How to create an all-in-one travel booking app like Booking.com

Booking.com is an immensely popular app, boasting millions of downloads. It's become the go-to travel app for countless users worldwide and earned $4 Bn in net income in 2023.

But despite its widespread use and success, the platform has its downsides. For example, users often encounter misleading information, such as inflated property ratings and reviews, and amenities that don’t meet expectations.

Additionally, the platform's rigid policies, which don’t accommodate last-minute changes, along with a lack of refund options and real-time customer support, adds to the challenges faced by travellers.

As a new entrant to the market, you can replicate Booking.com’s successes, while also taking advantage of its downsides.

In this guide, we’ll look at all the features your app needs, before explaining how you can build your travel booking app using our platform.

What is an all-in-one travel booking app?

An all-in-one travel booking app is a comprehensive platform that allows users to handle all aspects of travel planning and booking through a single application. This includes booking flights, hotels, car rentals and sometimes even activities and experiences at the destination.

On travel booking apps, users can compare prices, check availability and read reviews to make informed decisions. Additionally, these apps often include itinerary management tools and real-time notifications to keep travellers updated on their trip details.

Travel apps are here to stay

Travelling to new destinations is deeply ingrained in human behaviour. In fact, many countries' GDP depends heavily on travel and tourism alone. With $7.7 Tn in revenue, the travel industry contributes 7.6% of ‌total global GDP.

As for Booking.com, it generated $21.37 Bn in revenue in 2023. This success highlights the huge demand for online travel booking services, which have become indispensable tools for modern travellers.

Types of travel apps

There are a few key types of travel apps, including… 👇

Booking apps

Travel booking apps streamline the process of arranging travel accommodation and transportation. Users can search for and reserve flights, hotels and car rentals, often benefiting from package deals and discounts.

These apps typically feature user-friendly interfaces, secure payment gateways and options to customise travel plans according to specific needs and preferences.

Examples of these platforms include Expedia, Booking.com and Makemytrip.

Itinerary planner app

Itinerary planner apps help travellers organise their trip schedules in a coherent, easy-to-follow format. Users can input their travel details and the app will generate an optimised itinerary, complete with timings, locations and directions.

These apps often sync across devices, making it easy to access plans on both phones and computers.

Tripit and Wanderlog are notable examples of itinerary planners.

Transportation app

Transportation apps focus on local transit solutions, offering options ranging from public transportation schedules to ride-sharing services.

Apps like Uber and Lyft, for example, find the quickest and most cost-effective routes to a destination.

Travel guide app

Travel guide apps offer comprehensive information about destinations, including reviews and recommendations for restaurants, attractions and activities.

These apps can personalise suggestions based on user preferences and location, enhancing the travel experience.

Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet are famous examples of apps that help travellers explore new places.

Must-have features of a travel app

If you want to create a travel app like Booking.com, you need to identify your key features. We’ve included some below for inspiration.

One-tap login

Users can log into their accounts using their existing social handles like Gmail, Linkedin and Facebook.

Search

Search features allow users to find specific destinations, accommodation and activities. They help users save time and improves their experience by making the information they need easy to find.

Filters

Filters help users sort the search results according to their budget, location, ratings and amenities preferences.

Listing

App listing presents all available options in an organised manner, such as hotels, flights or tourist attractions. This helps users browse through what your app offers.

Ratings & reviews

Allow your users to share their thoughts about your service. This will help other users make better choices.

Itinerary

Itineraries allow users to organise their travel plans, helping users to manage their bookings and activities and ensuring a smoother travel experience.

Mobile check-in and check-out

No more waiting in queues at the hotel lobby. Improve guest experience by allowing them to conveniently check-in and check-out from their mobile phones.

In-app payment

A travel app without in-app payment options is like a car without wheels. Multi-payment services help your users pay in a way they’re comfortable with, including a debit card, credit card, wallet or UPI.

In-app notifications

In-app notifications are key engagement drivers for any app because they give your users detailed information about other people’s activities, including what they’re liking and sharing and how they feel about your posts.

Loyalty coupons

Foster customer loyalty and incentivise repeat visits by offering loyalty coupons based on guests’ spending habits.

Dashboard

A custom dashboard helps you visualise how your business is performing over different time periods. You can choose your key metrics and gain a deeper understanding of user behaviour.

Who should you choose to build your travel booking app?

There are many ways you can create a travel booking app. If you’re a programmer, you could create one yourself. Just remember, this might take a while. Booking.com has hundreds of screens and dozens of funnels, each with hundreds of thousands of lines of code.

Alternatively, you can hire a team of mobile app developers, as they can build robust travel booking app with a range of custom features. However, the challenge here is to accurately calculate the total cost of app development.

They often charge on an hourly or daily basis, and once you factor in the costs of app development, design, app testing and listing, the expenses quickly spiral out of control.

No-code app builders are a simpler, more budget-friendly solution. You don’t need coding skills to use them and you can build apps quickly by dragging and dropping pre-made components.

However, no-code platforms may lack the flexibility to add complex features or unique customisations, and scaling the app as your user base grows can be problematic due to performance limitations.

This is where Builder.ai comes in. 👇

Want to start your app project with us?

Book a demo

Speak with one of our product experts today.

By proceeding you agree to Builder.ai’s privacy policy and terms and conditions

Why Builder.ai is different

Builder.ai offers the best of both worlds by providing a solution that bridges these gaps. It provides the customisation and scalability of professional developers along with the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of no-code builders, making it an ideal choice for developing your travel booking app.

Around 80% of all software is made up of around 650+ features. We package each basic feature as a reusable Lego-like block. Explain your idea to our AI companion, Natasha, and she uses these blocks to rapidly create an outline of your app.

The work is completed faster and cheaper because Natasha handles all the repetitive coding. Then it’s off to our app design team and mobile app developers. They personalise it and create any bespoke elements you need.

To build your travel booking app, simply head over to Builder Studio. The Builder Studio platform has been built with user convenience in mind and intuitively guides you through the app creation process.

Let’s dive in with the step-by-step process 👇

1 - Discuss your ideas with Natasha

On Builder Studio, you’re greeted by Natasha. You can express your travel booking app idea to Natasha via voice, text or uploading a PDF or doc file.

Before you chat with her, have a checklist of app features and be as descriptive as possible about your app idea. The more detailed information you give to Natasha, the better her suggestions will be.

For instance, a prompt could look like this:

“I want to create a travel booking app like Booking.com where users can effortlessly plan and book their entire trip. Users should be able to log in to their profiles to search and book flights, hotels and car rentals.

“The app should offer comprehensive filtering options to tailor search results based on price, ratings, location and amenities. Users should be able to view detailed descriptions, photos and reviews for each listing.

“The app should also allow users to manage their bookings, check-in online and receive real-time updates about their travel schedule. Additionally, the app should include secure payment processing, loyalty programs for frequent users and options for in-app purchases.”

Based on your prompt, Natasha will ask you some supporting questions and you simply need to answer them based on your requirements.

2 - Choose a base

Once you’ve provided your requirements to Natasha, she’ll create a custom framework for your app based on everything you tell her. She'll also suggest some pre-built bases she thinks are best suited for your app.

For instance, once you tell her to create an app like Booking.com, she’ll suggest a custom base similar to Booking.com and share any matching core bases as well.

You can choose up to 3 you feel are related to your big idea by simply clicking the ‘+’ icon. These selections make it easier for us to understand the features your app needs. When you’re ready, click 'Next'.

3 - Make it mine

The 'Make it mine' step aligns your app with the identity of your brand. In this step, you can give the name to your app, choose the colour scheme using the colour wheel and upload the logo of your brand.

If you already have a website, you can add the link and Builder Studio will automatically pick your brand’s colours and logo.

Once you’ve personalised your app’s name, colour and logo, you can click ‘Next’.

4 - Refine your app idea

Now comes the fun bit.

In the 'Refine idea' stage, you can review and customise your app journeys and features and also create an instant prototype of your app.

Journeys

In only a matter of seconds, Natasha creates app user journeys with corresponding features.

Go through these journeys carefully and see if your app needs additional journeys. For instance, check if you want to add journeys for monetization, sending notifications or any other relevant journey.

To add journeys, click on 'See more suggestions'. Doing so will open the list of pre-built journeys. You can browse the list and select the journeys you’re missing. You can also add custom journeys by clicking on 'Add custom journey'.

Features

By clicking on individual journeys, you can see the feature list each journey contains. You can scroll through the features list and check if a journey contains non-essential features or if you want to add extra features.

To remove a non-essential feature, you can hover over the feature and click ‘Remove’. This way you can manage project costs. If you’re not sure what features to remove, you can click on an individual feature and check the label at the top. We highly recommend keeping the ‘Essential Features’.

In case you want to add more features, you can simply click the ‘+’ button. Clicking the ‘+’ button will take you to the list of pre-built features. Here you can go through different categories or use the search bar to look for missing functionality. In case you don’t find the feature you’re looking for, you can also add a custom feature by clicking on 'Add custom feature'.

Instant prototype and user flow

Once you’re happy with the journeys and features of your app, you can create a prototype by clicking on 'Preview your app' in the top-right corner.

Sign up and Natasha will create a working prototype of your app. You can click on the screen at different areas to progress through the journey.

You can also see the user flow by clicking on the 'Flow mode' at the top of the screen to see how users will interact and navigate within your app.

If you need extra help, Natasha is on hand to help and you can interact with her at any time by clicking on 'Speak to Natasha'.

She’ll provide you with suggestions and help you find features or journeys from the library. Or you can click on 'Book a demo' to talk to our product managers who’ll guide you through your app development journey.

Click on 'Save & Continue' to go to next step and also to save your progress to make sure it doesn’t get lost.

5 - Plan delivery

It’s time to choose the platforms you want your travel app to be available on. Want a travel iOS app? Click iOS. Fancy a travel Android app? Hit Android. Not sure whether Android or iOS is better? Choose both to develop simultaneously and see how it changes the price and timelines.

Next, you can choose to add Natasha to your platform to supercharge the customer experience of your travel app. Natasha uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to engage your customers in fluid, human-like conversations.

Need more control? In the development speed, you can change the speed of each phase. Need it super fast? Pay extra and we’ll make it happen. No rush? Great, you can make big savings with relaxed timelines.

Next up is Design. If you have your app designs ready, you can save your costs by clicking 'You have design' and we’ll reduce your costs accordingly. You can share your design files (preferably in Figma) and our designers will upload them, so you can kick off straight away.

If not, you can choose the 'We do your designs'‌ option. Here, you simply need to add your brand assets and we'll do everything from storyboarding to fully designed screens.

Now it’s time to plan the phases of your project. Here you get three options:

• Clickable prototype: you’ll get a visual representation of your app to test with users

• Basic build: you’ll get an MVP (Minimum viable product) – a hard-coded but simplified version of your idea; this allows you to collect feedback and iterate before you do a full build

• Full Build: you’ll get market-ready software, including a kick-off with our product team and review sessions

After that, you need to select your support plans. With 'Full Build' you get one year of Studio One support included free of charge.

Once you’ve planned your delivery, click on 'View Buildcard'.

6 - Review Buildcard

Buildcard provides you with a bird's eye view of all the selections you made in the previous steps. Here, you can review all the features, cost per feature and delivery details.

You can also download the PDF of Buildcard or invite others to show your team members what you’re building.

If you want to make any changes, simply click on 'Edit Buildcard' under the three dots in the top-right corner.

If you’re happy with everything, click on 'Add billing details' to go to the next section. Alternatively, if you want to review it with experts, click on 'Review with an expert'.

7 - Select your payment plan

We offer weekly or monthly payment instalments, with visible payment dates and amounts for each option. You can also choose to pay upfront to reduce the cost of your build.

Simply select your preferred billing cycle, then click 'Continue' to proceed.

You’ll be asked to input your payment details and agree to the terms and conditions. Once that’s done, click 'Continue to Payment'.

When your payment is processed, you can set up a meeting with our product managers to begin your app development project.

8 - Monitor your app build in real-time

With Builder Home, your real-time project dashboard, you can monitor development progress and make sure your app is exactly the way you want it.

This includes ‌access to a suite of collaboration tools to help improve your app design. You can chat with your team of experts in Builder Meet, brainstorm in Builder Whiteboard and visualise your ideas with free Tailor-made prototypes from Builder Now.

Conclusion

While travel booking apps like Booking.com have changed how we plan our travel, they also have their own set of challenges.

Creating your travel booking app isn't just about entering a competitive market; it's about creating a space that better serves the evolving needs and preferences of users.

With the right features and a user-centric approach, your travel booking app can provide a refreshing alternative to the industry giants.

This is where Builder.ai comes into play. We simplify the app development process and make it accessible to even those with limited technical knowledge.

If that sounds good, hit the banner below and kick off your travel booking app project with us today 👇

Want to start your app project with us?

Book a demo

Speak with one of our product experts today.

By proceeding you agree to Builder.ai’s privacy policy and terms and conditions