Hotels continue to pour money into “guest-facing” apps, often with the hope that they will streamline communication and improve the guest experience. However, most of them go unused after download, or they never get downloaded at all. Rather than removing barriers, these apps create them. Asking a guest to download an app so they can request an upgrade or ask a question adds avoidable friction.
While travelers generally resist downloading hotel apps that take up storage space, they’ll make an exception when added value is offered, such as loyalty points or perks, although these tend to be more relevant for large groups and chains. Furthermore, many guest apps are not designed for in-stay communication, and that is where they fall short. Guests rarely open them after the initial download, and they probably do not want to navigate an app just to send a quick mid-stay message.
Why Guests Avoid Apps for Communication
When it comes to communication, travelers prefer channels they already use. In eviivo’s survey of around 450 travelers, nearly 60 percent said they prefer SMS or WhatsApp for hotel communication, and just 4 percent said they would choose a hotel app.
Other industry data tells the same story. The Global Business Travel Association found that while 61 percent of business travelers downloaded at least one hotel chain app last year, they tend to use them for reservations and rewards, not communicating with hotel staff during a stay.
Investing in multi-purpose hotel apps might be practical for a major chain, and it certainly makes sense for global Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). But for small groups and independents, the payoff is not there. Developing and maintaining a high-quality branded app is expensive, and it requires a lot of investment. Without a built-in loyalty program or ongoing incentive for guests, and additional use like direct bookings, or the ability to easily order extras at any time, adoption and engagement remain low, and ROI becomes difficult to justify.
Guests aren’t the only ones affected, either. Every new app creates another system for staff to track, increasing the chance that a request gets missed. Instead of simplifying staff workflows, apps often fragment them.
The primary issue with most hotel apps is that they were never built for the quick, two-way conversations guests expect during a stay. This is where hotels should take a different path and instead rely on instant messaging tools that guests already have.
Hotels Should Rely on What’s Already in Every Guest’s Pocket
Tools like SMS and WhatsApp are part of daily life; they’re familiar, fast, and frictionless. Industry research shows instant messaging open rates are as high as 98 percent, with most texts read within minutes, a level of immediacy that hotel apps can’t match.
At the same time, guest expectations around digital convenience continue to rise. According to Hotel Tech Report’s latest “State of Hotel Guest Tech Report”, nearly half of all travelers now prefer to check out using their smartphones, with even higher adoption among millennials and luxury guests.
A Smarter Approach for Operators
Operators benefit from shifting investment away from tools guests routinely ignore and focus instead on channels that reflect actual behavior.
Where day-to-day communication is concerned, instant messaging and a performant mobile-responsive website (used as a display and shopping window) should be the backbone, as guests are already comfortable with them. And with the advent of AI-driven content and responses feeding off the internet, confining a guest engagement model to a dedicated mobile app seems to make even less sense.
Instead, using messaging tools that are deeply integrated with a business’s core property management system (PMS) is more effective. Conversations stay centralized in a unified inbox alongside other channels like emails and OTA messages, and responses can be highly personalized with AI. The result is a service that feels more immediate and more seamless, with no missed communication.
Integrating AI into instant messaging channels can unlock even greater efficiency. By automating routine interactions, like booking confirmations and check-in instructions, AI features help staff spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on meaningful, guest-facing service.
Just as hospitality thrives on simplicity, the most effective communication tools aren’t flashy apps, but familiar ones. By relying on proven channels like instant messaging, hotels can strengthen guest engagement while simplifying workflows for staff.
