Yes, the travel booking app Hopper is legit for hotels. It has been around for years, and is a trusted source of bookings for thousands of properties across North America and the world.
NB: This is an article from Little Hotelier, one of our Expert Partners
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When did Hopper start?
The brainchild of two ex-Expedia executives, Hopper was first imagined in 2007, but was only launched in 2014, as its key differentiator – the price prediction algorithm that helps users find the very best flight and accommodation deals – took quite some time to develop.
This initial investment in R&D has delivered a sizable return though, as Hopper is now the most downloaded travel app in North America. The app is particularly popular amongst younger users – according to Hopper, their customers are “primarily Millennial and Gen Z”.
Why are Hopper reviews important?
Hopper reviews are important because the online reputation and subsequent perception of your hotel have a huge effect on your ability to attract guests and the rates you charge those guests.
Hopper hotel reviews are presented in the form of ‘user ratings’ on the app, based on a scale of zero to five. Hopper allows users to filter hotel search results by these ratings, so if your hotel is rated at 3.5, and a user filters by ratings of four or over (as many do), your hotel won’t come up as a result.
By offering a high-end guest experience, you can ensure your rating stays high, and your hotel is presented to all Hopper users who are searching for accommodation in your area.
Top reasons hotels are using Hopper
More and more properties are considering using Hopper Hotels for a single, simple reason: the app has a huge, young, and very loyal user base.
Over 100 million people have booked through Hopper, making it North America’s most downloaded travel app. About 70% of Hopper users are 18-35 years old, and they spend a lot of time on the app: users will check travel prices an average of 16 times before booking a flight or hotel.
According to the company’s travel trends report, more than half of Hopper users claim they plan to take more trips this year than in previous years, and 84% plan to spend more on travel than in previous years.
In order to gain access to this large, young and travel-hungry audience, a small, independent hotelier needs to ensure that they have a presence on Hopper, and that their hotel is put in the best light.
Hopper hotel reviews: Is it reliable?
The good news is that Hopper has indeed proven itself to be a reliable app, as its 4.6-star iOS App Store rating proves. The rating is a little less glowing on the Google Play store however, with Android users giving it 3.3 stars – many complain about technical glitches.
No matter what the app store reviews might say, the underlying popularity of Hopper isn’t in doubt, so independent hoteliers shouldn’t be scared away from the incredible business that the platform can generate by the potential for technical glitches.
Put simply, a presence on Hopper means more potential bookings, and more bookings means more revenue!
How to list and manage your hotel on Hopper
Hopper is essentially a metasearch engine, similar to Google Hotels and Trivago. But unlike these and other hotel metasearch engines, Hopper doesn’t allow independent hoteliers to add or manage their own listing in the app. Hopper instead gets its accommodation stock from online travel agencies like Booking Holdings and SiteMinder.
In order to appear on Hopper, your hotel must first appear on one of the OTAs that the app partners with. Hopper pulls information from your OTA listings, so once you appear on the app, the only way you can manage and update your Hopper listing is by managing and updating your OTA listings.
