6. Customer Decisions on Hotel Booking via Mobile Phone and Tablet Applications: A Case Study of Luxury Hotels in Bangkok

In line with the rapid expansion of smartphone or mobile phone usage, phone applications have become a key channel for making accommodation reservations. However, a majority of hotels in Bangkok do not realize the impact of mobile device application awareness on the hotel business. The aim of this study is to discover the importance of mobile applications on the decision-making process of customers, especially among luxury hotels in Bangkok. This chapter also clarifies the effectiveness of using mobile device applications for making hotel reservations, check-in, and check-out including the payment process. Furthermore, this research emphasizes the importance of mobile applications on hotel marketing. In this research, data collections are adapted. Secondary sources are required to uncover different types of booking resources to hotels in Bangkok and their popularity, through the growth rate of mobile phone and tablet application usage. The basis of this research emphasizes the Sofitel So Bangkok hotel and Leading Online Travel Agent, a tour agency in Bangkok, to influence the awareness of using mobile device applications in making accommodations and helping the business owner aim mobile device application marketing at the right target. Mobile device applications become an income generator for many major hotels in their businesses. According to this research finding, the trend of hotel reservations through mobile device applications has increased significantly. Therefore this research result suggests that hotels in Bangkok should adopt mobile device applications to promote their business especially rooms and facilities bookings. Consequently, developing their own mobile device applications for the hotel business is highly recommended to increase competitiveness of the hotel business in the future.