In 2012, Red Foundry worked with Expedia to create a third-party native mobile interface to the hotel booking engine via the Expedia API. This was accomplished by wrapping the Expedia APIs into a custom SDK that would then be embedded into mobile apps to provide the hotel booking capability. This initiative created a win for everyone involved including:
- App users benefited from a wonderful experience created by the streamlined user experience and geo-aware searches
- Developers were able to easily integrate the fully native hotel booking SDK directly into their existing native apps
- App owners created an incremental app revenue stream from booking commissions triggered by each reservation
- Expedia obtained an additional channel for hotel bookings that levered their existing backend
Feature Summary:
- Fully Native SDK: the best solution when seamless integration and high performance are critical
- In-App Purchase: the app user does not get bounced out to a browser to make the booking, which improves the user experience by reducing confusion
- Customizable UI: The UI can be modified so the booking component blends in and performs seamlessly within the existing app
- Cloud-based SDK Updates: A revolutionary enhancement to the standard SDK update lifecycle… The SDK automatically updates itself even after it’s published, reducing the need to recompile the app and submit updates to the appstore.
Interested to see how the flow might work in your app? Check out this mock-up for the Nashville Music City Guide…
