Introduction
One of the first questions we typically hear from hotels looking for a hotel app is “How much will it cost?” or “How long will it take?” Unfortunately, there are a lot of variables that affect both of those numbers, and therefore an exact answer cannot be provided until the hotel works through all of their decisions related to the app and determines which decisions best correspond to their business model.
At Appricotsoft, we work with hotels, hotel groups, and multi-property brands and help them make informed decisions when developing mobile apps for guest services, digital concierge applications, and integrated room service systems. In this article, we will take a deeper look at the factors that drive both cost and schedule, so that you can plan a project without any unexpected costs.
1. Number of Properties = Scope Multiplier
Let’s talk about something really obvious, how many hotels will your app be built to support?
A single hotel property may be built with a light application design that allows for custom branding and directbooking capabilities, as well as different services.
However, if your application is going to be servicing multiple hotels in an enterprise chain, then you will need a fully multi-tenant architecture that has to accommodate not only the users’ identities but also the associated room inventories, reservation logic and operations for each individual hotel.
When you are building your application for multiple hotels, you are adding complexity to your application from end to end – from user experiences (property switchers, localized content) to back end configuration (shared databases, isolated environments) and third-party integrations (PMS, payment processing, etc.) between all hotels.
π The decision to create a multi-hotel setup for your application does not simply rely on the size and scope of the application. The impact of creating a multi-hotel setup will influence nearly every decision that you will have to make – from your data model to how we will store and apply guest preferences in each of the different locations that you will support directly or indirectly.
2. Integration Depth: PMS, Payments, Messaging, and More
One of the largest hidden expenses associated with developing hotel mobile applications is that of third party integrations.
Four third party integrations you’ll probably need for your hotel app are:
- PMS Integration: Your PMS system is the brain of your hotel app in that it stores all your room availability, guest data, how many guests are checked in/out, etc. Every PMS vendor has a different API, level of support, and many have their own quirks. Custom code and additional handling for edge cases are generally needed to map your application logic to the PMS vendor’s setup.
- Payment Processing: If your application has any upselling features, room service, and/or on-demand purchases (i.e., guests can purchase items while in their rooms), this requires you to have some type of compliant payment processing setup. There is a lot of friction (and thus time) associated with PCI (payment card industry) compliance, regional payment gateways (when trying to do this internationally), and processing payments in multiple currencies.
- Messaging Platforms: Internal chat, and service requests, also should be completed using internal tools or by integrating with providers such as Twilio, WhatsApp, etc. Historical response tracking, translation needs, and escalation flow processes also add to complexity.
- Other Tools: This could include, but is not limited to, your CRM, marketing automation, loyalty application, or digital key integration, or other tools. This also adds their own costs (whether in dev time or license fees)
Pro Tip: Integration costs are seldom linear – what appears to be a “simple” integration may take 10 days to complete, but what appears to be a clunky or poorly documented integration may take 4 times as long to complete. Always allow yourself ample time for discovery and testing when budgeting for integration costs.
3. Devices & Platforms
Some hotels first create an iOS app to test the waters, while others want both an iOS and Android app, a solution for tablets for their lobby staff, the ability to provide a Smart TV or tablet in the room, or to have wearables integrated.
Each additional device/Android requires design, QA testing, and engineering time, plus ongoing maintenance once launched.
Unless you choose to develop native, the effort will be multiplied x2. You can reduce costs with cross-platform development using tools like React Native, but you’ll still need to do thorough planning and testing.
4. Back-End Tools Support the App
Focusing only on guest-facing functionality is common as this is where most of your clients are typically focused. However, you will also need to consider what internal tools the hotel needs to support the app in order to enable seamless operation and management. Some examples of internal tools that you’ll want to incorporate:
- Dashboards for housekeeping and maintenance staff to receive requests, work instructions, etc.
- CMS β Content Management System to manage content updates (e.g. menus, promotions, room type descriptions)
- Marketing push notification management dashboard
- Analytics and reporting dashboards to analyze how much the app is being utilized and how much the app is generating for the hotel.
For those hotels currently using spreadsheets or walkie-talkies for these tasks, most will need to either build from scratch or integrate all these items with existing systems, which will all require development time and QA testing.
π¨ If you don’t address and support the back office user experience, it can lead to missed opportunities for adoption, bottlenecks, and increased post launch support costs.
5. Time Drain: Idempotents and Audit Trails
Reliability is essential in the hospitality industry. Duplicate charges or lost service requests can lead to significant issues for hotel guests.
By implementing an idempotent system, if a guest taps “order” twice due to a Wi-Fi issue before being charged for their champagne bottle twice, they can still only be billed for one.
Audit trails are also helpful in tracing who requested something and when. This is vital for support, operations, and compliance for your business.
Although building in this reliability may not be glamorous, it is necessary. Getting it right takes time – but saves many hours and headaches in the future.
6. Your Review Process and Decision-Making Speed
The bottleneck may not always be technical but could result from human issues.
- Delayed design approvals
- Changes made during the project scope
- Uncertainty about who makes the decision
These are all contributing factors to extending timelines. We utilize the Unison Framework at Appricotsoft to provide visibility, accountability, weekly working demonstrations, and alignment between your team and ours.
Sample Timeline Breakdown
Hereβs a rough (but realistic) estimate for a mid-sized hotel app:
| Phase | Duration |
|---|---|
| Discovery & Planning | 2β3 weeks |
| Design | 3β5 weeks |
| Core Feature Build (MVP) | 8β12 weeks |
| Integrations & Ops Tools | 3β6 weeks |
| QA & UAT | 2β3 weeks |
| Launch Support & Monitoring | 1β2 weeks |
Total: ~4 to 6 months for a functional, production-ready MVP – longer if you’re building for multiple properties or launching with a wide integration stack.
Hotel Apps and Budget Considerations
Every project is unique, but a general estimate of what a hotel app development project can range from β¬50,000 to β¬200,000+ based on the complexity and location of the application.
A few main elements that will impact hotel app development costs:
- Integration/connection to Other Systems. A hotel app must have access to systems used by the hotel to function properly.
- Platforms (iOS and Android). iOS development is typically more expensive than Android development, but this is not always the case as many variables could affect price.
- Adaptive/Responsive Layout for Multiple Properties. If your hotel has multiple properties, a development team will need to create an adaptive layout that can be used across all properties.
- Back-End Tooling to Manage App. If hotel staff need to manage the hotel app or update information, this will come into play when determining how much time the project will take.
- Required Certifications (PCI/GDPR). This applies to all mobile applications that process credit cards or collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from guests.
If you would like a more complete understanding of what this means in your specific case, please request a quote for a mobile app development project, and we will give you a quote based on real-world conditions rather than generalist calculators.
Conclusion: Invest Wisely
The real challenge of developing a hotel app is figuring out where to invest, not which technology stack to use. For example:
- For a luxury brand, personalization and loyalty flows are most impactful.
- For a budget chain, operational efficiency and user experience is paramount.
- For a resort, upsell flow and in-app concierge services offer the highest ROI.
At Appricotsoft, we do not believe in ‘one-size-fits-all’ app development and take the time to build custom architecture, timelines, and budget plans so that your hotel app meets your guest/s, property(ies), and goals.
Let’s create an application that your guests will want to use.
π Want to see how UX fits into the cost discussion? Read our post on frictionless UX patterns for hotel guests
π Curious about rollout strategy? Hereβs our roadmap from MVP to multi-property launch