals, with one of the best getting a Renaissance hotel in Fort Lauderdale for $89 per night.

The download took less than 10 seconds and was able to have more first results in less than 30 seconds.

Hotwire claims the app cuts booking time in half when compared to the desktop experience and it didn’t disappoint.

I did a couple of test searches, one for Vancouver, British Columbia and the other for Fontana, California.

For Vancouver it quickly brought up results for two to five star hotels. It showed a four star hotel with a 95 per cent customer satisfaction rating. 

The map was easy to use as I was able to touch and drag it around to get the view I wanted. 

I preferred it to using it on my laptop or my desktop. 

Hotwire said many customers responded favourably to the app when it was launched on the iPhone last year. 

A spokesperson said in a press release said: “Nearly 25 per cent of all Hotwire hotel transactions on average now come from a mobile device with 75 per cent of hotels being booked same day. Those numbers are only expected to grow as many rarely return back to the desktop version of the site once they have a mobile booking experience. 

“Overall, mobile bookings are up considerably, and tablet bookings account for nearly half of all mobile purchases. And with tablets expected to overtake smartphones to become the primary source of mobile purchases within the next three years, Hotwire felt it was the perfect time to launch a dependable iPad app.”

To book, the user simply hits “continue” and either enters their booking information or uses stored information for an even quicker experience. They then receive a confirmation notice with the name and address of their booked hotel.

Users may also store and access past and future trips on the My Trips section of the app.