In addition to booking a room, the app includes mobile deals, such as flash sales. Users can download the app from Apple’s Canada App Store.

“The launch of this app is in line with Travelocity’s global mobile strategy to provide users with optimal experiences anytime, anywhere, on any device,” said Jason Fulmines, director of mobile at Travelocity, Southlake, TX.

“Travelocity already offers apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7, as well as a robust mobile Web site, and the iPhone and Android apps and mobile site we’re offering are just the first of many mobile innovations we’re making available to Canadian users of Travelocity.ca as well,” he said.

Mobile travel
Via the Travelocity app, users can search more than 110,000 hotels for last-minute savings.

Consumers can browse hotels by using their device’s built-in GPS system. Users can view hotels as pinpoints on a map.

The app also includes mobile-exclusive deals for same-day reservations. Cities including Orlando, Chicago and San Francisco are included at launch with more offers coming soon.

Hotel information also includes reviews, photos and recommended local attractions, restaurants and transportation.

Additionally, the app serves as a central hub for other areas of a consumer’s travel – such as flights and gas.

Users access flight information by airport and airline. Consumers can type in an airline and location to pull in real-time updates.

Consumers can also search for gas stations by price or location.

A prominent click-to-call feature is promoted inside the app, which gives users with questions an easy way to make a reservation. Links to Travelocity’s social media properties are included with large buttons at the bottom of the page.

In addition to the new app, Travelocity Canada also recently launched its mobile site that mimics the look of the iPhone app. Users who access the mobile site are automatically directed to a page that has been optimized specifically for the iPhone, for example.

The Travelocity Canada app is unique example of a mobile travel app because it encompasses all parts of a consumer’s travel experience. As consumers continue to rely on their mobile devices as a life line, all-in-one apps help consumers who are in a pinch for time.

“The strategy for the launch of the Travelocity.ca iPhone app is to provide an optimized mobile resource that consumers could access while on the go,” said Andy Lee, product manager for Travelocity.ca, Toronto.

“The intent was to design an easy-to-use interface that allows users to access the majority of their travel content within three to four taps of entering the app,” he said.

Smooth skies
In addition to Travelocity Canada, the United States-based branch has been active in mobile for a while with reported success from the channel.

For example, at Mobile Commerce Daily’s Mcommerce Summit earlier this year,  Mr. Fulmines revealed that 60 – 70 percent of Travelocity mobile bookings are made for same-night stays (see story).

Travelocity also recently launched an iPad app that gives users deals for booking on their devices (see story).

With mobile significantly driving online bookings for both hotel brands and online travel agents, more companies are relying on mobile to give users discounted prices for booking via their handsets.

“From a Travelocity.ca perspective we’re increasingly seeing more customers accessing our site via mobile devices.  These customers are not just using mobile as a booking mechanism, but also as a tool to research, compare, and share travel related information,” Mr. Lee said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York