The company decided to update the app with the feature after seeing a majority of consumers book their rooms via the company’s mobile app within 24 hours. More companies are dipping their toes in the mobile deals space to further meet the exceptions of new and existing customers.

“Travelers booking on mobile devices want great deals on last-minute rooms and we are excited to offer them exactly that,” said Jeremy Xavier, director of marketing and mobile products at Expedia, Bellevue, WA.

“By offering deals exclusive to mobile devices, we’re not only stating our passion and intent to offer great mobile products but also giving travelers an additional reason to check out our beautifully designed app and mobile Web experiences,” he said.  

Expedia.com is an online travel site that helps millions of travelers per month plan and book their trip.

Mobile deals
Expedia is offering deals that give consumers anywhere from 10 to 30 percent off hotel desktop rates.

The mobile deals are available exclusively through the Expedia Hotels mobile app and at more than 2,000 hotels in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Expedia mobile app is available for free download on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

“We are letting people know about our deals in several ways – via creative run on Expedia.com, through an email sent to our subscribers and via social media channels,” Mr. Xavier said.

“We were excited to see the iTunes App Store tweet about our deals yesterday,” he said. “We’re really proud of our mobile offerings and we’re excited to give people incentives to find really amazing deals to help find the perfect room.”

Seeing trends
In addition to the new mobile deals feature, Expedia has released a study that examines the mobile habits of Americans during their summer travels.

The study was conducted online by Harris Interactive and surveyed more than 2,000 United States adults, of which 46 percent took a vacation this summer that included an overnight stay.

According to Expedia, 61 percent of adults surveyed own or use a smartphone, ereader or tablet device.

Additionally, 86 percent of adults who had an overnight summer vacation took pictures while on their most recent summer vacation. Of those, 58 percent of them shared the pictures through social media during their most recent vacation.

Social media also played a big role for mobile travelers.

Fifty-four percent of those surveyed took photos on their most recent vacation and shared them on Facebook.

Only nine percent reported sharing pictures via Twitter during their trip, while seven percent reported sharing pictures via Twitter after their trip.

In addition, six percent shared photos via Intsagram.

The Expedia mobile study also found that close to 70 percent of adults surveyed booked rooms through its mobile app or mobile site.

Most rooms booked via mobile had ratings between two and three stars and were within a 10-mile radius of the customer’s current location.

“We believe that every trip is unique, personal and even transformational,” Mr. Xavier said. “Through our mobile products, we want to make sure people can find the perfect room for them quickly, and easily. 

“We offer full screen pictures and full screen maps to help the traveler find that perfect room and book it in well under a minute,” he said. “Right now we are doing a lot of really cool things with the Find Yours campaign.

“With our mobile products, you can find your room quickly and on the go.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York