PhoCusWright predicted that the craze over apps may last only four or five years, but they will be crucial. Hotels and other hospitality-related industries need to plan a smart mobile strategy that will bridge the near- and long-term.

You may be right if you think the apps for smartphones like the iPhone or Android are passing phases. But that doesn’t mean you can afford to sit this one out.

PhoCusWright’s senior corporate and technology analyst, Norm Rose, said the market is only growing for consumers who use smartphones, and they want to use them to make travel decisions. Rose presented his conclusions in a Webinar this week called “The iPhone and the Future of Mobile Travel Applications.” He also is co-author of PhoCusWright’s Mobile: The Next Platform for Travel.

Rose predicted that the craze over apps may last only four or five years, but they will be crucial. Hotels and other hospitality-related industries need to plan a smart mobile strategy that will bridge the near- and long-term. Part of that is cementing your mobile brand in the minds of consumers so they stay loyal to your brand in the future.

“The message for the travel industry is the mobile revolution is not just another channel,” Rose said. “Most have thought it as just another touch point, when in fact it’s a new platform. It enables different and innovative personal interaction and the information needs to be filtered in a certain way for it to be relevant.”

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