Hostelworld responds to mobile tech demand

An iPad app is the first in a series of new products being released by budget travel site Hostelworld over the coming months in response to demand for mobile technology.

An iPad app is the first in a series of new products being released by budget travel site Hostelworld over the coming months in response to demand for mobile technology.

Version 2.0 of the Hostelworld iPad app is the first native app to be launched and has already been featured on the App Store in the ’Best New Apps’ category in 31 countries.

Chief executive Feargal Mooney said: “Our customers are young, tech-savvy and inherently mobile and they are increasingly choosing to book with us on tablet and mobile devices.

“It makes perfect sense for us to focus our attention on mobile and create the best possible experiences on these platforms. Mobile is experiencing triple-digit year-on-year growth for us and iPad represents an increasingly large proportion of this.”

The company’s head of mobile Breffni Horgan added: “When we started out designing for iPad, we felt that we could create something really special.

“Designing for iPad gives us the opportunity to truly immerse our customers in a destination because it provides us with the freedom to present our hostels in an engaging way.

“With large scale imagery, intuitive maps and easy access to filter results, we think finding the perfect hostel on iPad will be a breeze.”