Introduction
A hotel visitor does not care whether your program passed every automated test. What they actually care about is whether it functions properly when checking in at 1 AM over unreliable wi-fi. That’s why creating a hotel app does not end with the development process; the success of the app depends upon its quality assurance (QA) and on-site testing.
This article describes these real-world use cases of how Appricotsoft structures end-to-end testing for hotel apps, including how to create a testing environment, how to make reservations for testing purposes, what devices will be used, how to test in an on-premise network, etc.
How Testing for Hotel Apps Is Different
Hotel apps run in very diverse environments: inconsistent connectivity, hundreds of Android and iOS devices, integration with property management systems (PMS), point of sale (POS) systems, and payment processing systems, as well as the use of common physical buildings by many guests who are in a highly charged emotional state (such as being tired from travelling).
Therefore, it is not enough to test your hotel app in a laboratory environment. You must recreate how the guest will actually use your app by simulating the edge case scenarios, testing the use case constraints, and being pressured to use an app as a real guest would using the app.
Your QA & Testing Strategy: What Should You Test?
Here’s how to develop a solid QA and on-property testing program for mobile apps in a hotel:
1. Realistic Staging Environment
Your staging environment should be as much like production as possible – without the risk of failure.
- Connect to a real property management system (PMS) sandbox.
- Use real payment processing test mode.
- Simulate the hotel property’s real structure (rooms, rate plans, check-in rules, housekeeping status).
- Enable backend logging and analytics to help debug during phase 1 testing.
💡Tip: Create a clone of a current property configuration (one of your existing hotels) to create a real-world flow of data.
2. Testing Reservations & Mock Data
Create a library of test guest profiles, booking types, and reservation flow:
- Walk-ins, OTA imports, direct bookings.
- Single-night and multiple-night stays.
- Multiple rooms for guests.
- Check-in restrictions, upsell scenarios, and failed payments.
These are not edge cases – they are the way hotels do business in their everyday operations.
3. The Device Matrix: Don’t Just Test the iPhone 15
Your app could be accessed on:
- An Android 9 device that is not up to date
- A Kindle Fire Tablet at the front desk
- An iPhone 17 Pro Max
To provide a consistent experience for your guests, your QA Matrix should include the following:
- The 10 most popular devices of your target demographic.
- Both iOS and Android Devices (typically we test on 6+ different Android screen sizes and at least 3 different iOS Devices).
- Multiple Operating System Versions (this is particularly important with the fragmentation of Android Devices).
- Devices from different regions and with different language settings.
It’s within your strategy for cross platform app development that the true value will be realized. A well-built React Native app or Flutter build will simplify the QA for each platform; as long as proper testing is performed.
4. Testing Network Edge Cases: Wi-Fi that Works (or Doesn’t)
When you think of hotels, you usually do not think of exceptional Wi-Fi. As part of our testing, we will cover the following areas:
- No internet (off-line mode)
- Spotty connections (Wi-Fi drop + LTE fallback)
- Low bandwidth
- Captive portals
Additionally, we will also test for a partial network failure while performing the check-in process (for example, losing the connection during the payment process). Your app should account for retrying gracefully, provide a clear error message, be idempotent.
🧠 Related: If you’re interested in learning more about the robustness of your app in these edge cases, be sure to read our post on App UX Patterns for Hotels!
5. Pilot Property Rollout: Controlled Launch
Choose one place in your hotel group to do a full dry-run and rollout all of the features contained in an initial launch of only one location prior to rolling out all locations in your hotel group.
On-property test checklist items:
- Front desk staff trained
- Housekeeping trained
- Test the reservations made in the PMS
- The mobile app has been loaded on hotel devices
- Guest Wi-Fi connection (Wi-Fi) has been tested in conjunction with the app
- QR codes/signage deployed
- Support team briefed and standing-by
- Feedback collection process created
Once you have completed the testing process for your one pilot property and the system is working perfectly, observe REAL guests checking-in, accessing their guest room(s), sending messages and submitting service requests via the app to identify where they got stuck, regardless of whether they encountered a problem with functionality within the app.
Make sure to keep that feedback for future reference. It will be invaluable!
6. Continuous Quality Assurance (QA)
QA should never be considered a completed activity after an initial launch. At Appricotsoft, we leverage our Unison delivery framework and have integrated testing into every sprint:
- Each feature has associated test scenarios and regression coverage
- Code must pass both automated and manual QA before integration
- Weekly demos provide working software demonstrations
- Release Readiness is tracked using a living checklist and sign-off process
AI-assisted tools are also used to improve and expand the volume of test cases and speed up the process of performing regression passes within that area; however, ALL outputs generated MUST be reviewed and validated by the QA staff prior to using them for any decision-making purpose.
Automation: The Ultimate Solution for Quality Assurance
There are manual quality assurance (QA) processes that are needed for testing on-property but, if you want successful growth, you will want to implement an automated QA solution as your safety net.
For example, you can create UI test suites to automate check-in, check-out, payment processes and other similar flows. Your API should also have test coverage of critical endpoints like the reservation status endpoint or room upgrade endpoint. You should create CI pipelines that run tests each time a developer commits code to your repository.
By implementing these automated QA processes, you will be able to deploy quickly while avoiding the introduction of bugs. However, remember that automation can only help detect bugs and not help prevent negative user experiences.
How We Approach QA at Appricotsoft
As a mobile app development company, we are also a partner with you on developing hotel mobile apps that your guests will want to use.
We will:
- Build quality into your app starting from day 1
- Focus on user experience and system stability
- Treat QA as a top priority so your launch does not become a support nightmare
The scope of our hotel app development projects includes check-in flows, guest messaging, mobile keys, upselling, and other front-end processes, integrating directly with PMS (Property Management Software), POS (Point of Sale Systems), and Payment Systems. QA is where it all comes together!
If you have a rollout project coming up or a pilot project you are looking to get properly tested, we would like to hear from you. We will help you launch with confidence, not copied fingers.
Three Tools We Use to Conduct Hotel App Testing
1. Firebase Test Lab – Ideal for automating tests on numerous Android devices.
2. BrowserStack / Sauce Labs – These tools provide testing in the cloud on real devices.
3. Charles Proxy – Used to intercept and view API traffic for troubleshooting back-end issues during staging.
Final Thoughts
Developing a fantastic hotel app in the lab is relatively simple. However, developing one that functions effectively under stress, using guest WiFi and during busy check-in lines is a bit more difficult. This requires thorough quality assurance, realistic testing and validation at the hotel.
Our objective at Appricotsoft is to create amazing software and that includes creating an excellent experience where it really matters.
We want to support you in launching a hotel application that not only operates properly but also provides a wonderful experience for your guests.