A mobile only price is a discounted room rate available exclusively to guests booking through a mobile app, typically on OTAs like Booking.com or Expedia. Hotels activate these rates through their channel manager, choosing which OTAs the discount applies to, how large the discount is (Booking.com requires a minimum of 10%), and how long the promotion runs.
NB: This is an article from Lighthouse
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Properties that enable mobile-only pricing receive a special badge in OTA search results, boosting visibility among the growing share of travelers – now over 50% – who search for and book hotels on their smartphones.
How mobile-only pricing works on OTAs
Mobile-only rates are managed through your channel manager or directly through the OTA extranet. The process varies slightly by platform, but the principle is the same: you set a percentage discount that applies only when a guest views and books on a mobile device.
On Booking.com: Go to the Promotions tab in the extranet, select “Mobile Rate,” set your discount percentage (minimum 10%), choose the date range you want it active for, and save. Once live, a “Mobile Only Price” badge appears next to your property in search results on the Booking.com app – making you visible to an estimated 30% more mobile users. You can also exclude specific dates (high-demand periods, for example) to protect margin.
On Expedia: Mobile-only rates are activated through the Expedia Partner Central dashboard or via your channel manager. The setup follows a similar model – set the discount, choose the dates, and the rate becomes visible exclusively to app users.
There is an important distinction to be made here, mobile-only pricing on most OTAs applies specifically to app users, not to guests browsing the OTA’s website on a mobile browser. This means guests using Safari or Chrome on their phone may not see the discounted rate, only those using the native app. Make sure your team and your distribution strategy account for this difference.
Why hotels use mobile-only pricing
A mobile only price is only available to users accessing a mobile booking app on their device. The booking site or mobile app is usually an online travel agent (OTA) and, as a hotel revenue manager, you can control the process.
Mobile phones are now so dominant in the travel search space and, when the right discount is applied, conversion rates can improve significant. But that’s just one of the reasons mobile-only pricing has become so prominent.
