If you happened to land on this post, it is very likely that you are thinking about the idea of optimizing your hotel or resort. Services Web App and native App are two concepts that are very present in our day to day but, which are the big differences between these two applications? And which one is the best suited to centralize the management of your hotel’s processes? To clarify any possible doubts in this regard, we will tell you the keys of choosing one of the solutions that has gained more followers in recent years: the Web App, a technological innovation that provides the guest with a browsing experience very similar to native apps, but with some more advantages that we are going to review.
What is a Web App?
The Web App or web application is, basically, the version of a web page that is optimized to be used from a mobile or tablet, among other media. Since it is loaded on the web server and runs in the browser, it does not require any installation. This peculiarity is emerging as one of the great advantages of the 7 that we have indicated below, which differentiate it from the native App.
Benefits of Web App against native App
Access from any device:
The main characteristic of a Web App is that it adapts to all devices (responsive web design) and the guest can access it from any browser, regardless of the operating system used. The native App is designed taking into account the particular characteristics of the platforms on which they will be hosted, so not all operating systems are suitable for use.
No download needed:
The Web App runs through a URL, so the guest does not have to access any store from their mobile or tablet to download it. He just have to enter the website or use a QR code. The native App on the contrary, needs to be downloaded.
Storage space:
The Web App is located on the device’s server, so the user does not need space to browse it. On the contrary, the native App consumes space on the phone or tablet.
Less cost and maintenance:
In a native App, it is required to update the version for each operating system; some changes that usually require specialized technical staff and more time, so the development costs are multiplied. On the other hand, in the Web App these modifications can be made by anyone in an agile and simple way.
Greater accesibility:
The Web App works with updates directly from the server, without the need for the intervention of the host. The native App does require it, which means that there are users with different versions of the app. On the other hand, in web applications, the user will access the latest version of it just by entering the page, without having to carry out manual updates.
Inmediacy:
While in a Web App we have immediate access to all the content (from any web browser and without the need for installation or download), to ‘dive’ through a native App we must first download it. An action that often becomes tedious and even more so if the guest is going to use that app only during their stay at the hotel. Are many, the users who delete apps from their mobile or tablet for not using them or for consuming too much space, as can be deduced from this study.
Possibility to operate offline:
Although the Web Apps store all their content in the cloud, once they have been visited it is possible that the guest can consult information even without an internet connection.
Adaptability:
Web Apps are also characterized by their ability and ease to be customized with every brand’s look & feel. Although they belong to the same chain, the hotels can be of different brands and therefore require their own Web App that thus reflects the identity of each one. Faced with this reality, the Web App is another great advantage due to this versatile and simple possibility.
For all these reasons, service Web Apps currently stand as the option with the most advantages to offer better service to guests and make easier the internal management for staff.
An example of this is Goguest Web App, Easygoband’s web application for hotels that allows guests to manage their stay from their mobile. This is explained by the CEO of the company, Benjamín Garcés, who underlines that “it is a solution that adapts to any support and operating system and with which the client can, from booking services and ordering room service, to using the app as a key, among many other functions”.
And it is that managing to optimize the experience of the hotel stay translates into greater guest loyalty and, consequently, in an increase in profitability for the hotel.
